SWAT Kats: Endgame
by Kanto the Slayer
Summary: Your favorite heroes. The most savage villians in MegaKat City. All in one fanfic. Strap in and put your helmet on, it's time to go to work. Because this is Endgame. FINISHED AT LAST!
1. A Not So False Alarm

Chance Furlong. Age twenty seven, weighing in at two hundred and ten pounds of sheer muscle. The type of typical kat that one would encounter in everyday life, Chance worked at a salvage yard- taking care of the business end of things as far as engines went. He liked to think he was an expert on them, and as of yet he had not been proven wrong. Every part of any engine ever made in any car, he knew inside and out. It had turned the drowning scrap yard and garage into a decent business, and had gotten the place listed on the MegaKat City Auto Club's "ten most reliable" list.

That said, right now he wished the place would hurry up and die already.

Truth be told, he wasn't in the mood to work at the moment, and with what meager salary he had now being drained towards the repair of Enforcer Headquarters, it wasn't too glamorous of a job. Not to mention his two "best friends" came around often with all new junk; junk that they had practically dumped on their doorstep just recently.

"Dammit, they'll never learn, will they? Maybe I really DO need to kick their asses… just to see if I can pound some sense into 'em!"

Of course, there was a voice of reason in all this, though that voice definitely agreed with Chance on all accounts in this regard.

"Take it easy, buddy! I keep saying they're not worth it. Besides, if just anyone could do what we did, we'd be bored forever," he said with a laugh. Jake Clawson always did know how to lighten the mood, though he had his share of problems, most of which coincided with Chance's. Three years younger than his bigger partner and about twenty five pounds lighter, he was still well-built. More of an athletic build than that of a moving steel wall; he could still bench press two times his own weight.

"Whatever," Chance said as he dusted off his pants from the dirt that had been kicked up by their irritating arrivals, "They do that shit one more time, and they'll have a set of wooden teeth from chewing on my fist." Looking at the new pile of work with a sigh of resignation, he muttered, "Business is booming… let's get to work."

The reason why he disliked this job was not just because of their bosses, Burke and Murray. They were put here in the first place by their former employer, Ulysses Feral, Commander of the Enforcers. Once upon a time, Chance and Jake were more than just garbage men; they each held the ranks of Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel in the paramilitary Special Weapons and Tactics force, and each was a skilled operative in their own right, with or without a supporting force.

The thing that netted them a one-way ticket to the scrap heap was their own overzealous Commander, who figured it was his right to take their tag. He attempted to blow past and clipped their left wing, knocking their F-16 into a dead spiral. After a sudden explosion at Enforcer Headquarters, Feral looked down to find flames leaping from the building, and his eyes widened in shock. When he turned around again to aim at the terrorist known as Dark Kat in an attempt to blow him out of the sky... his jet was nowhere to be found. When he touched down at Headquarters, Feral was livid beyond belief.

Due to this blunder which was caused by the Commander himself, _they_ were discharged from the Enforcers, and happily complied. Unfortunately, they were also hit with the steep repair bill… a bill that they would pretty much be paying for the rest of their nine lives. And thus, they were here in the MegaKat scrap yard.

However, it was here where they had begun their path to glory, and a reason to keep carrying the burden they had been saddled with.

Speaking of burdens, the alarm in the garage happily chose that time to buzz and complain.

"Yeah," Chance said with a newfound, almost relieved grin, "Business is booming."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Usually before picking up the phone when it rang like that, Chance wanted to look his best. Fur neatly combed, shower, teeth brushed (he still swore that people could smell his breath through the receiver), the whole nine yards. The reason was soon clear when he put on his deeper, rougher voice and answered, "Yes Miss Briggs?"

The female voice from the other line spoke clearly and concisely, as if the words she said were practiced beforehand. She had that ever-businesslike manner about her, even when she was on the brink of being kidnapped or when the building was falling around her attractive ears. And yet she managed to look so… damned hot in that business suit of hers. Not a day went by that the big kat didn't think about what else she wore besides that, but he always stopped before his mind took too discursive of a path.

She wasn't for him. Of that, he was dead certain.

"We have a situation here at MegaKat Towers. I'm a little tied up right now, so I can't explain, but I need you guys to head towards the penthouse, ASAP!"

Chance's ears perked up immediately. Oh, he knew what that meant.

"We're on our way!"

He hung up and said, "MegaKat Towers is having a bit of a problem- we gotta jet Jake, pronto!"

Clawson laughed as he said, "Damn, that place has to be cursed! It's always covered in some kind of muck, huh?"

With that, they began suiting up. Tactical webbing and pouches lined their flight suits, ensuring that they had the capacity to carry as much ordinance on them as possible for when things got nasty. Of course they didn't have to carry much but their Glovetrixes, but it was just in case. They could use any ordinance, lethal or not, but tended to err on the side of caution and use non-lethal means to fight.

Donning their trademark masks to hide their identities and the blue and red helmets they wore during flight, they beat feet towards the greatest creation one could ever lay eyes on. The black, shining, highly-modified F-14 Tomcat was the most technologically advanced air-to-air fighter in the history of katkind, and it was made entirely from scrap parts.

The bird of doom was known to most, if not all of the city, as the TurboKat.

As the elevator lowered towards the hangar, Jake began a systems check. "So how is Miss Briggs anyways? You get a chance to talk to her yet?"

Chance raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? She comes down here twice a month to get a tune-up. We always get a chance to talk to her, dude!"

Jake smirked and said, "That's not what I meant."

After a long pause, the bigger kat figured out what Jake was talking about, and he was lucky no one could see him blush. "She ain't for me, man… I work at a junk yard. How could someone who works in the Mayor's office be with a guy like that? I'd rather she not know me at all. Besides, I'm not exactly in a position to go ask a girl out, y'know?"

Jake laughed and said, "Yeah, just save them!"

Chance nodded, but without the laugh. "Roger that. Let's kick some ass!"

The engines whined happily to life as the floor of the scrap yard slid backwards… and with a mighty roar, the TurboKat took flight.

They were no longer Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson… they were T-Bone and Razor.

They were the SWAT Kats.

* * *

Calico Briggs stood at five foot four and weighed one hundred and fifteen pounds, with cream colored fur and piercing green eyes. Her body was what one would call dynamite- able to knock any sane man off of his feet. Tight and fit in all the right places, and yet it was soft and supple where it counted. She was a highly groomed lady, competent in all things that required her attention, which was how she was able to become the intern for Mayor Manx. 

And yet, such a beautiful, single, available woman was… alone. She was alone, and she knew it, though she was constantly being saved by the two men who had her attention almost constantly. They were crude, rough, dangerous men who were also polite, caring, and sensible. Like the antiheroes that walked down the streets of the Wild West, they did things by their own book and they marched to the beat of their own drummer.

They were everything a girl could want; tall, dark, and incredibly handsome.

'And the two guys that I can't get myself involved with, unfortunately.'

Their names, or at least the ones they presented to the world, were T-Bone and Razor, better known to many as the SWAT Kats. Vigilantes and mercenaries with Enforcer tactics and a modified two-seater F-14 that could surpass Mach 5, they were the city's last defense and made the standard Special Forces look like a three-ring circus.

What was it that made them so elusive to her? It was not the flying- many pilots had the weaponry and skills to fly with them, though matching them could be another story altogether. It wasn't the skills either- they used standard Special Weapons and Tactics techniques and tools to get the job done, though they did so in more innovative ways than others trained in the same.

She had concluded early on when she had first met them that it was the masks they wore- that which hid the identities of two men who were better than an entire army. The masks made them tall, dark, and handsome. There certainly were a lot of men out there that were just as tall and handsome, but it was the masks… and they way they spoke and walked and fought that made them _dark_.

It made her think of other things than just running for office… like running for the nearest hotel room with the two of them and seeing how they did things under the sheets. Such a notion always made her shiver deliciously, even now. But no, she had to remain cool and businesslike, yet grateful and gracious.

'They're just friends and valuable allies. I want to show my appreciation, not have my way with them… or let them have their way with me… or…'

Well that went nowhere, so she cleared her throat and took a sip of her water.

"So then Deputy Mayor, how long have you known the SWAT Kats?"

That drew her attention immediately. A well-dressed woman with brown eyes and hair sat at one of the other seats at the table, a rather curious expression on her face. She looked as if she _really_ wanted to know, and often times she did. Ann Gora, beautiful in her own right, did not always want to be the first to cover a big story, just because it was her job to. She got herself in trouble, sometimes on purpose, because she believed that curiosity did not kill the kat right away- in fact, uncovering information made a kat stronger because of it, and she enjoyed telling everyone else what she knew.

It wasn't any sort of ego or compulsion- it was simply fun to do. She loved, absolutely loved, being a reporter.

And when she looked at you with that questioning expression, one found it difficult not to answer.

"I'd say two years now," Callie said with her same cool, even tone. "I have to say that during the times I had first met them, I did have my doubts about their methods. Everything was constantly in ruins by the time they were finished, though the culprit had been captured. But later, I checked for any signs of injury or death, and found… none. They were performing such acts for the city in a nonviolent manner, or at least non-lethal."

Ann nodded in understanding- she had seen it as well. Unless the enemy was not sentient and had lost their mind to the point of no return, they would not kill.

"Of course, the point when we became friends was when they handed me this," she said as she removed the silent alarm from her purse, the button in the middle constantly flashing red. "Apparently, I was getting into trouble so many times that they decided to give me something to let them know. They said to use it only in a real emergency, and well… this is MegaKat City. When is there _not_ a real emergency?"

They both laughed at this before Ann asked her next question. "So this is the first time in which nothing has happened to the city proper that you have contacted them?"

Ann nodded. "It sounds selfish, doesn't it? But I'm sure that they'll understand once they realize that this too, is for the good of the city… and for their own good as well. I'm trying to get everyone to understand them a bit more, and understand them myself. And of course in order to do that, I've invited you."

Ann smiled and said, "It's an honor, Deputy Mayor. You know, to tell the truth, I've wanted to know more about the SWAT Kats myself. Where are they, anyway?"

That's when they heard it- the unmistakable noise of the three engines that roared over the city in times of dire crisis. You had to give it to them- they had an impeccable sense of timing, even when there was nothing going on.

"Right on time, Ann. They always are."

* * *

"Sure as hell looks normal… I expected the situation to be worse, but there's no goop or anything around here." 

T-Bone looked down towards the MegaKat Towers and said, "Makes you wonder why Callie called us over here in the first place. But whatever- let's see what she wants. If it's nothing, we're outta here, all right? I don't like being called on a false alarm."

Razor shook his head and said, "I dunno, man… it's never, ever nothing. Besides, we promised to answer any call; no matter how dire it was, as long as it was within reason. Miss Briggs is a reasonable woman, and she wouldn't bring us over here for nothing."

The bigger kat looked behind him and said, "And just how did you deduce that, Sherlock?"

Razor smiled and said, "Because I trust her. Don't you?"

T-Bone was silent. _Did_ he trust her? Could a man in a mask who used an alias trust _anyone_? He had to think long and hard before answering, and the only thing he could come up with was, "I don't know, partner. I just don't know."

With that, they landed and, for once, took the stairwell entrance. Expecting just about anything, including nothing at all, they made their way down the stairs in hurried fashion, Glovetrixes at the ready. They checked behind every corner for foes that were unseen, hoping to catch at least a bad noise. But so far, there was nothing… which made T-Bone slightly irritated and Razor suspicious.

'What the hell is going on here?'

Of course, they were finally at the entrance to the penthouse, and took positions on either side of the door. T-Bone looked towards Razor and nodded before the slim kat silently open the door a crack, then nudged it open with one of his feet before they both peeked in, Glovetrixes aimed at Calico Briggs and Ann Gora.

"Huh!? I thought there was something going down here. What gives?"

Callie smiled and said, "There's no one here but us. You don't have to go everywhere expecting a battle situation, you know. Now take those things off and come sit down- we were just about to have dinner."

T-Bone wanted to say something mean, give her a retort. Razor headed him off at the pass.

"Free food, huh?" He smiled and said, "I'm game. And I don't see any cameras anywhere… so something is _definitely_ going on, T-Bone."

The larger kat, now expecting no sort of threat (yet ready for one all the same), finally took a good look around. Once it was confirmed, he looked towards the she-kats and said with a forgiving smile, "He's right. You _never_ see Ann Gora without a cameraman. And I sure would like something to eat at the moment, so we'll stay for a bit. But you know, that silent alarm is only supposed to be used for emergencies, Miss Briggs."

She nodded in understanding and said, "Oh, but this is an emergency, and it concerns the two of you."

They looked at each other, puzzled looks on their faces. "…Us? What did we do now?"

Ann laughed merrily and said, "Nothing but a world of good! We just wanted to thank you for all your hard work and get to know you a bit better, that's all. There are no cameras, no lights, no flash bulbs- this is just a talk. The people have a right to know who their saviors are- if not their real names or identities," she said diplomatically, "Then why they do what they do, how they got their training and what motivates them. I'm sure you both won't mind if I record you?"

T-Bone finally understood and nodded in acknowledgment. Ann was not satisfied with the little chat she had with them in the air. This was an interview, a rather in-depth one. Like everything else, it involved some risk, but this one was bigger than anything else. He really had to think about what to say and how to say it- Feral would probably be listening.

'So will Felina. Would she understand?'

"We can't tell you everything. Not yet."

Ann smiled, and it was a smile of victory. Callie just smiled.

"Then tell us what you can. Please, have a seat."

* * *

**Chapter 1: **_**A Not-So-False Alarm**_

Oh, yeah. That's what I'm talkin' about! From the creator of LionHearts comes this epic fic of love, hope, bloodshed, and the biggest, baddest dogfights you've ever witnessed on a piece of paper! Note that this is a relatively short chapter- they WILL get longer and more intricate as time goes by. With that note, the Slayer takes his leave.

This should prove once and for all that I will do ANY fic from ANY series, at ANY time. Send me a message!

Ah, and the obligatory disclaimer- all characters, places, vehicles and otherwise are the property of Hanna-Barbera and their associates. If I owned this, you would _damn well_ see a season three.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	2. Interview of the Century

MegaKat Towers.

A building that was in an almost constant state of repair, it was the center of many a battle. Changing paws time and time again from one kat-gone-bad to the next, the edifice was recently rebuilt and reinforced with better security measures. Mayor Manx had long since stopped trying to lease the property to his associates, and turned it into a general-purpose office building.

Everything was an office, besides of course the penthouse. The top floor was still multi-use, and tonight, one of its uses was in effect. The two toms that were able to slip past literally any security system ever conceived by katkind were currently having dinner there, with the TurboKat parked atop the roof. The she-kats that had invited them there did so for two reasons- a gesture of thanks, though no gesture would ever truly be enough, and an opportunity to show MegaKat City a side of them that had never been seen before.

With that in mind, there were no cameras, no flash bulbs, no light whatsoever besides that of the soft candles on the table and the dim lights in the room that set a proper, relaxed mood. The two toms dressed in black and dark blue, their helmets and Glovetrixes off but the masks still on, were just about as at ease as they were ever going to get. That was good- a relaxed setting prompted conversation.

Granted, they had stated, for the record, that not everything would be revealed immediately. And yet, Ann Gora and Calico Briggs were satisfied with this, wanting to know whatever they could and share it with the city that owed them so much.

With that, one of the greatest interviews in the history of Kat's Eye News would be underway.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_

"Let's get one thing straight, Ann- we got nothing against the Enforcers- we're law-abiding katizens just like the rest of the good kats out there, and we appreciate their efforts," said Razor in response to the question of their personal opinion about the Enforcers. "Feral is a proud man- proud of his city and quick to defend it from all the crazies and terrorists out there. The only bad news…"

T-bone picked up the rest of the answer flawlessly as Razor trailed off. "…The only bad news is that most, if not all of the time, their efforts aren't exactly worth much. We got kats out there like the Pastmaster who can swing back and forth along the time-space continuum and pull thick-skinned bastards as big as one of those skyscrapers out of those storms he conjures up. Hell, we'd know… we've been through _three_ of them."

Ann smiled and said, "And what exactly was that like, being thrown into another time? Certainly it must have been a harrowing experience."

Razor scratched the back of his head as he remembered the one time they were caught in the Dark Ages. "Well, that's one way to put it… but let's just say you meet some interesting kats while you're hopping here and there in time. Not like we could tell everything in the space of an evening meal, though it sure as hell would make for a nice book one day."

T-Bone smirked towards Ann and said, "Don't take that comment literally- we aren't writing our autobiographies any time soon. It's not time for the SWAT Kats to retire yet."

Ann smiled and nodded, saying "And of course, it is your training that saved you in all those situations. While we are on the subject, where did you receive all this training from? As an example, where did you learn your phenomenal flying, T-Bone? It is most certainly the stuff of legend, perhaps even among the Enforcers. Please tell us how you acquired such intuitive piloting."

T-bone smirked. It was fun to hear how damn good he was, even if he already knew it.

"Well I don't like to brag, but we learned all this on our own. No special tricks, no instructors, we just went out there and looked for a way to do it all by ourselves. It's the only way a kat can truly be free, right? Besides, a command structure really isn't our thing, especially with the Commander we see from day to day," He said as an obvious shot to Feral.

Razor sniggered and said, "Yeah. He's the last guy we want to be working for. Now, Felina… she's got the stuff. If she was more than just a Lieutenant, I'd be in her squad any day. But the thing is that her uncle is a proud man, and won't give up his position easily. Combine that with his narrow-minded, inflexible tactics… and, well, it's no wonder that the Enforcers aren't up to snuff."

Ann placed a hand on her chin and said, "As the foe changes, so must the fighter?"

T-Bone pointed at her and said, "Exactly! That's why Felina's their best operator- she tries things that no one else has. I'd almost say that she fights like us, but that'd be stretching it a bit."

They all laughed at this before the questions continued. This next one however, was from Callie. It was the first question she had asked since this entire interview started, and it was an honest one. "The TurboKat… what exactly is it made of? I mean, from what I can tell it's entirely custom, built completely from the ground up. I mean, come on- three engines, a slew of custom missiles, and a motorcycle to boot? What exactly did you make all that from, and how long did it take?"

T-Bone and Razor looked at each other with grins before they both looked towards her. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you, Miss Briggs. Best to let this one remain a secret, huh?"

But being the determined she-kat that she was, Callie raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, smirking as if she had seen and heard just about everything. "You'd be surprised at what I would believe, SWAT Kat. Now spill it, before I _make_ you."

They continued grinning and said simultaneously, "Scrap parts."

Callie reared back. That was impossible, right? It defied some law of physics or reality or something like that. So stunned was the she-kat that she had nothing to say that was a complete sentence, much less a complete word. Ann however was a bit more composed.

"Incredible… how is that possible?"

The two toms raised an eyebrow each as Razor said, "Is it so hard to believe? You can find anything in a scrap yard these days. Signal jammers, engines, fuel lines, you name it. But a few of the mods to the jet aren't exactly from a scrap yard. Where we get 'em from, I can't entirely tell you. Not to mention that it took a while to build the TurboKat- about six months. A jet like this isn't easily replaced or repaired," he said as he remembered the times that they had lost their beloved jet to something or other.

Callie shook her head and said, "A jet made almost entirely from scrap is faster than anything the Enforcers can come up with. If I didn't know you two better, I wouldn't believe you." She lowered her eyes for a moment, looking a tad bashful. Perhaps the next question would be a bit inappropriate… but she had to ask.

"You don't think I could… you know…"

T-Bone knew the question already- she wanted a ride. And he already knew the customary answer, though he didn't want to give it. If he didn't though, Razor would have chided him for days about it. Besides, they were being recorded.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Briggs. We can't exactly let you in for a casual tour- there's not enough room for it. Besides, it's not exactly kosher to use the TurboKat for personal reasons, is it?"

She nodded sadly and said, "Yes, you're right. Sorry for asking."

Razor, though he appreciated the effort that T-Bone was making, had to say something just this once. He knew it hurt his good buddy to say such things in such a professional manner, especially since he had the hots for the she-kat who happened to be the Deputy Mayor. Perhaps that reason needed to be taken out of the equation, and this was the way to do it.

"…Sure thing, Miss Briggs."

T-Bone turned towards Razor, his green eyes wide. "Are you nuts, man? We'd be putting her at risk!"

Razor rolled his eyes and said, "And what about that time we had Lieutenant Feral onboard?"

"That was an emergency!"

A weak excuse and the slimmer kat knew it. "Dude, she could have just radioed in for a pickup. Besides, you asked her. If you really didn't want to have her along, we'd have just left without a word."

Damn. It appeared that T-Bone had been caught with one paw in the cookie jar, so to speak. He sighed, half with frustration and half in relief, and said, "Geez, here I was thinking that you'd cuss me out for saying yes, and now you bite my head off for saying no!" With that, he looked towards Callie and smiled. "Maybe sometime, Miss Briggs, we'll let you fly with us."

Callie's head did not rise, but her eyes did. As she peered through her eyelashes in a way that almost made T-Bone's heart stop right then and there, she said softly, "I'll hold you to that."

Ann smiled to herself. Perhaps these were ordinary kats after all- they had just had a slight altercation right before her eyes. She also noticed that something rather interesting had just happened- the larger tom had unwittingly let a part of his true character slip. He was concerned for Calico Briggs… very concerned indeed. But she kept it to herself for the moment- they would meet again later.

T-Bone broke the somber mood and said, "Moving on…"

Ann's secretive smile faded somewhat as she resumed her professionalism. "You must have had to face a force that was larger and more organized than just one criminal. Please, tell us what your largest scale battle was and how you dealt with the odds."

T-Bone opted to answer this one. "Well, we've had quite a few of 'em. None of them were anywhere near as organized as, say…" He had to place his right paw on his chin for a moment. There were at least two who had the resources to have a properly trained and organized military force, if not three. And yet, there was one in particular that he was impressed with himself.

"…Turmoil. I doubt that even Dark Kat, with how many times he gets away, has more organized of a force than she did before we put her down. Those pilots, the Omega Squadron, were on the level of the Enforcers with a better command structure. On top of that, she had the Vertigo Beam. If I hadn't infiltrated and destroyed her operation from the inside, she'd have done exactly as she said she'd do."

Ann nodded solemnly and said, "Yet another debt of many that the katizens of this city owes you, and yet you have never asked for anything in return. Is there anything that you personally wish to have?"

T-Bone and Razor looked at each other for a moment. It was an honest, fair-game question that they knew someone would ask sooner or later, and yet they had never really thought of the answer. Aside from the one time they had their jet refurbished by the city, they had never asked for anything in return. But now that they thought of it… wait, no. there was still no answer, besides one.

"Not a damn thing, Ann," they said in tandem.

The rest of the interview went rather smoothly, and dinner was excellent. The next morning, when he looked back on the events of that evening, he would admit that it was rather beneficial to all parties involved. Besides, the way that alluring, blonde she-kat looked at him through her lashes…

"Hey, get your head out of the clouds, man! It's starting!"

Chance shook his head and looked at the television, just like tens of thousands of other kats did at that very moment as the report came in of an extended interview with none other than the SWAT Kats.

* * *

Somewhere within an apartment in MegaKat City, a she-kat with black hair and tufts of white near the ears watched and listened with a discerning ear as the SWAT Kats told all… and yet, not all. Indeed, she wanted to know more about them, but not even this was enough for her. She was one who wanted to know everything about someone- who knows? The information may help one day. 

The argument they had on that live recording made her laugh… and it also made her remember. Felina Feral remembered sitting in Razor's lap for the entirety of the flight back to Enforcer headquarters, and how… snuggly she felt, even without a hug. She was so content at that moment and felt so safe, she actually wanted to purr. It would be the first time in a long time that she did so…

It was an odd feeling- one that she had tried to shake off whenever she saw him on the job, but could not. And she wouldn't dare tell her uncle about it- he would have a field day. If Ulysses Feral were not such a hard liner, she would be working with them a lot more often. A part of her found this… exciting, to say the least. If it were a thrill to be in the cockpit of the TurboKat, it would be a secret dream-come-true to wear the flight suit and the mask.

Felina, ever since she was little, wanted to be an Enforcer. It used to be her dream to live up to her Uncle's proud lineage and expectations. Once upon a time, that would have made her happy and proud. Now… now it was routine, and often the techniques of the Enforcers were all for naught against the time-jumpers and terrorists and privately-funded armies. Even in the interview, where they were free to say as they wished, T-Bone and Razor had stated the exact reason why the Enforcers constantly failed- their commanding officer.

A part of her wanted to stay in the system; gain enough merit and credibility so that when she was in charge, the rules would change. They would turn themselves into the best force that the city had at their disposal, and then there would be little use for the SWAT Kats. That part agreed with her uncle in the fact that though they were the most effective counter-measure, they were also the riskiest and most costly.

The other part… the part that wanted to fly in the TurboKat again and stop losing to all those freaks and actually _do some good_… That part knew better. It was called _Special Weapons and Tactics_ for a good reason, and one couldn't help but have a few things destroyed in the process of a running battle. Which was the worse of two evils- destroying property, or destroying lives? Saving a building or saving the people inside it? If a bit of the city was destroyed, who cared as long as it was done so for the good of an entire city and its katizens?

That side of her also had another convincing argument. She would know who they were- who it was behind the masks and the helmets. She would know who that cute, well-built, agile and strong kat named Razor really was. He also had intelligence, both in normal and tactical terms that she looked for in many a tom, but had never found.

'A rare breed, indeed,' she mused to herself as she continued listening to the interview that was obviously recorded. She wished she had been there the night of the recording. She wanted to see them- him- one more time. It wasn't like there weren't enough regular interactions between them, and yet she started craving them. They were exciting to watch- professional and poised in their movements. They knew exactly where one would be if he didn't have the other, and that's what made them the perfect team, even on their bad days.

Turning her attention back to the interview, she noticed a recurring pattern. While not known for her subtleties, Felina was not stupid. She began to figure out that T-Bone had a crush, if only a subdued one, on the Deputy Mayor. And yet he knew that with their respective positions, he could never have what he wanted. How he must suffer every time he sees her in trouble!

She shook her head and said, "And now I'm starting to act just like he is." At least she could admit that to herself- Razor was cute, talented, intelligent, and had saved her life- not to mention she had saved his as well. Having someone's life in your hands made you and the other kat connected by an invisible thread. She knew how well-built that body of his was just from sitting on his lap. Despite how hardened and disciplined she was… it still made her shiver.

Razor, without doing much besides being who he was, made the Lioness of the Enforcers turn into a kitten. But don't let anyone else hear that, or you would be shot in the leg with a pistol from a very angry Felina Feral.

* * *

It was quiet in Alkatraz island, save for the sound of one television. It was as soft as could be, due to the pair of headphones that was plugged into it. The entire day was silent, most likely because of everyone having to head out towards the outer areas. A she-kat with brown hair, blonde streaks near the ears and a tanned complexion had her eyes closed, listening to the broadcast instead of watching it. Her back faced towards the same wall that the television was located at. 

There was no need to watch- only listen. Listen for the one voice that she wanted to hear again, from those lips that she had kissed once before. Every time she heard it, the roughshod tone, the blatant curses and the playful laugh, she shivered in delight.

'THAT… is a tom,' she thought as she continued listening to the interview, her ears twitching as if even they wanted to pick up every word that T-Bone uttered. Her defeat was no mere tactical loss- it was complete, total, and final. She had been put in jail handily, even with a large and well-trained force, and by only two kats. The final letter from T-Bone only confirmed just how much she had lost...

She LOVED a man that could beat her at her own game. To her, life was a game of chess- constant maneuvers in social structure and interactions with other kats was a miniature game of war. Winning meant that one had friends, money, power, a good life. Losing meant the opposite, and sometimes it even landed a kat where she was now- sitting here in prison.

And yet, she had vowed- sworn that the four walls and iron bars would not keep her away from her new prize, her new burning desire and constant thought. She did not think that she would ever be a good kat… society was not the place for ambitions such as her own. But the she-kat known as Turmoil knew one thing that held her in a higher position than most she-kats out there.

T-Bone… loved bad-ass she-kats. And she knew that she was one with the utmost certainty.

'I _will_ have you, T-Bone… and I will never let you escape again.'

She couldn't help but chuckle to herself as the wheels in her head were set in motion.

* * *

Somewhere in the shadows, the interview was being broadcast even to someone else; a kat that knew no bounds and no limits, no rules or regulations. He did not believe in the law or any sort of ordered system- no, he was free, and freedom had to be defended from those who would take it.

The SWAT Kats would take his freedom were he ever defeated, and the freedom of those that shared his vision.

But with this… with this recording that he was listening to, he would most certainly take away theirs. He couldn't help but chuckle as the wheels in his head were set in motion.

* * *

**Chapter 2:**_** Interview of the Century**_

Ah, so the main players are introduced! And these guys aren't even the half of what I have in store! The guy in the shadows though, that's going to be either entirely difficult or too easy to find out. Which one will have to wait until later, won't it?

As for reviews… ah, there we go! The legendary **ulyferal** from _swatkats.us_ has posted something about my fic! Well, I'm flattered. Hopefully the edits in the first chapter were to your liking, and this chapter will serve as a good follow-up. Oh, and thanks to **ryuu-artist** for putting this story on his alerts! Tell your fellow SWAT Kats fans about this, dude. I need the exposure!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	3. Who the hell are these guys?

The morning went as it usually did from the point the hour-long broadcast was over.

Work was surprisingly steady these days, with the two of them having to work on two to three cars a week, at the very least. It wasn't just regulated to little old ladies, but just about any kat had come and gone to and from the shop with their engines tuned in quite professional manner. Why was uncertain- they never did have this much work before.

Still, they did not complain. If it helped to pay off the debt that had been incurred on them all those years ago, they did it. Besides, they got to see Callie for her customary tune-up every month, which wasn't too bad of a deal as far as Chance was concerned. Of course, the news suggested that just because they got a few days off, no one else in the city did, not even the criminals.

Yet and still, the Enforcers had a better time in dealing with multiple threats these days, thanks to a certain Lieutenant. It infuriated Commander Feral to no end how she would put herself in such dangerous situations, even above the requirements of standard Enforcer duties. However, she was the best on the force because of her unconventional tactics.

The fact that she did such things was not his concern. The fact that two kats in particular used the same tactics bothered him greatly though, and he began to have the sneaking suspicion that she was… oh, perish the thought… starting to become just like them. But for the moment, he shook his head at the disturbing thought that entered his mind and concentrated on the task at hand- the broadcast that he had watched earlier that morning and what it meant.

Oh, he already knew what it meant- the SWAT Kats were building their case. Even now, they were getting the backing of the people, as if they were a pair of guerillas. He had no doubt that they were still lawless hoodlums- anyone who did not do things his way, he branded so. And yet despite them representing everything he hated, they were more effective than the Enforcers were nine times out of ten.

His only solace lay in the fact that even the SWAT Kats had bad days…

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_

"Thanks again, guys! I swear that driving around Mayor Manx gives me a damn headache sometimes. The man makes my fur stand on end with how… how…" She almost wanted to pull her hair out with how seriously lazy their mayor was. The only saving grace he had was his political savvy, and that wasn't saying much.

Yet and still, she did not want to say anything about her work- not here, anyway. You just don't gripe about things like that to someone else, especially not two toms that would have little clue what the conversation was about. She had a therapist for that.

"Never mind," she said with a sigh. "I'm just glad you guys are here- it's nice to have someone _reliable_ around this city. I'll give you guys a good word when someone asks where to get their tune-up, as usual."

Chance Furlong scratched the back of his head. "Well we appreciate it, Miss Briggs. We're not good at much but engines and transmissions, but we try to do good work. Take good care of her," she said as he motioned towards the sleek, jade green vehicle.

Callie raised an eyebrow. Why did all toms always have to treat cars like she-kats? It confused her to no end, but she smiled. She wouldn't change his behavior for the world, really. Such a nice pair of kats deserved a break, and it looked like they didn't have anyone to come home to…

"Hey, have you guys eaten yet? I'm sure you need a break every once in a while. I've already done most of my business down at the Mayor's office," business which might as well have been hers instead of the Mayor's, for all the actual paperwork he did, she added silently, "So I've got some free time here. What do you say?"

They looked at each other, and then looked towards their shop. It had been unnaturally busy these past few days, and they were fortunate enough to be called in at night for that surprise interview- otherwise they wouldn't have made it. But today, things seemed to have calmed down- she was the only one that had come in for any sort of work. The rest of the day was sleepy at best.

"Sure thing," Jake said with a grin. "It's not like we have anything better to do until we get a call. Besides, it's not every day we get invited to lunch by a pretty girl."

Chance grinned as well, though for a different reason. The irony in this situation was most decidedly evident- they had just spoken the night before, hadn't they? Yes, they certainly had. And he now knew for sure that Callie liked him, if only as T-Bone. The very thought of the she-kat even having an _inkling_ of admiration for him both elated him and frightened him.

So many what-ifs popped up in his head that he immediately assumed that she was not for him. On the other hand, just the fact that she was intrigued could not be ignored- the possibility alone had to be explored. Thus was his conundrum- reciprocate the feeling and get himself potentially hurt in the process (and in more ways than just emotionally), or ignore it and lose a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

Of course, while he was thinking about this, there was still the more simple decision of lunch.

"Yeah, let's get going. Thanks, Miss Briggs."

She smiled coyly and said, "Please, call me Callie."

* * *

"How the hell do these guys keep on breaking out?" Felina Feral asked with no small trace of confusion as they carried an unconscious Hard Drive towards an armored transport truck. He had caused quite a bit of trouble before he had finally been isolated and detained, having stolen yet another military project and turning it into his own plaything for all of five hours before he was put down. 

These days, the Enforcers were handling the common criminals like Hard Drive more efficiently. It used to be that for even a small threat like him, the SWAT Kats were required to handle the situation. But now, with Lieutenant Feral's newly-formed Unconventional Tactics unit, who did not always follow procedures and regulations, these incidents were starting to become less and less frequent. The only thing they refused to do was endanger the lives of others- they were the only ones at risk with everything they did.

She did have to admit, some of these tactics that she used weren't entirely original. They had been seen, and used before, and even her uncle knew who had used them- much to his chagrin. In fact, there he was now…

"God damn it, Felina! Do you know how much damage you caused with your antics? I should make you repair all of this yourself, young lady! To think that you would have sunk to the level of those-"

She rounded on him then, more than a bit irritated at him. "And what else would you have me do, uncle? Have him destroy twice as much in the process, which as you can see he already has? What I did _had_ to be done- otherwise it would have turned Hard Drive into a walking nightmare. Besides, no kat was hurt! Isn't that more important than some building?"

Commander Feral's eyes widened slightly. Well, not only was she talking back to him, she was doing it in a loud voice, making his ears ring. It was annoying. But what was worse was that she was making valid points- the criminal had been effectively detained, and with minimal casualties. Still, it made him growl fiercely as he prepared himself to storm off.

"If you ever do something that reckless again, _Lieutenant_, I will bury you in so much paper work it'll take you months to get on any sort of assignment! You're dismissed!"

Felina scoffed. He wasn't exactly in a position to dismiss her, now was he? She won this fight, not him. The more she had these chats with him, the more she wanted to scream to the top of her lungs. Sure, she did most of the rescuing these days, but sometimes she wished for someone to rescue _her_. Turning towards her team with a sigh, she said, "That was great, guys. Don't listen to him- he might be our commanding officer, but he doesn't state how exactly we stop the bad guys. Just so long as we don't kill any civilians, we're all good."

They nodded in response as she said, "Let's head back to headquarters! Move out!"

After a brief salute, they got back to their police-issue sport bikes and began heading back towards headquarters. How the Enforcers could afford the sleek, 200 mph motorcycles was beyond her- they were working with a limited budget as it was. Perhaps with more successes, they would have more funding, but for now it was odd how all that came to pass.

That didn't mean she wasn't grateful- it just meant that she was curious.

On the way there, she saw a familiar green car pass by at an intersection. Thinking that the two kats in the back of Deputy Mayor Briggs's car was nothing special, she moved onward. Seeing Calico Briggs made Felina think back to last night's interview- or at least the recording of it. There, in MegaKat Towers, the she-kat had seen a side of the SWAT Kats that no one else had.

'How does she know them so well? It can't be anything impersonal to get them to come to a mere interview,' she thought to herself, slightly jealous. She had gotten a clue about how close they were due to the fact that whenever Briggs was in some kind of tangle, the familiar silhouette of the TurboKat was there ten minutes later. Sometimes it took longer due to location and other circumstances beyond their control, but they were there nonetheless.

Felina was not stupid- on the contrary; she was highly intelligent when she wasn't too excited or headstrong. Callie had a crush, and a rather obvious one, on T-Bone. It certainly seemed like the same one she had for Razor, save for the fact that she would have been more direct about it. It just didn't feel comfortable when she waited around for a guy to tell her that he had an attraction for her- she didn't like waiting too much.

Still, she had to wait. Wait until the next time they saw each other- ran into each other on some sort of mission by coincidence. Wait until the right moment, when there was a comfortable silence. Wait until they weren't trying to save the city, or their own fur. Wait, wait, wait… and it was all getting on her nerves.

Frankly, the next time she saw him she'd tackle him to the ground or pin him to a wall, then say 'before you go anywhere to get yourself killed- know this: I love you.'

But that would be unprofessional, right? Right.

So for now, the she-kat had to wait.

* * *

It was lunchtime, somewhere in a MegaKat City restaurant, and Calico Briggs was eating with two people who she probably shouldn't be with. These were the two toms who worked on her car once a month, and for some reason she felt pity for them. There was a look in their eyes that spoke of sheer, utter loneliness; a look that she wanted to take away, at least in some regard. 

Unfortunately, this was one of those times when she knew not what to say. The silence was beginning to get uncomfortable when Jake took the initiative.

"So how are things in the office, Callie? I mean, is the Mayor doing well and all that? We don't really keep up with the elections, so we wouldn't know."

Briggs chuckled mirthlessly. "Not all that good, truth be told. He's had to deal with a few political opponents who think that he's spending taxpayers' money on an ineffective force, and not spending enough time on supporting the katizens that vote for him. With all the incidents that have been going on recently, I doubt that they're wrong."

Jake shrugged and said, "I wouldn't sell the Enforcers short yet- Lieutenant Feral has her new Unconventional Tactics squad- they seem to be doing the job pretty well. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if she got a good-sized promotion for all her recent busts."

Chance shook his head and said, "Doubt it. I hear she's doing a bit of collateral damage. Not as much as the guys they're after, but enough to get them in a pile of shit with the Commander. She keeps this up and she might end up in a world of hurt rather than get bumped up a notch."

Callie found the conversation… actually interesting. Indeed, they were concerned about things that were going on around them, and knew what the situation was on a very odd scale for simple gear heads. She couldn't help but smile to herself as they debated on whether or not the Lieutenant would get bumped up a rank or get kicked out.

"I bet," Chance continued after a few convincing statements, "He thinks that she got most of those tricks she knows from the SWAT Kats. Then again, they don't exactly follow the rules… which is cool sometimes, because rules hinder the objective."

Jake nodded and said, "You got a point, but would Feral really go so far as to kick out his best pilot? She's an asset, man. You don't just get rid of assets. And besides, they're family."

Briggs raised a delicate eyebrow. "Pardon? I didn't catch that last one. What did you say about Commander Feral and Felina?"

Actually, she did. But it was not all that easy to believe- they neither looked, nor acted anything alike. But if it were it true, perhaps Felina had gotten in on good graces rather than ability, though she certainly had quite a bit of the latter. She had to hear it again.

Chance smirked and said, "What, you didn't know? He must have kept it on the low. Felina is Commander Feral's niece. I guess my good buddy and I are the only ones who see the family resemblance."

Callie casually placed a hand on her chin for a moment, thinking hard about seeing them side by side. Her eyes widened in recognition once her mind put the pieces together. "You know what? I think you're right! Do you think that has anything to do with how she got into the Enforcers, much less her own personal unit?"

Jake and Chance looked at each other, and then laughed. That was definitely not possible.

"Nah," the bigger tom said after a brief pause to calm himself, "That's all her. I doubt that Feral would have pity on his own family if he sensed an ounce of incompetence. The unit might be his little present for her, but it was probably because she was being a good girl, so to speak."

Jake nodded and said, "Yeah, though I wouldn't be surprised if that's also the reason he would try and keep her as a Lieutenant. A higher rank equals more danger; more risk taking. Felina seems like the kind of person who has the energy and drive to get a desired result, but sometimes that energy can turn into being overzealous. She'll burn herself out in the middle of a mission one day, and then it'll be all over."

Calico raised an eyebrow and said, "You two sound like you know her extensively…"

Jake smoothly handled this inquiry. "I guess you could say that we have a good idea of how people like her think. We don't know her personally."

Chance couldn't help but nudge at his slim friend for a moment. "Yeah… but you gotta admit, she's hot."

Jake shook his head and said, "She's also an Enforcer. You don't hook up with a girl like that; you just don't. We're grease monkeys, man- no girl would like us except for the fact that we work out most of the time."

At that point, Callie had to intervene. "I dunno… I think you guys are kinda cute for grease monkeys." She smiled coyly as she got their attention. "You guys seem like the kind of toms who would do anything for someone if you really liked them- I mean anything. That's just the feeling I get from you."

Perhaps it was a bit too accurate of a feeling; some kind of claircognizance. Maybe it was just stabbing in the dark, looking for some kind of connection. Either way, she was right- if they ever did get attached, they _would_ do anything, and everyone else be damned.

That was why they didn't.

"It's not for us," Chance said dutifully. "We're just car junkies- we have to be in love with machines and engines, or else our whole operation is gonna fall apart. Besides, girls don't like guys who almost constantly get dirty."

Callie lowered her head and said softly, "Even if you don't have time for friends?"

Jake looked towards his bigger buddy with an accusatory glare.

"He didn't mean that- we do have time for other stuff, friends included. Tell you what- you have the number of our place. Call us up, just to talk about anything at all. Hell, it doesn't even have to be about work."

Chance blinked for a moment before gaping towards Jake. He wasn't serious, was he? Jake simply stared back, unflinchingly. He wasn't going to move on this for the world- perhaps it was time to actually live a normal life instead of being apart from the rest of the world. They were both about to say something, when life (as it usually did) decided to throw a few lemons their way.

"**This is a raid!!** Nobody move and nobody gets ventilated!"

Shots were fired into the ceiling as five masked kats, armed with submachine guns and obviously carrying a bag for the money, kicked in the doors and made a decent show of force. As if on instinct, Jake and Chance ducked underneath the table, just in case a few shots came their way. They damn near dragged the Deputy Mayor with them.

What a way to end a lunch break.

Screams were everywhere when the guns fired yet again, a warning to stay where they were, preferably underneath a table where they wouldn't interfere. With that, they began stating their business- they wanted the usual, of course: money. Whatever they had in the registers, they aimed to take. Or better yet, someone who could open the safe that was in here somewhere. The second wasn't exactly easy to come by, so the first would have to do.

"The registers- open 'em and start cleaning them out. No funny shit- we got every section of this place covered."

And it looked like they did- their guns had quite the spray capability. Set to full auto, one could empty a whole clip into a few random innocents without having to worry about repercussion or retaliation. Not to mention that three of them were covering each area of the restaurant, one per section.

They had a few extra clips to boot, so they had at least some semblance of what they were doing.

Chance muttered underneath his breath, "And things were going so well, too."

The question at the moment was what to do now. If they could get a good fix on how many there were and where exactly they were positioned, just the two of them could take them all out easily. That was, if someone didn't hit the silent alarm by now.

Peeking out however would most likely get their heads shot off- unless it was done in a subtle manner. Chance looked toward Jake and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Should they take care of it? Jake shook his head. No, they shouldn't. The Enforcers would have to take care of this one- if they couldn't handle something petty like this, well… that would just suck, wouldn't it?

Callie raised an eyebrow, wondering what messages they were sending amongst themselves. Then, after a bit, she shook her head. It didn't matter- someone had to do something before a real problem happened.

But sometimes, one has the power to make thoughts a reality simply by thinking them, whether aloud or not…

"What the… hey guys, check this out. Isn't this she-kat the Deputy Mayor?"

Oh, hell.

Chance's instincts took over immediately, without pause or hesitation. A meaty fist headed towards the bandit with high speed and crushing force. The impact sent him flying towards the counter, ramming into it with the back of his head and shoulders. Lights out, baby.

"What the HELL is-"

Jake regretted his partner's rash decision almost instantly, but moved with equal speed and reflexes as he rolled out from under the table, then blurred towards the right, towards one of the kats with guns. Before he could get a shot in, his right leg was handily disabled with an ankle pick, the knee forced outward while the foot was pushed towards the other leg.

The only thing that had to happen at that point was a punch to the right temple. Jake might have looked wiry, but he was damned strong, and that single punch took the guy out handily.

At the same time as Jake's exit, Chance did the same forward roll, heading straight for the one who had started speaking. Before the poor kat could finish what he was saying, he was caught with a right straight, immediately sending him a daze and breaking a few teeth. The left arm was doing nothing but redirecting the gun away from his body. Seeing as he was now on his outside, all he had to do was grab onto that shoulder and give him a good knee to the gut.

WHAM.

Two seconds later, he found himself in a side choke as Chance's massive forearms dug in. Within seconds, the baddie was out of it as well. Of course, that was enough time for the others to realize what was going on…

"Boss, NO!"

Well, here go some more… and now they were alert, nice and ready for them. Of course, Chance and Jake had taken notice of the other three as well, and before the robbers could open fire they found the unconscious bodies of their mates thrown at them, full force. Of course, they managed to duck, but by the time they recovered the two were already on them.

Game over.

They were all in a neat little pile now, some dazed, others knocked out cold. One of them managed to weakly mutter a few words of incredulity.

"Who the… who the hell are you guys?"

Jake and Chance looked towards each other, grinning like a pair of idiots. They turned towards the kat who spoke and said in tandem, "You don't wanna know."

Callie simply stood there in amazement. Five armed kats; taken down handily and without a moment's pause, and by two grease monkeys. These were the same two toms that worked on her car once a month, and the same two who had just pulled her out of a potentially bad situation. Looking at them now, she also wondered who exactly these guys were, and how they knew how to dismantle five kats without killing a single one.

'Hell, they weren't even given time to fire a single shot! Just too fast…'

As they turned towards her, scratching the back of their heads bashfully, she cleared the shock from her features. She would ask later- right now it was time to find somewhere else to eat. But before she could make another move, sirens wailed.

Someone HAD hit the silent alarm after all. And once again, the Enforcers were fashionably late to the party. But this time, it wasn't Ulysses Feral that stepped out of the patrol car.

"Damn… this looks like one hell of a party."

The Deputy Mayor smiled in sheer relief. She was lucky not to deal with that pompous ass today, especially on her break.

"Lieutenant Feral, I expect that you have some questions. Well, the people to ask would be over there, in a neat little pile. Since they're somewhat indisposed…"

"Who are _you_ calling indisposed, lady?"

Guns pointed towards the voice that had spoken. That was the problem with a blood choke- the blood had to return to the brain sooner or later.

"Bad timing, mister… you're under arrest."

The kat on the top of the pile groaned. This was not his day. But then his eyes widened as he saw the two kats who had just ruined his operation standing next to the Deputy Mayor.

"**THEM!** They just came out from under that table and beat our asses! _They_ did this! Ain't you gonna do something about that? Isn't that like, interference in Enforcer duties or something?"

Felina smirked and said dryly, "And who do you think I am, the Commander? Cuff his sorry ass."

As they were taken away, Felina turned towards Jake and Chance.

"Now then, someone explain what happened here, and do it quickly."

* * *

The drive back to the garage was mostly silent. Callie was not sure whether she should say anything or not- she was afraid of the answers she would receive. The question was simple, and nothing like how they did what they did- she had seen how before her very eyes, though the movements were difficult to track. 

The question was, where did they learn how to do what they did?

She was afraid of what they would say- or that they would say it was none of her business, when it was most definitely all of her business. She had just had her life saved by two toms she barely even knew; of course it was her business to know. But she didn't think she wanted to in the first place. It was a part of their life that she had no right interfering with.

"I bet you're wondering where we picked up the ability to take down a couple of armed kats in less than fifty seconds."

Callie blinked. Could they read her mind or something?

"You… you counted?"

Jake nodded. "I did."

Callie wanted to laugh, if only for a lack of nothing else to say.

Chance spoke this time when she said nothing. "Meh, we just took a few self-defense lessons with the money we could get together. It's nothing special, really. It's a surprise what a few years of training can do to your reflexes, isn't it?"

The Deputy Mayor smiled and said, "I see. You two were so fast, I could hardly keep up. Do fights usually end that quickly?"

Jake chuckled and said, "Sometimes even quicker. It just depends on how much the other guy is willing to resist, and whether or not he's got a few extra options to use against you."

Callie nodded again. "Well, you two certainly saved my life today, as well as everyone else's. I guess that means I owe you at least one phone call, maybe another lunch break."

Chance laughed and said, "Don't sweat it. You don't owe us anything, Miss Briggs."

Callie blushed and said, "Well, I _want_ to owe you, and if I want it then you can't do a thing about it, can you?"

Chance and Jake grinned at each other. Well, this had gone better than expected. Not only had they come up with a useful cover, but they had the pleasant company and general friendship of the Deputy Mayor. 'Now, if only Chance could get past his slight inferiority complex and actually ask her out,' Jake mused to himself.

Things like that however, went one step at a time.

And life, such as it was in MegaKat City, went on.

* * *

As she stood in front of the Commander's office, Felina Feral considered what she had heard from eyewitness accounts. Five kats entered the building, masked, armed, and ready to take away as much cash as they could carry. Shots were fired, people ducked. It was your standard, textbook robbery. 

What wasn't standard was the fact that Deputy Mayor Briggs happened to be there, and it appeared that she was eating lunch with two recent acquaintances. One of the robbers took note of who she was, and at that point all hell broke loose in the form of two kats who appeared to be car mechanics. Starting with the leader and one of the gunmen, they had been promptly dismantled and knocked flat on their backs, without a single casualty.

She still couldn't believe what she had heard, but there it was in front of her. All she had to do was make the bust, and there it was. No further shooting, no other words to be said. It made her curious.

But her curiosity would have to wait as the doors were opened and the imposing figure of her uncle sat at his desk, his hawkish eyes trained on her. "Please, have a seat. I trust you have a report for me about the robbery that took place?"

She sat and tossed the folder onto his desk, a satisfied smirk on her features. Perhaps it was because she had done something on her own, without him watching over her shoulder, but she felt smug somehow. He stared over the folder at her for a moment, wondering why she had such an expression on her face before he continued reading the report.

What he saw made his eyes widen.

"It was already finished… before you got there?"

She nodded, that smug expression stuck on her features. "And it was most certainly not the SWAT Kats; just two toms that were defending the Deputy Mayor. They appeared to have some sort of prior training in self-defense techniques. So don't blow a gasket- we got there as fast as we could, considering."

Commander Feral grumbled. "You should have been faster, in my opinion."

Felina scoffed. The nerve of this man who called himself her uncle!

"I made the bust, whether I fought or not. That is called _doing my job_, Sir. We were late to the fight- so what? It was resolved without loss of life or property damage, the two main things that we should be concerned about when dealing with criminals. Besides, when a kat can defend themselves, they should do whatever they can to defend others as well. Isn't that what you taught me?"

The Commander sighed haggardly. She was using his own words against him now, too.

"We have… a reputation to protect. There is a job that we have to do, and if someone else does it for us then what good are the Enforcers? We might as well just be a hood ornament or something."

He stood and said, "The next time that happens, I want you to bring whoever tries to interfere with Enforcer business in along with the criminals that did the crime. We're the ones that defend this city, and it will damn well stay that way. Do I make myself clear, Lieutenant?"

Felina fumed. So she was right- that was exactly what the Commander would have done. She stood, saluted a bit too sharply, and barked off, "Sir!"

With that, she curtly turned and exited the office in a whirlwind of barely contained fury. She needed something to hit, someone to spar with, a target to shoot, anything. Adrenaline ran through her veins like a cold fire, fueled by her indignation. This was not going to end well if she kept on like this- she knew that. She had to focus her mind on something else.

All that energy she had, she made an attempt to focus it towards a single point, one thought and one image. She turned into an empty break room, sat on one of the couches, and breathed. The image she focused on of course was Razor. A lean, fit, well-muscled kat that was good at what he did- knocking heads in for the sake of the city. Sure, he was good at rescue operations as well, but… that first part was what she was interested in.

Holding the image of his masked features in her mind, she closed her eyes and channeled everything she had into keeping that image steady, without letting it fade or change. It was a strange little trick she had learned how to do on her own, but somehow it worked. Razor was calm and composed in any situation, the slim tom looking entirely poised even when the walls were collapsing around him.

The image solidified, held still. She was calmed even further. A serene expression crossed her features as her mind cleared and became a void of sorts. Everything was fine now… and with that, she let the image go, released it gently and let it fade.

Her uncle was just worried about her, that was all. And perhaps he was right- they did have a reputation to protect. But at the same time, she was right too. They couldn't always do everything. Besides, it wasn't that they were taking the law into their own hands- they were just defending themselves.

But that got her going again, so she sighed and let it go. There were more important things to do than complain about how her overprotective uncle was running things. Things like finding out just who those kats were that thwarted the robbery. With the removal of her anger came the return of her innate curiosity.

'The way they explained it… it was like there weren't even five of them. In a few seconds, it was down to three, and then to one, and then none. How fast does a kat have to move in order to do that?'

She calculated the amount of speed and reflexes it would have taken for two toms to take out five armed robbers in less than sixty seconds. When she had gotten her mind around it, she shook her head. That was crazy… and it wasn't just self-defense training. To move that quickly without being shot once, one had to have not only the element of surprise, but a peak response time and physical level.

For the third time, the question would be asked of who those two kats really were.

And for the first time that day, someone would start looking for answers.

* * *

**Chapter 3: _Who the hell are these guys?_**

Whoa… man, that was nice. I think that will be a good experiment on an action scene. If not, drop me a line. Tell you what- click that shiny review button down there- tell me what you think. Oh, and the total word count is longer now. For some reason or other, I really got into this one. It must have been because of the positive feedback.

Anwyays! Thanks to **Raiden Snake** for those very handy reviews. Encouragement is what an author needs the most, especially from those who like his work in genuine fashion.

Next chapter, I'll pick a random baddie out of a hat and start the first story arc with him/her/them! Cheer me on, here.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	4. The Bell Tolls Part 1

"_Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."_

-Ernest Hemmingway

The skies were undeniably clear, free of rain, sleet, or snow. The night was young, and the Enforcers were on their patrols as the streets remained busy. People still drove at this hour, along the bridge and the various roadways, and all sorts of accidents could happen. It was difficult then, for one to notice a few odd things overhead.

An example of this is as follows: purple lightning flashed in the night sky, for only a brief moment. It was the oddest thing, really. Yet and still, no one noticed it. Had anyone paid attention to anything other than their driving, they would have noticed it again, exactly one minute later. One could count the seconds between them and it would be exactly sixty.

The next minute, on schedule, the lightning began to make itself noticeable, flashing more often and brighter. One Enforcer, looking up at the spectacle located overhead, took his cap off and scratched the back of his head.

"Is it gonna rain or something? That's some weird-ass lightning."

His partner looked up as well, narrowing his eyes.

"Mmm… forecast didn't say anything about it. Guess it serves us right, listening to the weatherman. You got an umbrella?"

Thunder boomed just then, as if to announce the presence of the incoming airborne malady.

"Heck no, man. Can't expect me to carry everything with me, huh? Besides, Might just be a drizzle or something. It'll pass sooner or later. You're right though, that _is_ some weird lightning. I wonder what's causing it."

There are some things one simply should not ask.

As if summoned by his query, the skies opened. Clouds were suddenly visible and swirling violently, almost as if they were a whirlpool. A sudden, violent and massive streak of violet lightning heralded its coming, as if it had ripped apart the very fabric of reality. The Enforcers on patrol gaped, and even the traffic had slowed to a crawl as kats stared upwards.

The forecast was wrong. A storm _was_ coming, and it would prove to be one of the worst in recorded history.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_

Ulysses Feral looked towards the storm with increasing irritation. The call had come in half an hour ago that an increasingly alarming storm was approaching, and though he wondered why they were being called for some rain, he now realized that it wasn't going to rain at all. This was a tear in time itself, and he knew what that meant.

A kat from the distant past that could take down an entire squadron of Enforcers on his own, regardless of what was thrown at him. However, he did not throw anything at them this time, which made him all the more wary. The portal however, was still open, and until he closed it, they could track his last known location.

'It's a good thing choppers move faster than kats,' he mused to himself with a grimace as he gave the order to stay in formation. "Ground teams, blockade the area within a five block radius! He's not getting away from us this time," he snarled as the helicopters came roaring towards the time gate.

And lo and behold, there he was: a kat that had a sickly orange tint to his skin and one eye. He was more of a ghost than a kat- a walking skeleton with robes. The Pastmaster was standing atop a hulking skyscraper, looking down at the police cars that had surrounded his position. This had happened before, and it would have the same effect as before.

"Fools… how many times must we go through this? None of you can stand against an immortal."

Confident as always.

But of course, he demonstrated the reason why he had such confidence post-haste as he pointed his watch toward the massive gargoyle statues that were perched on either side of him. Vile energies focused through the otherwise simple golden timepiece, and sure enough… the eyes of the statues opened. The two beasts burst free from their stone confinements as he grinned maliciously.

"You," he said as he pointed to his right, "Distract those below. And you, to the left; deal with those annoying flies. Do not let anyone disturb me."

Immediately, the Enforcers found themselves opening fire at what should not be moving in the first place. The helicopters broke formation as the second gargoyle leapt up at them, catching one of them in its jaws. The craft was crushed like a paper cup, and the whole thing immediately went up in a ball of flames, pilot and all. Another nearby craft had the one that was destroyed just recently tossed at it… and then, two out of sixteen were erased.

"Circle around and take formation again. Lock on and open fire on my mark."

They were brave kats, but he didn't have time to worry about losses. As they formed up again, Ulysses Feral had a chance to look down below… just in time to see a car headed towards a nearby building. They were getting torn apart down there by that other brute- he had to take this one down and help the others out, and quickly.

The gargoyle saw them approach and snarled as it rushed forward, wings beating furiously. Poised for a head-on collision, it looked like the gods had decided to use a too-big bowling ball on too-small pins. Small pins that shot small needles at a beastie with an iron hide.

"Break formation! **Break now!!**"

They broke formation… but not all of them made it. Six more were smashed against the massive forehead, utterly destroyed. Eight remained.

"This is Feral. Get me all the firepower you can muster- these bastards are giving us a headache over here!" The remainder of the choppers dispersed and turned back towards headquarters, executing evasive maneuvers in order to get out of the gargoyle's path. Of course, the beastie suddenly had more problems to worry about as it was rocked with a series of explosions.

If the missiles were seen first, and not the aircraft, there was only one explanation.

Four jet-black Sea Harrier FA2s roared over Commander Feral's head as the gargoyle went back to nothing but stone, crumbling to rubble from the impact of the missiles. He smiled as he looked up at them, circling around for a pass at the other living gargoyle.

"Sorry we're late, Commander."

Feral shook his head and said, "Negative, Lieutenant. You made it to the party. Do you have any more of those missiles left? We certainly could use the help right now."

Felina nodded and said, "Plenty of 'em. Don't worry about the target, I know what it is."

With that, the four jets pulled a turn, aiming a few more missiles at the second gargoyle. "Hold still and lemme shoot you…"

Unfortunately, they had managed to get close enough for a car to fly towards them. "Break formation!"

They did. The others banked hard while Felina hit the jump jets, moving straight up instead of forward. The car passed through the hole they had presented for it as they turned and dodged around buildings. Before the car had come flying at them, Felina had made the observation that the others were pretty much toast by now, only a few cars left and they were on the run.

It was a sad sight, really.

The jets took formation again a minute and a half later before they caught up with the creature again.

"Okay, let's try this again. Lance, Rick, back me up."

Missiles locked.

"Tiger One… Fox Three!"

"Tiger Four, Fox Three."

"Tiger Two, Fox Three."

Boom, boom and boom. Three long range missiles hit, and the gargoyle reverted from flesh to rubble.

"Target neutralized, area is clear. Good work, gentlemen."

The Commander's quite annoyed voice sounded off on the radio.

"Not all that goddamn good, Lieutenant; the Pastmaster is gone from the scene! They did what they set out to do- distract us."

Felina cursed vehemently. Her uncle was right- the diversionary tactic had been successful. One could only imagine what was going to happen now.

* * *

"You gotta be kidding me! They interrupt _David Litterbin_ for this crap?" 

Jake's favorite show was suddenly cut into by a Kat's Eye News flash. Ann Gora was on the screen, standing near a couple of decimated Enforcer vehicles. She had a stern expression on her face as her clear voice rang out over the speakers of the television, explaining the scene behind her.

"I'm standing in the streets of Downtown MegaKat City, amidst the wreckage of multiple Enforcer cruisers and helicopters. From the information that this reporter has gathered, it is evident that a battle between peacekeeping forces and the terrorist known as the Pastmaster has taken place barely two hours ago."

Their ears perked up and their fur stood straight.

"What the hell?"

The report continued onwards, after having captured both kats' attention.

"Although the threat has been effectively taken care of by Lieutenant Felina Feral and her Unconventional Tactics squadron, the criminal is still at large. Kat's Eye News will have more to report on as the situation develops. We now return you to your regularly scheduled-"

Click.

"To hell with Litterbin," Chance said, "We got some ass to kick."

Jake grimaced and said, "We can't take the TurboKat- the Enforcers are probably still in the air. I wouldn't be surprised if Feral shot us on sight, as much as he doesn't like us. Besides, they probably have the section of the city near the combat zone cordoned off. Not like they'll ever find him."

Chance grinned and said, "They can't, but we can. Let's move!"

Soon, their gear was donned; Glovetrixes at the ready, flight suits and masks strapped on, helmets atop their heads, and the canopy below the TurboKat was opened to reveal the Cyclotron. As the hangar opened and they got on the motorcycle, Jake looked behind his right shoulder. "So then buddy, did you like lunch this afternoon?"

Chance nodded and said, "Yeah, it was pretty nice. But I still think you did a pretty crazy thing back there by giving her an invitation just to chat. She finds out who we are, and it might blow our cover. Or even worse, put her in danger."

Jake smirked and said, "You mean more danger than she's in almost every day? And besides, she'll be the last and least likely to find out- unless of course, you tell her."

Chance grimaced and said, "Of course I won't tell her. And I'm serious about that little talk we had during burgers and fries hour. Quit trying to _hook us up_."

Jake sighed and said, "If you say so."

With that, the Cyclotron roared out of the hangar and into the night of MegaKat City.

* * *

The Pastmaster looked out upon the city in disgust, the lights causing his vision to become slightly blurred. Or… was that just him? He shook the thought out of his head as he looked at his pocket watch, the very focus of his remaining energies. He might have been entirely mad, but the kat was not stupid. 

He did not use the pocket watch too often these days, for more reasons than one. He realized that without his book of spells, the Tome of Time, he could not properly summon the portal that would merge the Dark Ages with this era. The only thing he had left of any power now was the pocket watch, fueled by his own life force.

There was a problem with using one's own internal energy reserves- it made one weaker and weaker as time passed. A good piece of his soul was in the watch now, and if it were destroyed he would be half the kat that he was now. And frankly, there was not much of him left.

It was why he had recently become so obsessed with it, and its limited use.

'But its uses,' he brooded to himself, 'are running out.'

This meant he either needed to make this last use a good one, or be crushed.

He smirked to himself. "Or I could just get a new watch. That is why I came to this wretched time period in the first place. But it can't just be any old timepiece- it must reflect the glorious age that I intend to return to."

Oh, but he was not making a plan- he was reviewing it. Going over the details of what needed to be done. The time spent jumping back and forth from one era to the next gave him a deep insight about a great many things. This time, he did not go about causing anyone's destruction or wreaking havoc or altering time periods, or even trying to destroy the SWAT Kats.

No, he would have enough ammunition for that when his plan was set into motion.

The thing he realized about all the epochs he had visited was the one thing they had in common: The Clock Tower. It was City Hall, it was the literal and figurative center of the city, and it was MegaKat City's biggest time piece. And once, he had attempted to use it to bring back the Dark Ages. But without the Tome of Time, the lynch pin of the elaborate spell that would merge the two time periods, he could not do so.

Or at least, that's what he thought.

Then, he visited the Dark Ages, the time period from which he originated, and paid a visit to his old master- the one who had taught him magic in the first place. The creator of the Tome of Time itself, as well as the pocket watch. He was the man who the Pastmaster had stolen the book and the watch from in the first place, and had attempted to use them in order to tear down Megalith Castle and rule the world of the Dark Ages.

But of course, he was not there to rule that world, at least, not yet. That would come later. He was there to secure his victory.

Via forceful coercion, he had his master explain how to use the pocket watch to its full potential, and what it would cost to do so. But it was something that was already known to the twisted magician- every time he used the watch, a piece of his own soul was the bargaining chip. He had no need for his soul- he had all the power he wanted. Without a soul, he would be immortal. He would live forever as long as that watch remained carefully preserved.

And so he left, silencing his old master- not by killing him, but by putting him in suspended animation, something that the old teacher himself knew how to do. If he killed him… well, he would not exist in the same manner. No, he would be a different kat altogether. It had to happen the exact way in which he remembered it.

With that, he returned immediately to the present time, and dealt with the bumbling Enforcers. What he did not expect however, as he escaped the tumultuous battle, was that they had stepped up their game. Yes, he had seen the Unconventional Tactics squadron and their new jets. He had seen how nimble and agile they were- unlike the rigid and easily broken units under Commander Feral.

He now had a second threat, equal in cunning and skill as the SWAT Kats themselves. And they would no doubt be looking for him.

"I must reach the Clock Tower before I am captured, or all is lost!"

Hence, he now stood before his objective, having bypassed the blockade and gone relatively unnoticed via darting from one dark alley to the next. A part of him believed it was beneath him to skulk around like this- he should be on the back of one of those prehistoric creatures that he called forth.

Alas, without the Tome of Time, it was impossible. And the Museum of History had doubled its security measures in recent months- he had discovered that early on when he tried to get himself a quick ride.

He could have stormed the place and gotten what he wanted, but even the Pastmaster knew when there were too many, and capture would mean his death. They would no doubt realize by now that the watch was his only source of strength, and destroy it. If it were gone, _he_ was gone.

But now, he stood in front of a new watch. Bigger, better, and at the very center of the city that he wished to mold into his own. The grin spread, and it was no longer filled with malice, that intelligent, cunning killer instinct. Now, it was filled with desperation and madness.

Despite how obsessed he was with the past, he was intelligent- highly so. The problem at the moment was that intelligence was driven out of the window by sheer insanity. If this did not work, it would be his _last_ plan ever. If it did… he would have everything he wanted.

This time, security was easily brushed out of the way as the diminutive kat made his way straight through the front doors, watch blazing an evil shade of purple. He cared not how much energy he spent now- it would all be over soon.

Making his way towards the elevators with brisk steps, he pointed his watch at the elevator call button, and sure enough one of them was already on the first floor. There were all of thirty floors here, not including the clock room itself. Of course, there was a way to get up to the top floor faster…. Once he reached the fifteenth floor, the Pastmaster casually hit the emergency stop button.

'Visiting the future is so convenient- I know what everything in this time period does now.'

With another blast of his watch, the top hatch on the elevator was blown upwards, and with a surprising leap he was atop the car. He hung onto the cables as he cut them from the elevator, and up he went while the elevator went crashing down. With a thunderous smash, the car and pulley system was destroyed as the Pastmaster headed towards the office of Mayor Manx.

The mayor heard the noise from where he was sitting- or rather, from where he was standing, trying to make his practice putt count. The crash almost made him jump out of his skin, and it made the Deputy Mayor, who was actually sitting at the desk working on the paperwork that he was supposed to be doing, snap her head towards the hallway outside.

"What the hell was that," The Mayor asked as he looked fearfully towards the office doors.

Callie's eyes narrowed and said, "If earlier this evening was any sort of example, trouble."

It was fortunate then that she had a little something in her purse, just in case…

She wisely got underneath the desk and reached into the pink leather purse, retrieving the signal transponder. Pressing the red light inwards, she placed it back into her purse… and waited. She hoped that it would not take long, because at that very moment the Pastmaster burst through the office doors.

"So, Mayor Manx, we meet again," he said with that same crazy grin, "for the _last_ time."

* * *

Felina Feral and her team were patrolling the skies, busy looking for the Pastmaster. The little troll, as was her affectionate name for him, could not have gone that far. For a moment, she wondered what his angle was this time- from the report that she had on him, his spell book, the lynch pin for most, if not all of his ploys, was gone. The last time he had tried to kill the SWAT Kats, or rather, the last three times, he had been zero for three, though he did have the formidable ability to send them back and forth through time. 

'All because of that watch,' she mused to herself.

The golden pocket watch was the last obstacle between them and victory. If she could get it, or more importantly, break it… he would never bother the city again. He probably knew this, and would hide himself away for as long as possible. Sure, ground teams were searching the city with a fine-tooth comb, but she knew that it was not fine enough.

'When in doubt, think like a SWAT Kat. Where would he go that would be of the most benefit to him?'

Of course, the museum was out of the question- security was tightened to a degree that no one who wasn't supposed to be in after hours would get in at all. With his only defense being a mere pocket watch enchanted with God knew what, he wouldn't be making any grand moves until he was sure that it was a coup de grace.

So then the question was, where would he go that would be the best place to…

It came to her almost immediately.

Ironic though that as soon as it did, her radio buzzed.

"All units, be advised- silent alarm tripped at City Hall. Reports of an elevator cable intentionally severed; proceed to the coordinates and investigate at once. Repeat, any available units investigate silent alarm at City Hall."

Felina nodded. She knew it.

"You heard the call team, let's move out."

With that, the four Harriers headed towards the clock tower with all due haste. Wouldn't it be a surprise when her team showed up instead of the SWAT Kats! That would be one for the history books as far as her uncle was concerned. But perhaps they would be there after all.

Secretly, in that place where no one else but her could reach, she hoped so.

* * *

T-Bone and Razor were patrolling the streets, still searching for their epoch-hopping adversary. By now, they had narrowed down the list of places to only two- the museum and the clock tower. Both were places where the Pastmaster could wreak some potentially irreversible havoc, even without his spell book. Though how was beyond them- the book was his main weapon. 

Then again, he did use that watch pretty well. In fact, ever since they had destroyed the Tome of Time, it was all he had left.

"Hey, T-Bone, I think I have a way of stopping the Pastmaster once and for all."

Of course, T-Bone was split now between driving and listening, but he could do both fairly well right now. "You better explain quickly, because we just drove past the museum, and there ain't nothing broken yet!"

Jake began doing just that. "Okay, you remember how he uses that watch all the time to open those time holes? Well if that's the only thing he has left, all we have to do is take it from him, and we're good. Either that, or we break it somehow so he doesn't use it again."

T-Bone nodded, seeing the sense of it. "Well damn, if we had done that before, he wouldn't be able to use his book, and he'd be stuck here forever. Without a way to return back, he's toast!"

The bigger kat revved the engine. It was time to give it a shot. But before anything else, there was a distress signal from none other than Calico Briggs. T-Bone grimaced and said, "Figured so. And unless I miss my guess, she's at the top floor of City Hall! I'm hitting the boosters; hang on!"

With an outpouring of searing blue flame from the miniature side jets, the bike actually _exceeded_ two hundred miles an hour as they raced towards City Hall.

Neither the SWAT Kats, nor Felina's four-kat team realized the true danger that they were throwing themselves into. For even as they approached, the Pastmaster was taking Mayor Manx to the clock room itself, where the gears and springs were still at play. This was the place where it would all begin… and potentially end for MegaKat City.

* * *

**Chapter 4: _The Bell Tolls (Part 1)- The Maelstrom_**

IT BEGINS. Experimental chapters are over; this is the real thing. Over the course of five chapters (including this one), I will attempt to replay for the audience in detail one of the final battles of the SWAT Kats. The Pastmaster has taken control of City Hall, and is about to unleash something unspeakable.

What will happen inside the bowels of the clock room? Who will reach the Pastmaster first- Felina's Unconventional Tactics squad, or our heroes? What is the devious magician planning to do with Mayor Manx? And will Callie find her own way out before all hell breaks loose?

Stay tuned adrenaline junkies. It's ON.

This chapter is dedicated, once again, to my reviewers. **Raiden Snake** has provided an excellent amount of support. And a good question- will Felina find out what Jake and Chance really are? Well, she's going to come close, that's for sure. Can't tell you anything yet, but she's not going to let it drop anytime soon.

Also, thanks to **Purple kat** for her support! Yet another fan joins the ranks of those eagerly salivating for more SWAT Kats! Well hell, here's some more. Strap in miss, because it's about to get really ugly, really fast.

As always, press that shiny review button down there before you go. It'd help a lot if you told other SK fans about this fic- it might change the way they think about the series forever. That's the goal, anyways.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	5. The Bell Tolls Part 2

Gears wound about one another, driving the massive hands onward perpetually. The maintenance on this room was difficult at best, for the tower was a national landmark and had to be kept in pristine condition. Springs wound tight, gears properly oiled, everything checked and double checked. Theoretically, the clock room and all its winding, massive parts was closed off this evening, but at the moment two kats were within its metallic bowels.

The first was a kat with, of all things, orange skin. His body, clad with a purple robe that looked worn with age, looked like death warmed over. Truth be told, it was- being sealed for eight hundred years would have that effect on one. In fact, it had been like that before he was locked away, disfigured by his own twisted magic. If he had cared about such things, perhaps he would have been a handsome kat, despite his diminutive size.

But that didn't matter now. Nothing did. He was here, and he was going to do what he had set his mind on.

The second kat, while younger as far as time spent on this earth, was not all that young. Perhaps somewhere in his mid to late forties, Mayor Manx was most likely shitting himself at the moment. Or rather, he was close to it- when he found out what was planned for him, he probably would. Still, he managed to actually say something, though it was stammered.

"W-w-what do you want with me?"

The Pastmaster looked behind his right shoulder, an insane glare in his single visible eye.

"Oh, you are vitally important; very much so. More than you realize, I think. I would explain in words, but perhaps it would be better to demonstrate. Now, hold _still_."

With that, he sent an energy bolt his way, and the mayor would feel his nervous system do no more or less than fail him. His body locked up as it hit one of the metallic cogs hard, knocking the breath out of him. He was still alive, sure… but the Pastmaster did not exactly treat his captives kindly. After all, he had little left to call a soul anymore, and no real reason to keep him alive. There was no need for a ransom, fame, or a quick escape.

He wasn't rational enough for all that.

"This clock tower is glorious, is it not? So many moving parts and working pieces- an intricate dance of steel and iron, working the two hands outside. Such a simple machine works marvelously to keep the time. And it's perfect… for what I have in store for this city."

The Pastmaster leapt towards the gear that Manx was riding on and pointed his time piece in his face, his face clouded with a mad glee.

"Do you see this? This has a quite large amount of my soul trapped within it. I plan on keeping it that way for quite some time. But that isn't the point of my bringing you here. Truth be told, you aren't even worthy to be called proper bait for the SWAT Kats, though they are coming anyway. I am sure of that. What you are here for is more eloquent than that."

He spread his arms again, looking upwards towards the ceiling of the gear room.

"A machine is efficient certainly, but with the right tools it can be controlled- manipulated and shifted to a higher purpose. This pocket watch is running low on uses, you see- It will not be long before it drains me of everything. But this… this clock is the perfect replacement. Using my watch as a focus, I will take control of every gear, every spring, every piece of this time piece. And then… I will not need the Tome of Time to bring back the Dark Ages."

He looked towards Mayor Manx again and said, "There is just one thing that needs to be done in order to activate the spell without the book…"

He grinned and said with a surprisingly calm tone of voice, though the madness was evident in his eyes.

"And that is a worthy sacrifice."

Okay, _now_ the Mayor shit himself.

The Pastmaster laughed as he leapt off of the gear again and landed on the walkway. Bracing himself, he began to channel what was left of his energy through the pocket watch. While there was not much of him left, there was enough to produce a violent outpouring of purple energy. Of course, it hit the massive clockwork, and all at once the Pastmaster felt it.

He was the gears, the springs, the metal itself. _He was the clock tower_.

And he laughed. "It worked… **IT WORKED**!!"

With that, he spread his arms, threw his head back, and just about howled.

The clock responded to his madness, and all at once a shockwave blasted downwards, through all thirty floors of City Hall. Nothing was destroyed inside of the building, to be honest. Even the windows outside were intact. The only demonstration of force was a thunderous boom and that same purple light flashing with a horrifying rapidity down each floor.

Within the space of the building, time itself was distorted.

"Come, Enforcers! Come, SWAT Kats! **COME TO YOUR DOOM**!"

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_

Felina Feral peered towards City Hall, eyes narrowing behind the visor of her helmet. This was not at all good… if he was indeed in City Hall at this hour, then Mayor Manx was there was well. He could have hostages, or worse- he could already be dead. There were too many possibilities to consider at the moment, but it was best to prepare for the worst case scenario, which was already playing in her mind even as the four Harrier FA2s streaked towards the top of the clock tower.

"All units," she said into her radio, "Be advised- tango is to be considered armed and dangerous. Maximum amount of force required. I don't want him leaving that goddamn clock room _alive_, you get me?"

She got an all-around affirmative as they arrived at the top of the clock tower… or rather, as close as they could possibly get. There wasn't exactly a lot of room to maneuver on the walkway that comprised the outside of the clock room. They had to land their jets in the streets, just before City Hall.

"Grappling lines set, team. Expect hostile activity at just about every step," she said as the kats under her command picked their armaments. They weren't exactly going to play nice or be quiet- he probably knew they were coming and didn't care. They shouldn't either.

Armed with FN F2000s attached with laser sights, USP Tactical .45s as side arms and a few flash bangs carried by Felina, they made their way towards the building. One of them had an M303 less-lethal grenade launcher hooked onto his rifle, just in case they ran into some extra trouble. "We're taking the elevator. There should be one working one left- if not then we have one of two options: the stairs, or scaling the tower from the outside."

"Hope you don't mind if we join you, Lieutenant Feral."

All guns pointed toward a nearby darkened alley, but Felina lowered hers as the SWAT Kats stepped into clear view. She almost smiled when she saw Razor, but remembered that they were on a mission. After telling her team to lower their pieces, she nodded.

"We sure as hell could use all the help we could get. You two are better at handling the Pastmaster than we are. I'd let you take point, but…"

T-Bone grinned and said, "Regulations? Yeah, we gotcha. This kat is probably going to do something crazy with that watch of his at any moment, we'd better-"

His sentence was effectively cut off by the thunder from the top of City Hall, making them all look up in alarm. They saw the energy racing downwards and stared up in sheer, abject horror, their eyes wide in sheer awe. It was too late- whatever the Pastmaster intended to do, he had done it.

"**Miss Briggs!!**"

"**Mayor Manx!!**"

They were said at the same time and with such unison that they looked at each other in surprise for a brief moment. The surprise was suddenly cleared away as Razor checked the radar on his Glovetrix and said, "I'm still getting the Deputy Mayor's signal… they could still be up there, and alive."

They all looked up again for a moment before racing in. But as soon as they cleared the doors, his eyes widened.

"Son of a bitch, the radar's dead! There's too much interference- whatever happened up there is confusing the sensors. The last known coordinates of the signal are the top floor proper."

Felina walked over to the elevators and hit the call button… and then cursed vehemently.

"He knocked out the damn elevator as well. We're gonna have some fun climbing all the way up there…"

T-Bone grimaced and said, "Then let's get to climbing. The more time we waste here, the longer we have to worry about the Mayor and Miss Briggs."

Unfortunately, that would have to wait, as an arrow whizzed past Felina's right ear, centimeters away from giving her a new piercing. She turned around and aimed… at a bunch of lightly armored archer kats. And of course, they were from the Dark Ages, from the look of their armor. There were ten, perhaps fifteen at the most, and they all looked eager to ventilate them.

"Well, fuck…"

Felina's statement could not have had better timing. Perhaps the statement should be _worse_ timing, because the arrows fired again. By the time they had reloaded however, T-Bone and Razor had deployed the shields from their Glovetrixes and ducked, while the Unconventional Tactics squad shot their rappelling lines upwards, the arrows barely missing their boots as they moved out of the way.

The arrows buried into the shields, but did not reach the defenders. Once again, before they could reload, the medieval mercenaries were set upon by the SWAT Kats, forced to go into melee combat instead of using their arrows. Five of them were taken out before any of them could draw their short swords, but when they did they began proving that they were quite adequate at handling themselves in close combat.

Unfortunately for them… they had not taken care of the others yet.

Suddenly, from behind, a few more were knocked to the ground by the less-lethal grenades from the M303. They turned just in time to see the Unconventional Tactics squad aim their rifles at them. T-Bone and Razor only had the space of a breath to duck before Felina and her team opened fire, mowing down the rest of the archers with their superior firearms.

"Can't beat modern technology, huh guys?"

Razor peeked out from his shield and said, "That's for damn sure… just make sure we're not in your line of fire."

One of the kats on Felina's team aimed at the downed archers, and was about to open fire before T-Bone said, "I think they've had enough- cuff 'em and make sure they don't move for a while. We've got bigger kats to fry here!"

Felina nodded and her rifleman lowered his weapon.

"He does have a point. Let's haul ass."

After disarming and securing the kats from the past, the six of them began making their way up the stairs. Outside was out of the question for the time being- they had no idea as to the area that the time distortion covered. There could be flying lizards moving along the walls right now or something.

But the massive time warp was certainly in the stairwells, as the sudden appearance of a few kats armed with swords and plate mail proved.

Felina huffed as she ducked underneath a blade, firing a three round burst into the chest of one of the warriors. Their armor wasn't good for much these days, but she realized what they were really here for- distractions.

"Yeah, it's going to be a long climb…"

* * *

Being thrown in a sudden, violent temporal distortion did not play well on the senses. 

Not knowing what exactly was going on, Calico Briggs got out from under the desk, wondering where the Mayor had been taken. As she opened the door, all seemed quiet- eerily so. There were no people running for cover, no Enforcers guarding the doorway (or dead in front of it), nothing. That thing about it being too quiet played in her mind before she cautiously walked towards the elevator at the end of the hallway.

And then, it happened. The Deputy Mayor's fur stood on end and her hair felt as if it had suddenly been tossed in a sea of static electricity. The shiver that ran down her spine and the knot in the very pit of her stomach all signaled that something bad was going on. Before she could start running down the hallway however to go to the Mayor, a flash of purple surrounded her, filled her world with painful light and sound.

She blacked out.

It was a full five minutes later before she opened her eyes again, groaning softly as she placed a hand on her forehead, getting up on all fours.

"Nnnn… I think I lost about three of my nine lives there."

As her vision cleared and she found her glasses again, she noticed that the quiet was… gone, somehow. The buzzing in her ears had quieted, and her hair (though it needed a good brushing) was free of the sudden static, but she could… sense someone. At first, it was sheer quiet, no one but her.

But now… now there was someone there. And it was the strangest feeling, but this felt familiar, as if an entire part of herself were in this very hallway, just a few feet behind her. How she could tell the exact direction was uncertain, and it frightened her. She called out, hoping that whoever it was, they were friendly. She wouldn't ask who was there- she knew someone was behind her, even if she didn't know how she knew.

"Who are you?"

The voice behind her was… no, it couldn't be.

"Perhaps I should ask the same of you."

Callie looked behind her right shoulder and gasped. She swore she would pass out again… but the image that was imprinted in her mind would be stuck there even while she was unconscious. It was… her. But at the same time, it was not her. The tug that felt like a string had been tied onto her very soul pulled at her; compelled her to try and stand up.

'I… know this she-kat.'

Like Alice through the looking glass, she felt as if she were falling. And fall she did, right back on her hands and knees. But it was more than that. A part of her felt strongly that she should already know who this was. In fact, that feeling became stronger and stronger as she thought about it. As the she-kat behind her rushed towards her to check if she were all right, Calico remembered that she had been asked what her name was.

"I'm… Callie. Calico Briggs."

The blond, cream-furred she-kat raised an eyebrow for a moment. "Calico… Briggs? An odd name if I had ever heard one. No matter- my name is…"

Her next words were matched perfectly with those of the Deputy Mayor. Oh yes, she knew who this was.

"…Callista."

The queen of Megalith City reared back slightly. She had realized just then that this she-kat… _had her voice_. As a matter of fact, she looked like her, dressed in the same colors (though in some strange clothing, at least to her), and… she did not know why, but she felt that she acted the same- had the same mannerisms.

"…Have we met?"

Callie attempted to stand again, but the world spun. Callista helped her to her feet.

"No. But I know you. Don't ask how- I don't know myself. But I _know you_."

Callista nodded in understanding. She knew perfectly well about intuition and instinct, those things that were an essential part of a kat. After all, she was a sorceress- spell casting in its purest form was no art or science, but like a music that only the caster could hear, and even then it was a barely heard melody.

"We must find some place for you to recover. I feel there is much that I need to hear."

They walked their way back to the office. At the very least, Callista had a basic idea of what was supposed to go where, and soon she had Callie set up in the Mayor's chair. Both she-kats looked at each other in a brief spot of amazement before one of them regained enough composure to start talking.

"I think I know what happened," the Deputy Mayor said as she slowly regained her senses. "The Pastmaster did something- caused a time warp or something like that. I don't know where you were or what you were doing, but somehow you're here in this time now, in the future. Your future, my present."

Callista sighed and said, "The Pastmaster. If he is here, then I should not be in the same place. You see, he wants to marry me…"

Callie blinked and said, "You can't be serious. He asked you to marry him too?"

Silence. Then, Callista laughed.

"Truly, we are one and the same! So it is as you say," she said as she walked towards a window overlooking the nighttime skyline of MegaKat City. "This is… my future. I would never have imagined that this would be what Megalith City would look like! It's… glorious."

Callie soon joined her at the window and smiled. "Yeah… it is. It's just too bad that you don't get to live to see it."

Callista turned towards Calico and said, "You are mistaken, Calico Briggs. We are ancestors, you and I. Family. I do live… inside you. And though you may not have my magic, you have my intuition. Do not ignore it, ever, for it is your power."

Callie grinned. "I… guess so. Maybe that's how I know that the SWAT Kats are already on their way upstairs."

Callista blinked yet again.

"Do you mean Sir T-Bone and Sir Razor?"

Callie raised an eyebrow. "Okay, your turn to explain. I gotta hear this one."

They spent the next few minutes swapping stories and marveling at how alike they were, until it got to the point where they forgot all about how much trouble they were in. But when it came time to actually talk about the toms in question, Callie couldn't help but sigh longingly.

"It appears that your heart longs for Sir T-bone… but tell me, have you done anything to show your desires?"

Callie blushed and said, "Oh, God no! I'd go and embarrass myself! Besides, he's out saving the city and all. I wouldn't want to distract him from his duties to the city. No matter how handsome he is, or how those muscles would feel under my hands, or…"

Perhaps there had never been a deeper shade of red on the she-kat since her high school days. Callista chuckled- she knew how to solve this.

"Ah, but he is your knight. Whether you know it or not, he has sworn his loyalty to you, be it in sunlight or in shadow. It is not mere honor or duty that he strives for, or glory. These things he may seek, but what he values above all is _you_, Calico. Your safety and your heart is what he pines for."

She could not meet the queen's eyes with her own. The words cut deep- left an impression.

"And how do you know all this?"

Callista gently lifted her counterpart's head and looked at her, green eyes to green eyes.

"I cannot say. I do not give this knowledge name or face; it is simply there."

First, the Deputy Mayor couldn't look at her, now she couldn't look away. After a while, Callie nodded.

"Intuition?"

Callista smiled.

"Intuition."

They both grinned.

* * *

"Good, they are coming, drawing ever closer. Good. Let them come. 

The Pastmaster was not watching the action, but sensing it; feeling things out. He knew that his Callista was here- both of them. Once the Dark Ages returned, he would most likely have them both in his reach- why stop at just one of them?

As for the Mayor, his blathering had ceased thanks to the Pastmaster's efforts. He knew many common spells, like one to halt the process of speech for a time. The only sound he needed to hear was the workings of the clock: the gears and springs, the movements of the metal. By those alone he could tell that the hour was nearing- drawing ever closer.

'Tomorrow,' he thought with a sickly grin. 'Tomorrow is the day of retribution. At mid day, the Dark Ages will be reborn, and everything will come to an end for this wretched city.'

The plan was simple. When he had taken control of the clock work, he had created a localized time warp where the past and the present were squeezed together in one single instant. It was how the SWAT Kats continued squaring off against multiple fiends from the past, all those brutes and mercenaries.

But what they didn't know was that the time warp was building, expanding on itself. There was a time limit on these things of course, and once the temporal distortion reached critical mass, it would expand beyond its mere confinement. After that, who knew what would happen to City Hall?

He cared not. He just cared about what would happen after that.

Buildings, weather, terrain, even the clothing and the creatures would change. An entire city would be brought to its knees, and the Dark Ages would return, with him in utter, complete control. This of course, was yet another reason why he sought to kill Mayor Manx- the cowardly fool would try and take control of the situation. He did not need such things getting in his way.

With that said, the Mayor was going to be his grand sacrifice.

He had succeeded in turning the clock tower into a literal time bomb, and once noon hit, all that was needed for the spell to take effect was the death of the most powerful tom in the city. It was a plan of grand design that few would have thought of. But he, he could throw himself back and forth through time. The Pastmaster literally had all the time in the world to plan and connive.

'And now, they come to fruition,' he mused to himself, as he closed his eyes, listening to the clockwork spin. The sound of the gears meshing and the springs winding… it calmed him as if it were one of Beethoven's symphonies. Here, he could feel the passage of time- every minute, every second. Here, he felt the years.

Here, he felt at peace, in _his_ clock tower.

* * *

Commander Feral was standing in front of City Hall, backed by what appeared to be all of fifteen of his best Enforcers. They were set in four fire teams, more heavily armed and more willing to blow crap up- level the entire building if they needed to. And yet, he couldn't… because his niece was still inside the building. 

However, radio contact had been cut with the Unconventional Tactics squad approximately one hour ago. One hour was too long for him. So he gathered up his best and headed down towards the clock tower, preparing to unleash hell if Lieutenant Feral were harmed- or worse, dead.

He shook the notion out of his head- that was impossible, or rather, improbable. She was his best. She knew where to draw the line as far as dangerous situations, and would come out of that building as soon as she figured the danger was too heavy. Let the SWAT Kats get into the fire- she would see reason.

'_Will_ she see reason?'

Suddenly, he wasn't so sure. Suddenly, he had the urge to simply rush in and unleash all kinds of hell.

Suddenly, they were beset upon by archers from the fifth floor.

Wait, what?

"**Take cover,**" Feral shouted as the rain of arrows hailed down on them, penetrating into the cars by sheer gravity. They had to retreat to the safety of the alleys between the nearby buildings- their cars were pretty much ruined. Arrowed punctured tires, punched through hoods, and basically ruined their day.

A few of his elite unit were caught in the storm of arrows, and though their body armor saved them somewhat… their legs and arms were run through by one shaft after another. They fired in waves, one group after another, so that the storm of death was damn near perpetual.

"Shoot, damn you! Return fire on those fuckers!"

And they did, assault rifles blazing from two different alleys. The battle for City Hall had begun.

"This is Feral! Get me chopper backup, now! I don't give a shit what it takes, we need some air support, and we need it five minutes ago!"

He knew perfectly well they were running out of air support, thanks to that gargoyle attack earlier. He cared not- they would fight to the last man, then get in there and get Felina _out_ of there. If she died, or was already dead, his brother would have a field day with him. Not like he wouldn't blame himself enough for it.

But of course, the situation changed instantaneously, pulling him from his rather morbid thoughts.

Crashing through the front doors and sending them into a splintering of wood and glass was a pair of ogres. They stood at four meters tall, weighed more than a ton, and were not here for clever conversation. With a roar that broke nearby windows and beat at the eardrums of the Enforcers, they came lumbering forward, crushing their cars underfoot.

"There's an addendum to that order- Air support and armor. Get moving on that, now."

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Tenth floor. 

Two hours had passed, and they had almost all been filled with combat. Sword and arrow and dagger had been used, and subsequently thwarted. It would have taken less time were they not so harried, but all in all they were doing rather well.

The whole damn thing had started at 10:36 PM this evening, when both the SWAT Kats and Felina's team entered, and thus far they were staying together. No complaints, no fussing, no words were needed; they simply went on to do their jobs. And they did them well, clearing out one line after another of enemies who swung their blades at them.

Still, some enemies could not be defeated by mere combat. Some had to be vanquished by other means.

Thus as they headed for the next two floors, it was eerily quiet. They encountered no trouble- no fiends, no foes. It was _too_ quiet, in fact.

'We can't stop now,' T-Bone mused to himself. 'Gotta go save Callie and the Mayor!'

Sure, the mayor needed help, but he was there mostly for Callie. Oh, definitely her. Yet and still, before he could get his head back into the mission, an image flashed in his mind. It was something he wished never to see again, and yet there it was, plain as day. It was a day he would never forget- one year before he had left for his college education, before he had met his friend Razor.

T-Bone shook his head vigorously to clear it from his mind, but he could not. Someone had opened a very, very old wound.

"Hey, T-Bone! You okay?"

That shook him out of his reverie quickly. The big kat nodded and said, "Yeah buddy, I'm good. Just that this place must be getting to me a bit. But don't worry about me- I can keep going."

Maybe.

They all nodded and headed ever upwards towards the twelfth floor, but as soon as they passed that door the image at his mind appeared again, stronger this time. T-Bone stopped in his tracks, a cold sweat forming between his shoulder blades. It appeared that no one noticed that he had stopped, because they all kept going upwards.

'I gotta fight this…'

He wanted to move forward, to keep up with Razor. He needed to reach that signal transponder. But the image nagged, pressed. It wanted him to see…

"**NO**! You can't make me!"

Oh, they heard that.

Jake rushed downstairs, running towards his comrade only to see him leaning against the wall next to the twelfth floor entrance, breathing hard. Oh yes, something was wrong. They needed to take care of this now, before anything else happened. If T-Bone was not at a hundred percent, something had to be done.

"Hey… you sure you're all right?"

This time, the big kat chose honesty. He shook his head.

"Hell no, Razor. This place _is_ getting to me. I saw something… something in my head, a memory. Something I didn't want to see again."

Razor's eyes narrowed dangerously. This was most certainly not good.

"The Pastmaster is toying with you, bro. You gotta fight it! We have to keep going!"

"No," T-Bone said adamantly, "_You_ have to go. Doesn't matter if I'm out of it, there's a mission here! Get moving, dammit- I'll take care of this!"

By now, Felina and her team had arrived, and she had a concerned look on her face. Standing before her was a SWAT Kat that almost looked… pale. As if he had seen a ghost or something.

"Hey, we are not going anywhere without you. I don't leave team members behind. Or friends either. Cover us- we're supporting T-Bone until he gets over this."

They nodded. Felina turned towards T-Bone and said, "Tell me what you saw."

T-Bone sighed and said, "You sure you wanna help? We don't have time for all this."

Razor shook his head and said, "We're in this together, buddy. No kat fights alone here."

He was right. Splitting apart would be detrimental to the mission. It wasn't that he appreciated the help, but he had to look at this in a rational manner. The irony was not lost on him- T-bone, the hothead, thinking rationally. Wasn't that a laugh? His features still pale, he began explaining the image that was now stuck in his head.

"It was one year before I left home, for college and all that. I still can't forget it, even if I wanted to. I… I remember the day I heard the news. When I wen to the hospital, I nearly passed out when I saw him. He was so damaged… fractures and breaks in multiple places. I'd never seen a kat get so fucking messed up like that."

Now, Jake knew what he was talking about. He placed an arm around his shoulders. Felina raised an eyebrow, curious as to what was going on before she said, "Okay, I give up. Who are you talking about? If it's Razor here, now I understand why you two are so buddy-buddy, but…"

Razor shook his head and said, "It's worse than you think, Lieutenant."

T-Bone looked up at Felina, and she swore she could see tears forming in his eyes.

"A year before I left for college… my dad was killed in a car accident. That image I saw… it was him in the hospital bed. I never… I never wanted to see that again."

And then, one of the Unconventional Tactics kats noticed a faint light coming from underneath the twelfth floor door.

"Ma'am, there's something going on in there."

Felina turned her head towards the door and motioned to the other kats on the team. They lined up in tactical formation behind the knob. The she-kat withdrew a smoke grenade and prepared to pop it. She looked toward Razor, raising an eyebrow as if to ask him if they were ready yet.

The slim SWAT Kat nodded. They were.

She opened the door, tossed the flash bang in, and waited. The pop sounded off and they stormed in…

…Only to find themselves on an abandoned highway in MegaKat City.

"…What the hell is this shit?"

T-Bone and Razor stepped through just then, and they looked around them, half amazed and half wary. This was MegaKat City… except there was something slightly newer about it. Just slightly. As they looked around, wondering when they had ended up, T-Bone noticed something that gave him a glaring hint about the answer.

Pulling around the corner was a strikingly familiar car. One that he never thought he would see again. The make and model were unmistakable- he knew cars with his eyes closed and one hand tied behind his back now. T-Bone's eyes widened in sheer, undeniable dread.

"Holy shit… this is the place where my dad died."

They hadn't noticed that the door had closed behind them before vanishing entirely.

_Time Remaining: 12 hours, 15 minutes, 45 seconds._ _The clock is ticking._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 5: _The Bell Tolls (Part 2) - Temporal Rift_**

Holy CRAP. This is not good for our boys, is it? Not to mention that the Enforcers are having a hell of a time trying to stay in the fight. The question right now is can the Kats push through one of the biggest lemons that their already hectic life has thrown at them?

If they can, there sure as hell is going to be a lot of ice cold lemonade to pass around, and drinks are on me.

Once again, thank you for the reviews/hits/passing glances at the story. Hang in there guys, it's about to get juicy. And for those who have marked this story on their watch list, let's hope this chapter is a heart-stopper (not like I want to make you guys pass out or anything).

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	6. The Bell Tolls Part 3

Garrison Furlong, Gary as most liked to call him, was driving down MegaKat I-50, on his way home from work. The night was clear that summer, not a cloud in the sky. There was no city lights out here, so all he had to concern himself with was the road in front of him. Tonight was the last night that his son, Chance, was going to be home. He was a young man, age twenty, and that made his forty-two years seem old. His fur was still that healthy light brown with stripes along his back and the backs of his arms, the single indentifying trait of most of the men in the Furlong bloodline.

Strong and well-built for a man of his age, he used to play football in his college days. Of course when he got married, it was all shot to hell, but he made a good living as a stock broker. People began to rely on him for advice, or to just plain handle their stock trading for them. The first option was the difficult part- he hated to see kats make bad decisions regardless of his sound advice. The second one was where he shone however, and he made several power plays that got him the money, as well as more respect.

The second one was what he wanted more than the first one. Money was all good, but it was temporary. A reputation lasted forever, and one had to maintain a good one. It was what he constantly taught Chance: leave a good impression on people so that when they remember you, nothing of ill repute may be said.

But no, Chance wanted to read his comic books, even at age twenty. He liked to pretend that he was a hero of some sort, and these days he began showing interest in joining the Enforcers after college. That was all well and good, but Gary simply hoped that he would not get in over his head. The real thing was nothing like what was between the pages.

After passing the city limits, Gary stopped at a red light. While waiting for the light to change, he prepared his farewell speech for Chance, hoping that he could instill a sense of caution in his son. Wherever he went in life, he should always be careful- of his actions, and of those of others. A kat couldn't survive in this world without being a bit mindful of his surroundings, after all.

Green light, time to go.

He looked to see if there were any morons trying to run a red light before stepping on the gas pedal. For a brief moment, he wondered what was for dinner as he rounded the corner… and then immediately noticed a kat was trying to cross the street at a point where there was not a crosswalk. Gary swerved and curved, moving his car so that he would not score a few extra points by making the tom a smear on the blacktop.

His car skidded to a halt and he breathed a sigh of relief, glaring towards the foolhardy kat that he had almost hit. He was just about ready to give him a piece of his mind when he looked to his left.

Headlights glared at him maliciously.

"Oh, shi-"

With a sickening crunch of metal, the driver's side door was rammed into, and all at once he felt four ribs break, along with the femur on his left side. Pain wracked him, blood sprayed everywhere. His seatbelt held him in place, the airbag activated, but the combination of safety measures could not save him. Garrison spit up blood as the bones in his upper left arm were utterly destroyed; made useless.

Enough pain and a kat could pass out. Too much, and they could die.

…It was all too much.

His last thought before his eyes closed, before he took his last breath and released it with a shudder, was that of his son and his wife. They would be alone now, but his son was a man. He would make it.

He would.

The kat that had been narrowly missed by the car had enough common sense to dial 9-1-1, but by the time the Emergency Response Teams had arrived it was too late. Garrison Furlong was killed on impact.

No one in the crowd saw a group of kats, four garbed in Enforcer tactical gear and two in dark blue flight suits that would be known throughout the city in a few years. No one saw one of them get down on his knees and cry out to the heavens as the car was slammed into. No one saw him shed tears besides those who existed in the same time zone, the same era as he did. They had no one to comfort or console but themselves as the scene remained untouched.

Somewhere in the present time, at the top of the clock tower in present day MegaKat City, the Pastmaster laughed with a mad glee. His trap had been sprung, and now the SWAT Kats and Felina's group of Enforcers would never be able to stop him. For he had triggered something within T-Bone that he had closed off instead of letting go of, and it would be his downfall.

If those meddling fools were not entirely hampered, then at the very least it would make an excellent distraction.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

"**DAD, NO!!**"

SMASH.

T-Bone screamed in rage, frustration, pain, sadness. Everything he had ever felt at the hospital, he felt tenfold now because he had _seen it happen_. He had seen it, no more than about four meters in front of him, and there was nothing, nothing he could do to stop it. Nothing he could do to change it.

Nothing.

Razor said nothing. What could he say at a time like this, that it wasn't real? No, it felt real. It _smelled_ real, from the motor oil to the blood. It sounded real- the sounds were genuine, clear and uninterrupted, perfect in their cacophony and chaos. As much of a pragmatist and realist that Razor was… this was pretty damn convincing.

And yet, he knew it was not real. It had _happened_, it was a real _event_, but the image before them was a memory, nothing more. There was only one way to clear it, and that was for T-Bone to follow his own advice: to stop blaming himself. Because that was apparently what was happening at the moment as he broke down and simply started crying.

Razor said nothing, but he did do something. He placed an arm around T-Bone's wide shoulders and embraced him like a brother. Hell, that's what they practically were after all.

Felina was at a loss for words as well. She hadn't lost anyone yet, no family or friends. What should she say? How should she act? She felt more separated now from the SWAT Kats than ever, because now she knew that they were both, in all possibility, truly alone.

If anything… it made _her_ feel lonely.

And at the same time, it made her feel optimistic. It made her hopeful that somehow, in some way, this would be a chance to connect with them. Once again, it echoed through her mind how cool Razor was, even when all the walls were breaking down around him, even in the midst of an illusion from the past that was meant to entirely demoralize at least one of the SWAT Kats, he remained a tangible force. Unmovable in any sort of situation.

She attempted to borrow some of his example and did the only thing she could do.

She moved over to his other side, the left, and completed the embrace. She didn't know what it was like to lose someone, had no idea of what it was like to lose someone you respected and cared for. She didn't know, until now, when she had watched one of the city's heroes turn to dust at the very sight of his father dying before his eyes.

What would happen if she lost her uncle, her father or mother?

'I would be just like him.'

She squeezed tighter. A part of her felt something click into place. T-Bone was not pushing anyone away- he was either too out of sorts, or slowly piecing himself back together, using the two of them as anchors.

Even Felina's team had taken their helmets off and bowed their heads respectfully. This was something that was not to be taken lightly, and they knew it.

Yes, time was wasting. Yes, they had to find a way out. But first, they had to take care of a friend. Sure it was a trap, but they had feelings, hearts that could break, souls that needed strengthening. They would stay until it all blew over, or got better, whichever one came first. They couldn't think in tactical terms right now- now, they had to think with their hearts instead of their heads.

But Felina vowed to herself that she would be the one to deliver the bullet with the Pastmaster's name on it, if one of the SWAT Kats didn't do it first!

* * *

The battle had been raging on for a good hour and a half now, and by then the M1A2 tanks had arrived, 120 mm guns booming towards the giants that had arrived from just inside the building. There were two tanks per giant, and to be honest that was all they needed- at least, they thought so. They also thought they needed HEAT rounds to try and blow them up, which was another good plan. 

The thing about the ogres was that they were tough bastards. One explosion after the next rocked them, and yet they wouldn't go down at all. They were a bleeding mess of oversized meatloaf, and yet each subsequent attack seemed to fuel their rage. They swung their massive spiked clubs at the main battle tanks, ramming them into the armor with a crushing force.

Two of the tanks went down during the initial struggle.

By the time one of them went down, ammunition was almost spent. It was odd, though- no matter how many archers fell, more showed up. Now they were coming out of the gaping holes that the ogres had made in the front entrance of City Hall, stopping to fire arrows as they went along. There seemed to be no end to the onslaught, but Feral pressed on.

The gunners in the remaining two tanks quickly began returning fire, covering the advance of Feral and his teams. All they had to do was get in- that was all. Once the tanks were in place, Feral shouted, "All teams advance!" With that order, and the sound of the .50 caliber machine guns, they made their way forward, keeping their heads down.

They were winning. It was slow and painful, and they were low on ammunition now, but they were _winning_. And soon, after the last wave of fresh archers were mowed down, Feral and his remaining eleven men were inside the building. During the intense, perpetual fighting, two more had been downed.

As a result, Instead of four teams of four, there were four teams of three.

It didn't matter- they were in.

"Let's get out of here before more of them show up. Check the second elevator; see if it's still working. My team will head upstairs with me. If it doesn't work, hold position. More of them will most likely show up, and it is your job to make sure they don't get outside or follow us upstairs. Understood?"

The team of six that was left downstairs saluted. Ulysses Feral nodded and said, "Let's go get the Lieutenant back. Move out!"

Outside was a different story, however. The remaining ogre had managed to take one of the last tanks, trampling it underfoot in its blind rage. The explosions only made it angrier and more eager to smash things, and the choppers began opening fire with everything they had, just to back up the tanks.

It was only getting messier, and would get worse before the morning came. But this was how a battle usually went, and in the city one had to expect a bit of damage to the surrounding area.

The giant, in its haste to swat the flies that were buzzing about its head, swung wide, ramming its oversized baseball bat of a spiked club into a nearby building, taking a good piece of it with him. Some of his swings got lucky, and two of the five helicopters were decimated before one of them got a clear shot at the eyes.

Blind, crippled, and as pissed as he could get, the ogre went on a rampage. The only way that they would win now was if he bled out, which he was making himself do quite rapidly. But of course, he would not go down without a fight, and taking apart as much as he could before his time came.

His ears still worked, though. So in an oddly intelligent move, he stopped and listened, breathing hard. The situation became evident quite quickly: tanks behind him, helos above, nowhere to run.

He listened. He waited. He struck.

Two more choppers went down in a ball of flames, one remained. That one decided to flee- he was all that there was left of that air support.

The ogre turned around and grinned, blood leaking from its ruined eyes.

And the fight continued. And it would continue until something changed in City Hall…

* * *

'I really need to learn how to shoot,' Callie lamented to herself as Callista began heading towards the elevators with her in tow. From what she had heard outside and the distant sounds elsewhere in the building, there were battles going on- battles in which she was better off hiding than fighting. She knew perfectly well that she had no combat experience, no training, no possible way to defend herself. 

And she was tired of feeling so helpless.

No she-kat these days liked playing the damsel in distress, or being told to wait. But she was constantly being saved, constantly being told to wait, to stay where she was. She didn't like it, but she knew perfectly well she had to.

It didn't make her feel any better.

Callista on the other hand, didn't need anyone to save her. She could defend herself fairly well on her own. She once had an entire army at her command. She needed no one's help, save for the SWAT Kats. They hadn't saved her so much as assisted her- that was all. And she was here to return the favor. Besides, she was the one with the magic.

"There is a time lock on this machine- it will not move when the button is pressed. I have learned quite a few things since my last encounter with the Pastmaster…."

She sent a stream of icy blue energy towards the call button using the first two fingers on her left hand, and it lit up where it did not before.

"For example, how to undo his spells."

Callie grinned. She liked this she-kat more by the second. The elevator would most certainly be a faster way to get down to the bottom floor. All they had to do now was hope for it to arrive fast enough. But of course, Callie wondered to herself if she really couldn't have something of her own. As they watched the digital readout count the numbers, she asked a potentially bad question.

"You don't think… you could teach me magic, do you?"

Callista looked towards her counterpart with a raised eyebrow.

"I knew you would ask. I could teach you, but most if not all of these spells and incantations will take years to learn- perhaps a lifetime. And I am nowhere near as good of a sorcerer as the Pastmaster is. You need someone who will teach you the proper methods, as I had."

Callie pouted and said, "But don't you know enough to teach me?"

Callista shook her head and said, "Knowing the techniques for spells and incantations and energy control is one thing. Knowing how to teach those techniques and spells is another altogether. You need a teacher, and I cannot teach."

She was right, of course, and the Deputy Mayor sighed to herself.

"All right, then. I guess I'll have to find some other way to take care of myself."

Callista placed a hand on Callie's right shoulder and said, "You will find someone. Of that, I have no doubt. Until that happens, remember- your greatest strength is your intuition. But in order to use it, there must be no thought, no reasoning, and no chain of logic. It must come from within, and entirely from within."

The Deputy Mayor could not understand such concepts- at least, not yet. She remained silent as she waited for Callista to continue and, after a while when she realized that there was a quite pregnant silence, she did.

"I can see you do not quite understand. Then here is an example- picture the thoughts within your mind as a storm of sounds and images and emotions. And you are at the eye of this storm, surrounded by it, trapped inside of it. You cannot hear what you are meant to; see what you are supposed to, because the mind is in chaos."

Oh. Well, Callie knew about that perfectly well, one day after another she had to deal with all sorts of crap- from the mayor, from traffic, from life in general. But most of all, her thoughts of T-Bone… and just recently, Chance Furlong, came into the picture. Thoughts that made her feel _good_, for once.

She almost didn't hear Callista continue speaking.

"The key to calling upon your intuition lies in calming this storm, clearing it from your mind. Quiet your thoughts and let your mind simply be. Let situations and circumstances be as they are, without reading into them. Yet, do not concentrate or focus- that too is using the mind. Simply let it be."

Callie lowered her head for a moment, considering her options. Callista, right here, was using magic. The impossible was made real. What could _she_ do? Well she could breathe, for one. Not hold her breath, not do anything like that, just breathe. And so she did, her eyes relaxed. One after the other, her thoughts attempted to intervene.

This was entirely silly- what was she doing, standing there looking like a fool? Was breathing really going to help besides taking in good air and sending out the bad? Besides, they were in _trouble_; this was no time to try and play fortune teller. She should be looking for a way out, not listening to some traveling magic show from the past.

She breathed.

What if that elevator came and she was suddenly caught unawares? Something or someone could pop out, and while she was busy trying to clear her head she would get an arrow or a sword or even a rock put into it. This was entirely insane, and not good for her already high stress levels.

That last one was ridiculous. She breathed.

Fine, but if she was going to do something crazy like this, she should at least have someone teach her how to defend herself. If she were busy clearing her mind of everything and something attacked in the middle, what was the point of it all? Just completely insane, and there was no way it would work.

She breathed.

Her mind ran out of things to complain about. It shut up.

She could see it, in her mind's eye. The storm broke, dissipated; cleared away. The sky was cloudless. She _could_ hear, and she _could_ see. And all at once, she did indeed see something, an image of the very elevator they were about to hop onto, heading up. It'd be here any second.

"It's coming," she said in an eerily calm voice.

Callista looked over at her, one eyebrow raised. She wasn't even looking at the numbers anymore, just straight ahead at the doors. Two seconds later, the bell rang. Indeed, it was here. The queen smiled, not wanting to say anything. It would break whatever she was in right now.

If the Deputy Mayor had a mirror in front of her right now, she would see that she was a calm, composed she-kat again. Her face was entirely relaxed, her body movements fluid and effortless. No more tension, just sheer peace. She was entirely in control of herself. Callista couldn't help but feel just a little proud of Calico.

But then as they passed through the elevator doors, an unpleasant tingle passed across their skin. It felt like that static electricity again, running along their nerve endings. Callie and Callista's eyes widened at the same time, and though the queen did not speak, the Deputy Mayor did. There was a sudden itching between her shoulder blades, and she immediately realized that to be a markedly bad sign.

"Oh, _shit_! **RUN!!**"

They turned, attempted to escape. The doors closed, almost too fast for words.

"So you have figured me out," the Pastmaster's voice rang out from the elevator's sound system. "Alas, it is too late. You see, this is my clock tower now, and if you think that your pathetic magic will win here you are sadly mistaken."

Both she-kats wanted to hiss and spit at him right now, but both knew that he wasn't here.

"You might as well give up now," Callie said in that same cool, entirely composed voice. "The SWAT Kats are coming here with Lieutenant Feral. Even the Commander is coming this way, though I doubt he's here for me. No matter- it'd be best if you stopped what you were doing."

The cruel, near-soulless kat laughed maniacally.

"Your precious SWAT Kats and Lieutenant are indisposed at the moment, and my beasts have torn the Enforcers to a mere shred of their former selves. So I am afraid that you have no one coming to save you. You can't even save yourselves!"

Suddenly, it felt like the floor was dropping out from under them as the elevator plummeted. It felt as if there were no cables, no air brakes, nothing to halt its movement. He was right- this _was_ his clock tower, machinery and all! They screamed as the car rocketed towards the bottom floor at an alarming rate, and the Pastmaster's cackle sounded off in their ears.

"There is only one way out of this predicament, and that is to listen to my proposal! I am willing to stop all of this- the fracture in time, the torture of your beloved Mayor Manx, the destruction of your city, if you will return to the Dark Ages with me and be my bride- BOTH of you!"

Callie gasped. This was entirely insane!

Apparently, Callista agreed and said, "That ploy will not work again, Pastmaster! I for one would rather die with my honor and freedom intact than give in to a sickly little gnome!"

The Deputy Mayor grinned and said, "And as for me, I'm seeing someone already. Don't worry about who it is- just know that he's my brave knight, and he's coming to kick your ass."

She didn't know how she knew- she just knew. And maybe it was all right that she didn't know how it worked, just that it did.

"Defiant until the end- so be it! Farewell, Callista!"

There were nine floors remaining at this point. She certainly hoped that she was right… but now was not the time for doubts. Now was the time for faith. She knew he'd make it, wherever he was, and it was definitely going to be something when he did.

"What? It can't be!!"

The elevator jerked to a halt, putting the she-kats flat on their backsides.

"No… it was perfect! PERFECT!! **I HAD THEM!!**"

Callie grimaced, her ass still hurting. But then she grinned, one eye opening.

"See? I told you."

The Pastmaster growled and said, "This is _far_ from over! The Dark Ages will return, and there is nothing those pathetic, worthless fools can do about it!"

The transmission ended. Callie stood up shakily.

"We have to get out of here, now. I doubt he'll leave us alone for long."

Callista nodded and said, "He is a persistent little devil. We must make haste. Does the lift work again?"

The Deputy Mayor pressed one of the buttons. There was no response.

"Nope, when he said he was in control, he meant it. But maybe you can get us down."

Callista wanted to say that she could not, but… if this place were really under the Pastmaster's control, and if he were too busy trying to deal with the SWAT Kats, then she would not have any worries breaking his hold over the machine they were riding in. She had reversed one of his spells a few minutes ago, maybe she could reverse this one as well.

"I will try."

* * *

"Come on buddy, we gotta go." 

T-Bone looked upon the ruins of his father's car, his face blank. He swore he could touch it- it all seemed so real, as if he were on the streets themselves. If he could… if it was indeed real… what would happen if he went to the hospital? Who would recognize him? Would he get to see his mother again? He hadn't spoken to her in some time… he had lost track of her with all his duties, and now with being a SWAT Kat.

But now… would he get to see her again now?

"I gotta do something first," he said as he walked towards the car, placing his hand on the ruined frame. Part of him expected his hand to go through, but… it didn't. It was solid- real as his own fur. What would happen if…

"T-Bone, let's go! Callie's waiting!"

He shook his head and said, "I know that, just gimme a second here, Razor."

He knew where the hospital was by heart now. He just wished there were some means to get there faster. Instead of walking, he ran towards the place he knew was there. If he remembered correctly, he would be getting a call sometime soon from the hospital saying that his father was dead. He wouldn't be able to make it there, but he would most likely be there to see himself break down.

He didn't care if they followed or not, he just cared whether or not they came in.

It was all of two hours later that he had showed up… and he saw his motorcycle outside, as well as his mother's car. He didn't want to go in… but he had to.

"Stay here. I'll be back quick."

How he knew everyone was behind him was his business and his alone. They agreed, and waited for him. Felina sighed and looked toward Razor, who had taken his helmet off and had a sad expression on his furred features. A part of her wanted to cuddle him- tell him that everything was going to be all right, that this would be over soon.

She didn't believe that right now, so instead she made small talk.

"How long have you two known each other?"

Razor shrugged and said, "College, really. We were a couple of knuckleheads back then- always got into trouble. We were lucky enough that the teachers put up with us- called us geniuses, in fact. But we never got into jail, never got into too much mess. Only trouble we got into as far as that went was going to parties and getting hammered, doing stupid stuff."

She nodded and said, "I get that part. Did he ever tell you about this? His father's death, I mean."

Razor nodded. "I followed him one day, just to see where he went. It was the same day, every year- this one, at that. He went somewhere without telling me every time, usually gone before I was awake in the mornings. Luckily for me, I managed to wake up early enough to follow him. Sure enough… he was at MegaKat Memorial Graveyard… visiting his dad."

Felina's head lowered, her ears drooping and her tail going limp.

"I see…"

Razor shook his head and said, "Hey… thanks for sticking by us here, Felina. You could be saving the day right now, and your uncle would be ecstatic. I'd bet money that he would give you a promotion or something for saving the Mayor's ass, and Miss Briggs too."

Felina shook her head and chuckled derisively. "No… he won't. Hell, he won't even consider giving me a bonus, for all the work I've been doing. It's like…" She pulled at her hair briefly and said, "It's like he still thinks I'm a child that he has to look after all the time. But at the same time, he doesn't want it to look like he's giving me any special treatment. It's frustrating as fuck!"

Razor chuckled and said, "So T-Bone was right. The Commander is giving you a hell of a time. Know what? If I were running the Enforcers, I'd bump you up ASAP. You kick so much ass it's not even funny, and Feral does jack shit about it? _Hell _no- I wouldn't take that crap."

Felina looked towards the slim SWAT Kat, eyes burning with passionate intensity. There it was, the connection. It was what she wanted all along.

"That's exactly right! You know exactly what I'm talking about here. See, I figure that if I were in charge of the Enforcers, I'd let you guys do what you wanted, regardless of what happened. As far as I'm concerned, long as you didn't kill any innocents, everything's fair game. When we were in trouble, out of backup, outmanned and outgunned, you guys would be on call," she snapped her fingers, "Just like that."

Razor grinned. "Damn, you're ambitious too, huh? I like that."

Felina sighed and said, "But it's not like that's going to happen any time soon. Sometimes I envy you guys…"

Razor placed a hand under her chin and turned her head to face his.

"Don't envy us. We're doing the same job you are- we just aren't bogged down by the system. Like you said, as long as you don't kill anyone who doesn't deserve it, everything's fair game."

Felina suddenly found him the most handsome, intelligent, sexy tom she had ever seen. She had seen him that way before, but… the way he held her chin like that, making her turn her head towards his just so she'd pay attention… it made something in her burn. Something so simple could light a fire in her. It was amazing.

But then, her all too logical brain quickly reminded her that there was a mission still going on, so she gently eased Razor's hand away from her chin. Gently, mind. Yes, she liked him, but... this wasn't the time. Not while they were on the job. Perhaps later, when she had time to get to know him better, but at the moment the elaborate kiss that she had planned out in her head, step by step, would have to wait.

She hated waiting, but once again, she had to.

"Yeah... I'll try not to turn too many shades of green from now on," Felina said with a smile. "So what now?"

"Now," Razor said with a smile, "We go save the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and we all go home."

And right now, with the way he said it, it _did_ seem that simple.

* * *

T-Bone stood in front of the doors to MegaKat City General Hospital, a determined expression on his face. He knew that Razor and Felina had supported him, and while he was grateful, he had to do what he could. The plan was simple- but he had to do it quickly. There had to be an empty envelope and a sheet of paper somewhere, but he had to make sure that no one could see him. 

Standing in front of one of the kats that was waiting patiently in the lobby, he waved a hand in front of his eyes as they scanned a newspaper. He kept on reading. T-Bone nodded and began walking towards one of the back offices, checking to see if the door were unlocked. For a moment, he forgot standard SWAT tactics and simply opened it, walked in, and closed it again.

No one was there.

Even if there was someone, he wouldn't care. They couldn't see him anyways.

He picked up an 8 x 11 sheet of paper and an envelope, found a pen, and began writing in the cursive that he was so used to. He didn't start with a salutation or a signature, but… he did write what he felt about the situation.

_First off, I would like to give my condolences. You have just been through one of the worst events in your life- your father has passed on, and in one of the worst ways a kat could go. Now, he won't be able to take you to your favorite places, play football with you, hang out with you, or even scold you when you were actually in trouble._

_I'm not going to say anything that will make the situation any better._

_But know this- it wasn't your fault. None of this was._

T-Bone shook his head, attempting to get his bearings straight, attempting not to cry. Perhaps he was telling this to himself rather than his younger self, but either way this had to be done. This image would come before him again, and it would still hurt, seeing that. He did blame himself for his father's death, though he wasn't there to see it.

_You have to be strong now- stronger than you've ever been. A lot of difficult times are coming up for you, but your dad raised you to be a man that can withstand anything. You're going to be something big one day, bigger than anyone expected. And on that day, you're going to have to stand up and take what's yours._

_It's going to be hard- everything is at some point. But you have to do what must be done, no matter how much it hurts. Go and make your dad proud- and remember that he loves you._

Once again, he didn't sign it. That'd be giving too much away.

As for the envelope, he wrote something on the front, something that perhaps was important.

_It's not your fault._

It was that simple. He had to repeat it, to make sure it stuck in his own head.

This same event would happen to him later in life. This same memory would flash in front of him again. When it did… he didn't want to write this letter again. He wanted to be able to move forward, surge forth with anger and insult at the magician's petty attempt to distract him. He wanted to crush him for trying to hurt Callie and the city.

He smirked to himself- yes, the Mayor was a factor as well, but he was a background factor.

T-Bone folded the letter, placed it inside the envelope, and licked along the seal. Well, that was all well and good, but he had to let someone know who exactly it was addressed to, or else this wouldn't fly straight. Removing a post-it note, he scribbled on it briefly, "for Chance Furlong", and stuck it on the front of the envelope.

With brisk steps, he opened the door and closed it behind him, carrying it towards the front desk. After he placed it on the counter… time stopped- froze entirely. Something had been changed, and thus the tape was broken right in the middle. He was sure that he would get the letter soon, but for now, all that mattered was that his plan had worked.

The other kats perked up, their ears rising when T-Bone stepped out of the double doors, his gait and facial features back to their normal state. Razor put on his helmet again, as did the Enforcers.

"You all right, buddy?"

T-Bone did nothing but nod. He looked around and found that all was… quiet. The air was still, there was no breeze, the sound of the cars and the people had diminished. He grinned… then his eyes narrowed as he growled.

How dare he do this to him? This was something he didn't want touched, ever.

"**PASTMASTER!!!**"

There were sudden cracks in the scenery, as if everything were a pane of stained glass. Soon, the entire memory became nothing but fragments, pieces scattered to the wind. The illusion was quite literally broken… and now they stood in a hallway, just outside of a door at the twelfth floor. T-Bone's eyes had a dangerous glint to them

A murderous glint.

"This ends now. _I'm comin' for ya_!"

_Time Remaining: 9 hours, 6 minutes, 10 seconds._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 6: **_**The Bell Tolls (Part 3) - Entrapment**_

Awrite! That was certainly kick-ass. Hopefully this gives a bit of insight and adds depth to the characters in general. And it appears that Callie is learning a new trick. Or rather, a trick that I think everyone can use, if one really thinks about it. I'm not going to get into it here.

Anyways! Time is running out for the kats in the building. And it appears that the Pastmaster is most likely armed with a backup plan, just in case they happen to reach the top. What that is, I can't say, but it's sure to be devious and crafty.

Once again, thank you for reading this. This stuff ain't just for my benefit; it's for you guys. Of course, I won't know how I'm doing unless you all don't respond to the call to review. Thus, there's a review button down there, please press it and leave a note. Speaking of reviewers, **Purple kat** has once again posted something nice about the story. Perhaps it is gaining repute? Anyways! I'd always imagined putting Calico and Callista in the same place- the part of this chapter that has the queen teaching the Deputy Mayor about intuition this is the result. Hope you like.

EDIT NOTE: Holy crap, **Raiden Snake** just made a valid point. I know some of you are really loving that Felina and Razor kiss, but though it was well executed, it was poorly timed. Felina is not one to just abandon her duty for something like that- I have made a grave error in putting her out of character. But hey, this gives me an opportunity to build on what Felina already has- a connection. And the more I build, the hotter it gets, until it explodes in a conflagration of...

Crap, the spoiler alarm tripped, transmission is terminated.

So yeah, I cut it. Don't worry, it'll be back.

Okay, going to write the next one now.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	7. The Bell Tolls Part 4

Commander Ulysses Feral was not the kind of tom that one wanted to fuck with.

There were several reasons why of course, but the first one was that he was a highly capable machine of ass-kick when it came down to it. Line after line of blade-wielding foes came after him and the other five kats on his specific team, but he simply mowed them down with his M4A1, giving them a nice round of melee attacks with the butt stock when they got too close.

Lined up and in formation, his team charged upstairs headlong, plowing through one obstacle after another like a freight train straight out of hell.

Now, one should not forget that thirty floors was a long way up. It was most likely tiring, and in a very large way, with all that gear on. But damn it, they were the Enforcers! They would get up these stairs at whatever speed was required and pound these bastards back to the era they came from. His main concern, besides the arrest of the Pastmaster, was Felina.

Damned if he would let her die in this nightmare, if she was indeed dead. Right now, he thought of her not as an Enforcer, but his niece. It would most likely end in her being locked at Headquarters for a while, or even sent back to his brother for a week, but after this he would make sure she was safe, no matter what she thought of him after.

'Hate me all you want, but I'm going to protect you. It was wrong to let you on the force.'

"Move it kats," he said as they continued charging onwards, "We have no time to lose!"

Of course, once they reached floor twelve they heard a violent battle cry from behind the door. Before they knew what was happening, the door was punched through by a grappling line that hooked into the metal. After a few more seconds, the door was torn off of its hinges, as if some kat had yanked it clean away.

It turned out that was exactly the case. Standing in the doorway was all two hundred and ten pounds of T-Bone. And he looked pissed.

"What the hell are you lookin' at, Commander? We got ass to kick," he said as he retracted his grappling line. "Either you help, or you move."

Feral grimaced and said, "Do I have a choice in the matter?"

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

There was no laughter.

No demonic cackling, no planning or plotting aloud, no ranting about the glories of past times.

No, there was just quiet, an odd, unsettling kind of silence that seemed more like a quiet before a storm. The only sound was the gears winding, creaking; counting the hours until the end. The Pastmaster was silent, and this was not a good thing. His silence was the kind that was spent in deep concentration and focus, his eyes boring into the pocket watch in his cold, almost lifeless hands.

The pocket watch glowed faintly, a sign of the impending end of his mortality. He did not hope to do this so suddenly, but the plan called for it now. They were coming, and he could think of no other resistance to put forth than this. Yes, the constant streams of his hired army from the Dark Ages, the one he had been building over the past few years, would act as a minor deterrent, but now the SWAT Kats and the Enforcers were galvanized.

It would not be enough of a deterrent for his purposes.

Their mayor would have to turn from a sacrifice to a temporary hostage, and that was not in the cards.

The watch began to pulse and thump, as if it had its own heartbeat. Finally, it was done. He felt a small thread of his energy connected to the watch that acted as a second heart, a container for his soul. Indeed, he still lived… but he lived inside of the watch. His personality and memories were still intact, and they would most likely stay that way until someone figured out how to eradicate the now much tougher watch.

The watch looked… almost new now, refurbished. That alone was a problem. There was a coating of extra magical energy around it that acted as a barrier of sorts, which made it bullet-resistant up to a .300 Remington. And the fact that it was a container for his soul would be… difficult at best. Thus, there were now too many complications to even _think_ about destroying the time piece.

And thus, control of the clock tower would potentially be his for an indefinite period of time.

That was of course, unless they tried something crazy. He didn't discount that fact- these were the SWAT Kats. The fact that they could break his illusion so easily was not lost on him, and thus this part of the plan had to be advanced quite suddenly.

It would be worth it, though. He would see the Dark Ages rise again, if only from the confines of a pocket watch.

'The beginning of the end,' he thought to himself, 'is at hand.'

He looked towards Mayor Manx, his facial expression dull and almost lifeless. He wasn't just mad now- he was mad in a cold, rational way. He who has no soul has only a mind, and without a moral compass or even a heart, the mind was an overwhelming force. This mind, though now entirely based on logic, was still twisted by the ages and by magic.

"…Your usefulness it seems has not yet ended. I have one more task for you, Mayor Manx."

The mayor's eyes widened in sheer terror as he heard the deadpan voice of the Pastmaster pronounce that it was not over by a long shot. This would not be pretty.

* * *

Downstairs, it was quiet. The battle outside had stopped as the final ogre fell with a crash, splintering the pavement below. The final M1A2 tank and its crew were victorious, but it was a long, painful fight. The last of the HEAT rounds had been spent on it, and it was heading back to headquarters for a resupply. This left the six kats that were told to hold position to fend for themselves. 

The elevator had indeed, not been working for a few hours now. Some of them wasted time; throwing pebbles from the rubble at the call button, while the others were watchful, ready for anything that came from around the corners or through the front doors.

What they were not expecting however, was one of the pebbles to hit the call button… and actually get it to work. The button was hit square with remarkable accuracy, and simply lit up.

"Guys, it's online!" one of them said triumphantly.

Well that was good news. Now all they needed to do was wait for it and get in so they could finish this. Unfortunately, the elevator was already on its way up. They waited with a newfound patience, watching the numbers climb to thirty.

But then to their horror, after a few seconds of being stuck at the top… it came plummeting down.

"Holy fucking **SHIT**!! There could be people in there!"

There was no real way to get the doors open without accessing the wiring, and that could take hours. This was not going to end well as the elevator raced toward the bottom. Some of them closed their eyes, not wanting to watch, others braced themselves for impact. The noise would be deafening.

The sound of the elevator's rapid decent stopped about fifteen seconds later. They opened their eyes, unclenched their teeth, and checked the number. It had stopped at nine.

Still, they were watchful. They carefully observed the elevator doors, listening for any signs of the cacophony starting up again. The only sound that was made was that of a stone falling from a pile of rubble. And then, to their relief, the elevator began moving at a fairly normal pace again one minute later.

They sighed and waited again. Whatever had happened up there, it was done now.

But of course, what they saw when the doors finally opened made some of them gape.

It was the Deputy Mayor. And right beside her, or rather slumped against her as if she were entirely exhausted, was someone that looked just like her. EXACTLY like her, except that the other she-kat wore a dress instead of a business suit. They were confused for quite some time as they exited the elevator, but Callie took care of that quickly.

"Well don't just stand there, help her out! _Move it_!"

Used to taking orders, they quickly got to work in securing Callista away before she stirred in unfamiliar arms. Looking towards the Deputy Mayor, she smiled weakly.

"It appears that I used more energy than I expected to."

Callie rushed towards her counterpart from the past and followed alongside her. "Don't push yourself so hard. I never asked you to put yourself in danger for me."

The queen's smile widened. "It appears that both you and I have many that are willing to throw themselves to the wolves for our sake. Even I am not immune- you have an aura about you that few others possess. One day, you will understand what it is."

Callista closed her eyes again and said, "But not now… right now, you must go where I cannot. Sir T-Bone needs your aid, and I fear it will be soon. The top of the clock tower is where everything will end."

The Deputy Mayor raised an eyebrow and said, "I think he can handle himself… he always has. Maybe I'm better down here, looking after you."

Callista shook her head and said, "Is that what you think, or is that truly what is in your heart? Come now- you know yourself better than that, Calico Briggs. Search yourself as you did before. You will find the answer."

The queen's head began to pound- too much talking. "Go. He is waiting."

The Enforcers that were supporting her realized that something was wrong, and immediately began moving Callista to safety. As Callie watched them go, she considered her options. Callista was safe, and they would get her as far away from this building as they could. At least, she hoped so.

As she stood amidst the rubble and ruins that used to be the entrance to City Hall, she wondered if she could tap into this newfound intuition for longer periods of time than just a few seconds. She figured she would give it a try- it wouldn't kill her. So she breathed, simply moved into her natural pattern.

This time it was easier. Less discursive thoughts got in the way. She asked the question: was T-Bone all right? And then, she held it in her mind, without concentrating, yet while remaining attentive. This all happened in a matter of moments, a few blinks of an eye.

The answer came twice as fast.

Images flashed in her mind: T-Bone and Razor heading upstairs, to the clock room; Felina's tear-stained face as she watched whatever horrors played out before her; The Pastmaster, dead on one of the gears. That did not help any. Somehow, she wasn't quite sure he was dead. No, there was something else.

And then she saw it. Like a flash of lighting, the problem, the main trigger for all of it, was revealed.

The pocket watch. And from what she could see, it did not look old. Rather the gold was new, the hands were moving smoothly on their own power, everything seemed to shine and glow. Such beauty, and yet it held a trepidation for her that she could not name, a sort of dread.

A gloved hand reached to pick it up. Somehow, she didn't want that hand to take hold.

"**NO!!**"

Callie's eyes snapped open in a panic. Her senses were on full tilt, ears twitching, tail swinging wildly, fists clenched. The watch- they mustn't touch the watch! Something _bad_ would happen if they did- she had to warn them, immediately! But how!?

Wait, what was that sound?

Callie looked up towards the sky just in time to see the Kat's Eye News helicopter overhead. She grinned as she raised a hand and waved for them to pick her up. She had no idea of how things seemed to turn out exactly the way she wanted them to, but she didn't care. Right now she needed a lift, and she would get one if it killed her.

* * *

Twenty-sixth floor. 

Things went faster than expected, now that there were twelve instead of six. Radio contact was still dead, and so was radar. Still, they made good time. While relieved that Felina was all right, Commander Feral was disturbed by the fact that she was working with the SWAT Kats. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures, he supposed.

He had never directly worked with these two before- a part of him hated it even now, that they were forced to this. But personally, he wanted to see how they operated, just out of curiosity. He knew how they flew, now he wanted to know how they fought.

'At the very least, I'll know how to counter their tactics.'

He noticed the gauntlets that they wore on their right arms, though he didn't know what exactly they called them. They most likely had more than one pair of those, with different load outs to switch out in different situations. For a moment, he wondered how they made the ingenious little things when, before they knew it, they happened upon the top floor.

"Last stop," T-Bone said as he halted in front of the door.

Razor was not all that sure he liked this. It was entirely too quiet on their way up and now they were here already? No, there was something wrong. He held up a fist towards the Enforcers without looking, and they stopped cold. Ulysses raised an eyebrow. Apparently, they knew what they were doing- perhaps they didn't call themselves the SWAT Kats for nothing.

Pressing a panel on the right side of his helmet, a black-tinted, bullet-resistant visor dropped over his eyes. Hoping that something still worked around here, he switched to the true-sight mode, and for a good while all he got was static.

"Shit… work, you damn thing."

Feral wanted to laugh. They were as blind as anyone else.

But then…

"Huh? Oh hell yes; there we go. Hey, check your radios, kats. T-Bone, check for Callie's signal."

They did.

"Razor, Callie's downstairs. Matter of fact, she's outside!"

Their equipment worked. Technological advantage was back.

"This is Feral- give me a SitRep, five minutes ago. And keep it down- we're in enemy territory."

He was almost silent, not wanting to have anyone hear him. As he received updates to the situation, Callie's situation changed as well. T-Bone grimaced as he observed the movement of the Deputy Mayor's signal transponder. She was… headed back in, for God's sake! Would she make up her mind already?

"Awww, shit…"

Everyone looked toward Razor as he motioned with his hand for everyone to quiet down. The true-sight mode could peer through walls and observe the action that went on behind a door or check for weaknesses in infrastructure. Sure enough, behind the door there were baddies. And a whole damn bunch of them.

"They're expecting us," he said as he raised the panel again. "They just don't know we're here yet."

He looked toward T-Bone and raised two fingers on his left hand. The bigger kat nodded and reached into one of the pockets of his flight suit. He looked towards Razor with a grin as he pressed the button atop the smoke grenade. As soon as he let go, the firing pin would release and… well, instant smokescreen.

Razor pulled one out as well before gently opening the door, nudging it open with his right foot. The metal door swung open silently, just enough to toss their grenades in before closing it again. The sound of the door shutting was not unnoticeable, but by the time a few of them turned around, it was over.

With an audible pop, the smokescreens were activated, spewing out their concealment.

Shouts of confusion and curses filled the hallway, and they knew it was their cue. "Enforcers, do your thing!"

Secretly, Feral was impressed. This wasn't your every day tactic- it was something that Felina would have used. He would have just opened the door and started shooting. The Commander was all for open-ended battle, and did not rely on any sort of crafty tactics unless he was forced to. Most of the time, brute force was his method instead of concealment.

It didn't matter. They couldn't see, and that was an advantage.

He didn't give the order to fire; he just strode forward with his troops behind him and opened the door with one hand, retrieving his Glock 20 with the other. The others still had their rifles on them, but he had to let his go for a moment. He was lucky that he had put it away earlier on his way up- otherwise, there would be a delay. And delays were not good at this point.

Many of them went down before they could even get a sword swing in, and those that did not… well they couldn't see. They swung wildly, unprepared for the sudden influx of smoke. As an effect, they ended up running each other through, lopping their own heads off, and causing a general mess.

And the combined force of the SWAT Kats and the Enforcers continued pressing forward, running headlong out of the smokescreen. It was a head of steam that was just about indomitable. With the SWAT Kats leading the blitzkrieg rush, their enemies were entirely offset as gunfire and shield blows rained on them.

"Don't stop," T-Bone yelled over the noise of battle, "We're almost there!"

They headed right past the Mayor's Office just as Calico Briggs arrived, heading past the expansive windows towards the balcony just outside the clock room. Thanking Ann Gora for the ride as she headed back inside City Hall, she headed towards the door that led towards the clock room with that same trepidation beating in her heart.

The watch was all she could see- it filled her thoughts and clouded her senses.

'I have to get it from him before someone else takes it.'

Oh yes, it was a crazy plan. She had no idea what would happen when she took hold of it, but she had to make sure that no one else touched it. She didn't even have an idea why she should be the one to hold it, but she just did. A part of her wished that Callista was still here, but she was exhausted- it had to be the Deputy Mayor.

'It always has to be me, doesn't it?'

She laughed for a moment, running a hand through her blond hair. It was now or never, she supposed. She opened the door, just a crack, to observe the situation.

She could see the Mayor on one of the cogs, turning and winding. It looked like he was bound and gagged, but she couldn't see the rope or what silenced him. The Pastmaster was nowhere to be found, at least not yet. She didn't want to be caught, but then again she didn't want the SWAT Kats to come in and find her.

'They would tell me to stay back.'

But maybe… maybe that was a good thing. Maybe she should indeed stay back, wait for them to come. With backup, she could take the watch from him without a problem. As the plan revised in her head however, a part of her could sense that something was wrong… there was that itch between her shoulder blades again.

'Oh, no…'

The door opened. The Pastmaster was indeed in the room.

"Hello, Callista. Glad you could join me for my shining moment."

The watch flashed. Callie screamed before the violet bolt of energy shocked her system, running along her nerve endings. Pain wracked her, made her writhe. She couldn't take the stress, and soon enough she was knocked out cold. The wizard looked at her unconscious body coldly, even as the watch pulsed a staccato.

He still cared for her, sure enough. Well, not exactly cared… more like lusted. She was beautiful, striking, a treasure that would most likely be kept sacred, even in this time period. He didn't care for her… but he did want her. She was a jewel, and he wanted her as the centerpiece of what would be his crown.

Taking hold of the collar of her jacket, he lifted the watch and focused. It took less than a second for time to twist and distort before he vanished entirely. Soon, he ended up in a different part of the room- in fact, on the same cog that the Mayor was sitting on. Manx's eyes widened as he saw the comatose Calico Briggs placed next to him.

"And now, all the pieces are in place."

The Pastmaster smiled, for once.

"The SWAT Kats will meet their end, and you two will have front row seats."

He warped again, leaving the Mayor to wonder what was going to happen to his city… and to Callie.

* * *

The scream was heard from the stairs leading to the clock room hallway. T-Bone gritted his teeth as he moved faster than he ever had before, his heart racing wildly. Callie filled his head, stifled his senses. All sorts of reason flew out of the window at the very thought of her in pain. There was no real place for subtle tactics now- they were there at the top. 

The door at the end of the hallway was thrown wide open. Something had happened here… something that should not have happened at all. He stood at the entrance, seeing Callie there on the central cog with the Mayor. From what he could see, Manx was restrained by something or other while Callie was…

He growled fiercely, eyes scanning for his adversary. If he was angry before, he was positively livid now.

Razor and the other Enforcers entered just behind him as he stepped onto the walkway, searching for any signs of the Pastmaster. Thus far, there were none, but there was something in the air that didn't smell right. This whole room in fact, didn't smell right at all. It should smell dead, lifeless, but there was an almost tangible energy in here.

Razor could feel it too, but to less of an extent.

"Something ain't right here, T-Bone."

The bigger SWAT Kat nodded and said, "I know, buddy. They're right there, out in the open… but the Pastmaster is nowhere to be found. He'd be gloating at us by now, seriously."

Commander Feral shook his head and said, "We don't have time for this. Someone get out there and retrieve the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, now!"

Two Enforcer officers nodded and leapt out onto the cogs, traversing from one to the next. They managed to keep their tails out of the clockwork, but before they reached the center of the machinery… a violent beam of purple energy shot out from the metal itself, just a few inches to the left of one of the Enforcers. They were both caught in the blast, which had enough power to tear them both in half.

Feral gritted his teeth as blood and entrails flew, staining the gears.

The door closed behind them, locking with a click.

"Incredibly easy to get here, wasn't it? To think that none of you realized I wanted you to come here in the first place. And now, you will all feed my engine of destruction."

T-Bone's eyes narrowed as he said, "Why the hell do you have to hide yourself? We got you cornered- there's nowhere left to run. Show yourself so I can _tear you apart with my bare hands_!"

The Pastmaster chuckled and said, "It appears I have hit a soft spot in the indomitable T-Bone. I trust then that you enjoyed my little slide show of your memories? I believe I will show everyone what makes you so weak."

T-Bone knew that he was egging him on. He knew that once he stepped on those gears, it would probably be over before it even started. He had to stand firm. Sure he was angry, and yes, Callie was right there. But he would be damned if he'd let this pathetic little runt outdo him again.

"I see… so that's your only trick? You suck, you know that? You can't fight me personally, so you have to use the _clock tower_ to do it. See, that's why I'm stronger than you- because I face my enemies head-on instead of getting others to do it for him!"

For a few moments, there was silence. Then…

"A duel it is, then! I cannot wait to be rid of you pests once and for all!"

With a wavering of the air in the middle of the clock room, just above the captured Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the Pastmaster appeared, his watch shining an unnatural shade of purple. He was floating a good two feet in the air, and grinned maliciously as he pointed the now deadly watch towards the SWAT Kats.

"And now, it is time to die, peasants. Bow before your new ruler!"

He opened fire. T-Bone rolled to one side of the walkway as it was torn apart, separating him and Razor, along with the Enforcers. Feral shouted immediately, "Return fire!! Find us some cover, Lieutenant!" They began attempting to gun down the Pastmaster, who seemed to be entirely too agile for his own good. He floated around, zipping here and there as he attempted to shoot Felina through the side of her head.

A bullet managed to actually reach his position, but once it did… it harmlessly bounced off of an energy field. The Commander cursed as he noticed the faint outline of the Pastmaster's shields. This was going to be near-impossible unless they got that taken care of first.

Felina, meanwhile, had found a reasonable spot of cover. She peeked out every once in a while to take shots at the Pastmaster, with little to no effect. She hissed and said, "Dammit, this is not going to end well…"

Then, she saw them; the hostages. The Pastmaster was not guarding them very well, was he? She furrowed her brows and said, "Now or never, then. This might be the only chance we have!" The she-kat began her nimble trek towards the center of the clockwork engine, leaping and dodging this way and that as the attempts at suppressive fire kept the Pastmaster busy.

The sound of gears turning filled her ears as she approached the center of this mess, and it started to become annoying.

"Piece of history my ass," she said as she approached the Mayor's position. For a moment, she saw him shake his head, as if to tell her to stay away, that she couldn't come any closer. She raised an eyebrow as she said, "I come all this way and now you don't want me to save you? Fuck that."

She jumped towards the central cog… only to find herself knocked back by yet another barrier. Landing hard on the platform from whence she came, Felina bounced once, looking as if she would slip in between the meshing gears. Then she fired her grappling line, and as it hooked around a metal pole, she reeled herself in before she did indeed meet that fate.

After deftly landing upon the gear that was attached to said pole, she looked up and grimaced.

"Little fucker's planned this out in advance, hasn't he?"

There was no possible way past if the Pastmaster were not neutralized. And since he still had his energy field up, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. And what else was not going to happen any time soon was her standing in one place for too long, because soon a purple beam of energy shot upwards from below her.

The only clue she had of its coming was a faint purple glow where the shot would be coming from. It was just a brief flash, nothing more. Thing was, it was enough for her to widen her eyes and flip backwards, the energy shot nearly missing the soles of her boots. She thanked her reflexes from training at that very moment, but at the next, another beam shot outwards from the very gear she was standing on. She rolled to her right as two more barely missed her, and by then she knew that she was not welcome on the clockwork.

She made her way out through the maze of meshed gears, purple streams of death bolting towards her from every possible angle. She threaded and bent, leapt and danced, trying her hardest not to get impaled.

Fortunately for her, she made it… the bad news was that she now knew every angle they could possibly take was covered.

That said, they had only two options. Take down the Pastmaster's shielding somehow, or blow apart City Hall. The second one would probably be the option here, but the bad news was that they wouldn't be able to make it out. Still, if it were to keep MegaKat City in the present era, she had no choice.

Still, she was holding out for a miracle of some sort. She did not want to make that call.

'Whoever is up there listening, I could use a bit of divine intervention right now…'

* * *

The Enforcers were currently waiting for the ambulance to arrive. It had been a good twenty minutes since the call had been sent out, and some of them wondered if it would ever get here. One of them checked her pulse every now and then, and she treated him to the sight of her smile. But of course, like all of these things, they had to end sometime. 

She shuddered, suddenly having a bad feeling, as if something were wrong or amiss. The constant flow of intuition that she maintained acted as her radar for trouble, and right now it was pinging off the charts. She knew not what it was, but there was something going on at the top of the tower that required her attention.

'Calico…'

As soon as she thought of her, the ping turned into a whine. Her eyes widened and she stood up, none too slowly. Her head… it pounded so much. But not from pain or fatigue- no, that had left her a while ago. It pounded from the grave realization that had just come upon her.

"I must go, now."

They looked at her in slight alarm. "But ma'am, you're not well yet. You've gotta get some rest."

She shook her head and said, "I have had enough rest, but thank you brave ones. I must get to the top of the clock tower- something terrible is going to happen."

With that, she strode forward, entirely on her own strength now. Her energy reserves had returned to her in full force, and the amulet shone brightly in the city lights. Looking up towards the top of the thirty floor tower, she channeled her energy through her arms and toward her hands, bending her knees as she did so.

Icy-blue tendrils of sheer power spiraled around her forearms, building upon itself until she released it seconds later. The magical forces hit the pavement, and she pushed off of the ground on the moment of impact. The result was her upward ascension into the heavens, a trail of her magic behind her. Within the space of a minute and a half, she was at the balcony to the clock tower, lighting herself delicately upon solid ground once again.

She wasn't worried about whether it would work or not. She was worried about the people inside that needed her.

Confidently moving toward the balcony door, and then the one that led to the clock room, she heard the sounds of fighting. Not bothering to hesitate, she opened the door and without looking, pointed two fingers toward the Pastmaster's exact location.

Utter, sheer surprise passed along his features as a sudden rogue energy shot hit his shield. Blue mixed with purple as the two forces warred for dominance, and he attempted to warp to another location.

As soon as he did so however, it was evident that Callista knew most, if not all of his tricks. Another precise shot of her magic hit him dead on, weakening his shields further.

"I will not be denied my **DESTINY**!!"

He let loose a chain of energy blasts at her, his magic meant to kill instead of save. She repelled it, rejected it, and sent it back toward him. Explosions rocked the clock room as the battle of mages commenced, and it was all the Enforcers and the SWAT Kats could do to keep their heads down.

"You have no destiny but the void, foul wizard," she said coolly as she let off another blast from the palms of her hands. It hit his shields again, and now they were fragile enough for just about anything to pass through. Yet and still, she continued her barrage, until he was forced to begin warping from place to place just to evade her. Sure, with his connection with the watch he had a near unlimited source of energy, but… he was on the defensive. That was never a good thing, no matter how much power one had.

Soon, she pointed towards him… and he warped without her firing a shot. With a triumphant cry, Callista fired on his next position as soon as he popped up, and his barrier shattered like glass. The magical force rammed into him, but did not pierce through. Soon however, he managed to warp again, the air suddenly wavering and sucking inwards where he once was before he popped up again near the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

"You are all fortunate that Callista came to save you, but it is quite bad luck that she will not be enough!"

With that, he pointed the watch towards the Mayor and began building his energies. The watch shone and sparked, trembling in his hand as if it couldn't wait to be used. He grinned and said coldly, "Cease your attacks or you will watch your foolish, cowardly mayor die before your eyes. And then, the she-kat is next."

There was just one problem with that request- someone had a clear shot. The one that did however wasn't exactly an enforcer, so he didn't have to say jack about it.

A grappling line shot towards the Pastmaster and wrapped around his neck, yanking him off of his feet swiftly. The energy was released on reaction. It barely missed the Mayor and Deputy mayor, by a hairsbreadth.

"**RRRAAAAAAGH!**"

That was the sound of T-Bone as he swung the quite demented kat through the air, towards one of the walls. The grappling line tightened, squeezed on the arteries and veins before he rammed into a wall head first, causing the stone to burst and fly in all sorts of directions.

Another animalistic battle cry tore the air asunder as the Pastmaster was literally ripped from the wall he was imbedded in, only to have himself slammed against another. And yet, he had a death grip on the watch, as if his very existence depended on it.

Truthfully, it did.

"Just shut up and DIE!!"

This third, final yell was the lynch pin for what happened next as T-Bone whipped the Pastmaster through the air once more, ramming his head into a third wall. Of course, the third time is the charm, and his skull caved inward. So powerful was the impact that the watch flew out of his right hand, skittering on the portion of the walkway that was not torn apart.

Reeling in the grappling line with the Pastmaster still attached, T-Bone grabbed him by the neck as soon as he was close enough and said, "That was for torturing me."

He was about to deal some more damage when he looked at the villain's eyes for a moment, and realized that he was already far gone. "Too bad I can't give you one for Callie, though."

He removed the grappling line from the Pastmaster's neck before tossing him toward the clockwork. The wizard's hood caught on one of the gears, and T-Bone and the Enforcers watched with a sort of satisfaction as he was buried by his own so called engine of destruction.

With that, the Enforcers began making their way towards the central cog, and this time there was no barrier erected. Callista smiled warmly as they retrieved the two that they were looking for, and began to leave the clock room again when Razor noticed her.

"Hey, wait!"

The queen stopped and turned towards Razor, that same smile on her face. "What is it, Sir Razor?"

He shook his head and said as he walked forward, "You knew exactly where he was, without even having to look. That was nuts. You got some sort of ESP along with magic?"

Callista blinked and said, "ESP? What is that?"

Jake smacked himself on the forehead, remembering that she was from the Dark Ages.

"Extra Sensory Perception. You know, mental flashes, psychic abilities, intuition-"

She nodded at the last one and said, "Exactly, intuition. It does not have any special name for it- I simply listen to the voices within- quiet my mind and allow them to speak to me."

Razor nodded and placed a hand on his chin. "Interesting… how do you do that, exactly? I mean, it's not like it's rocket science or anything, but there's a trick to it, right? Some kind of switch in the mind that flips whenever you get a hunch?"

Callista chuckled and said, "There is no… switch… in the mind. In fact, it does not require rational thought at all. It requires a clear mind, free of discursive thoughts and distraction. When the mind is at rest, the spirit is awake and alive… and it speaks to you. There is no thought process or explanation behind it, it simply _is_."

Razor, being the analytical thinker that he is, shook his head and said, "I don't get it, but it's pretty awesome!"

Meanwhile, the Mayor was himself again, for the time being. Seeing as he had just avoided a one-way ticket to the otherworld, he decided to make with the grateful speech.

"Ah, the SWAT Kats! I was expecting you a tad sooner, but circumstances don't always agree with us!" He stood and straightened his coat before calling towards them, "You and the Enforcers have saved my life yet again. You deserve medals, all of you!"

T-Bone was surprised that he didn't mention anything about a parade.

Groggily, Calico Briggs stirred, holding a hand to her forehead. That was the second time she had been knocked unconscious, and she was starting to hate the aftereffects. As her vision swam, attempting to get back into focus, she swore that she saw Felina Feral in front of her.

"Hey… you all right there, Deputy Mayor?"

Callie smirked and said, "I feel like I just got run over by a subway train, but I'm fine other than that. Could you help me up, please? I don't think I can stand on my own two feet right now."

And of course, the Commander, seeing as he had already given his orders, began walking towards T-Bone.

"This doesn't let you off the hook in my book. Just because you've done some good for the city doesn't mean I don't think you're part of the problem instead of the solution."

T-Bone, without looking towards Commander Feral, said, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. You wanna keep being at odds with us, that's fine. Just as long as you realize that your constant attrition tactics are going to get you stomped, time and time again."

The Commander gritted his teeth. The goddamn cocky bastard was right- he didn't have the best track record as far as protecting the city. But he had an equally stinging retort.

"All right, fine. But as long as you two hotheads take the law into your own hands, we will always be at odds. Hell, you're good enough to be Enforcers if you would only take off those masks and go through the regular channels."

T-Bone smirked confidently and said, "The regular channels are slow as hell, and you know it. The system doesn't always work, and most of the time the bad guys get away. That, my good Commander Feral, is where the SWAT Kats come in. They don't play by the book, Feral. Neither do we, and that is why we can kick their asses better than anyone. Including, but not limited to you."

With that, T-Bone walked towards Razor, who was busy talking to Felina now. Commander Feral gritted his teeth again as he headed towards the pocket watch.

'So, this is the source of all the trouble, is it? Doesn't look like much.'

He stooped to pick it up.

Suddenly, the space between Callie's shoulder blades began to itch. She remembered, now of all times, what she was here for. She turned around and shouted "**Don't touch that watch!!**"

Feral stopped. It was already in his right hand.

"What's wrong with it, Miss Briggs? It's just a-"

He screamed in pain and buckled to the floor.

Felina suddenly turned in the direction of the scream, and her eyes went wide with shock. She could do nothing but stare as her uncle looked as if he had been struck with such a blow that he seemed incapacitated. He twitched and growled as his right hand shook, fighting with the watch. It seemed to be… no, it couldn't be.

"Eyes forward, grunts! It ain't over yet!!"

She pointed her F2000 towards Commander Feral as his twitching stopped, the sounds of pain tapering off before he went entirely quiet.

After a few moments of an eerie silence, Commander Feral stood slowly.

"…Sir?"

There was silence for a while yet, and the Enforcers guarding the mayor tightened their defenses.

Then, it happened.

Commander Feral was not an enforcer for nothing. His reflexes in combat were at peak condition thanks to intensive training. Thus, without looking at where he was shooting, he raised his Glock 20 and fired, in one smooth, fluid motion. It looked like his left arm was a blur before there was a sudden bang.

The bullet bounced harmlessly off of Razor's Glovetrix shield.

With the realization that her hunch was right, she growled, baring her fangs. Her fur bristled; her ears were low in sheer aggression. A tear fell from her eyes as her body froze entirely, unwilling to pull the trigger on her own flesh and blood.

"You bastard…"

Commander Feral laughed, and it was a laugh filled with madness. And all Callie could do was stare in horror- everything had happened as she had seen it.

Callista was gone yet again, and now there were few options remaining.

Either she got that watch from him… or they would have to kill Ulysses Feral.

_Time Remaining: 6 hours, 5 minutes, 43 seconds._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 7: The Bell Tolls (Part 4) - **_**The Pastmaster's Finest Hour**_

Well that sucks. Just when you thought it was over, things get twisted. And in the worst way, too.

You know, for a while I didn't think I would make it to ten reviews- this was a crazy as hell idea that came from my love of SWAT Kats and my subsequent obsession over how they never released the third season. How many battles could have been seen, how many relationships could have blossomed, how much glory could have been obtained!

But no, they had to cut it.

So I decided to do something about it.

But here we are, at ten reviews, which is much more than this author could have imagined. I want to thank you guys for sticking by me through this- you are all the reason I write, besides getting this madness out of my head. No, no reviewer's comments issued today, just one big-ass shout-out for all my peoples who posted something.

The next chapter will emerge sometime during the week. Hang in there for the finale of _**The Bell Tolls**_!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	8. The Bell Tolls Finale

Razor certainly did not want to do this.

The bullet was aimed for Felina, for his own niece. He knew where it was going the moment his elbow pointed towards the target. Commander Feral was going to do a "snap shot", a quick-draw technique that involved the acceleration of the arm via the shoulder, then the elbow through the wrist. Depending on how well-trained one was, they could fire a single, incapacitating or lethal bullet while making it seem as if the gun had simply appeared out of thin air.

Feral was fast. Razor's eyes were faster, but barely.

He didn't see the shoulder move- it was a smaller muscle and required little to move it. But the joint of the elbow was a different story- wherever it pointed, that's where the rest of the arm would go. It was that one instant, the split second that informed him what was going to happen. The arm snapped, the trigger was pulled, but before that could happen, Razor was on the move, skidding to a halt in front of Felina.

As he moved, the shielding popped out of his Glovetrix… and the bullet was deflected.

He knew all at once why Callie was so afraid of that watch, and agreed with Felina as she called the Pastmaster a bastard. Yes, he was an evil little troll for doing this, and now they had to put Commander Feral down for the count. The only question was this: how do you knock out the leader of the Enforcers when there is someone much more ruthless in control of him?

He didn't have an answer.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

"Well shit," T-Bone cursed as he quickly took the nearest available cover. "This is not a good way to start a morning," he muttered to himself. What now? If the Pastmaster had control of Feral, then he probably had access to his tactics. The only thing about that was that those tactics were about to change. For the first time in his career, Ulysses Feral would know what it was like to fight like a SWAT Kat.

'An evil version of a SWAT Kat,' he brooded as the wheels in his head turned. They were sitting ducks unless someone did something to distract him, and he was almost positive that everyone was thinking of a way to do just that. That's when he heard the Pastmaster speak, and with Feral's voice at that.

"You are all fools. You never even took a look at what was truly important- the only one who noticed anything was Callista. But as you can see, she can do nothing to help now- none of you can. In order to stop me, you will have to fight your Commander, and I doubt any of you have the slightest inkling of doing so."

He turned around and held up the pocket watch.

"But if you want to try, here is your chance. Go ahead… shoot it."

Callie had found herself come cover, and it happened to be where T-Bone was. He looked towards her with a grim expression and said, "Looks like all the cards are on the table, Miss Briggs. But how the heck did you know what he did with that watch?"

The Deputy Mayor shook her head and said, "I don't know myself, but we need to get it from him, and without killing him. I don't want anyone else to be hurt today."

T-Bone nodded as he peeked out from behind his cover. Sure enough, there he was… actually tempting them to shoot the watch. The SWAT Kat frowned distastefully and said, "That cocky little freak. He's probably going to make someone shoot the damn thing, and who knows what could happen? We gotta find a way to disarm him."

Callie was more concerned with asking herself a few key questions. They knew now that the Pastmaster's soul had been in that watch… now, what did that mean exactly? If the Pastmaster had taken control of Feral, then logic dictated that Feral was in the watch. What would happen if the watch was out of his hands? Well he would find someone else to possess, and it would start all over again.

'If it were one of the SWAT Kats, or Felina, it really _will_ be over.'

That left only a few options. They either had to somehow give it to one of the other Enforcers and then kill him, which was a cold, heartless plan but an option nonetheless, or…

'Or I'll have to be the one to take it.'

Now she realized there was no way out of it. She needed to get that watch, or else everything would be at an end. As soon as she swept that from her mind, everything became clear, in a mad sort of way. What she said next would sound crazy to anyone who heard it, but she said it anyway. Her voice was oddly calm as she spoke.

"Distract him."

T-Bone looked over towards Callie and raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but what are you gonna do? Nothing stupid, I hope."

She smiled and said, "As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to get that watch from him."

T-Bone suddenly turned towards her, gripping her shoulders firmly and shaking her at least once.

"What the _hell_ are you thinking? You saw what happened to Feral- the same damn thing is going to happen to you, and I don't think I can take that! Look, I'll go get the watch from him, and then they'll have to go at it with me. I doubt I'll be able to handle both Felina and Feral, but it'll give you a chance to get outta here!"

The Deputy Mayor's green eyes burned into him, challenging him, daring him to interrupt her.

"That's just _it_! You're so willing to sacrifice yourself; you do every time you go to battle, and you do it without a moment's notice. Think though, what about Razor? Where's he going to go after you, his best friend and invaluable partner, are gone? What about the city? You're the best pilot out there, and the TurboKat is nothing without a skilled kat to fly it. The Enforcers sure as hell can't handle the criminals and terrorists and what not- you two are the only chance we have! What about…"

She bit her bottom lip, trying to hold back her tears.

"…What about me? I can't imagine life without you."

T-Bone loosened his hold on her, if only from shock. There, she had said it; she had confirmed everything that he had imagined. The stuff of dreams, his dreams, was now real. For all of five seconds, he felt like a kid in a candy store.

Then reality caved in on him, tearing down his castle in the sky.

"…No. You don't want to be around a kat like me. I'm nothing special- I just fight the baddies that want to blow shit up. I'm a dangerous tom to be around, and I throw my ass on the line every time I go out. One day, I might-"

Callie placed a finger over his lips and said, "Can't I decide that? Isn't it my choice who I want to be around? Yes, I know perfectly well that you are a dangerous tom to be around. The Enforcers want you locked up, the criminals want you dead. But me, I want you to live. No one else might care all that much, but… I do."

She smirked and said as she peered through her lashes, "Besides, you owe me a ride on the TurboKat."

T-Bone wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She was as crazy as he himself was, and while he liked that… he liked _her_. He wanted her to live as well, and not as the Pastmaster's plaything. For a while, he thought about it, considered telling her to stay there. But… did anyone else have a better idea? Was there really a plan involved at the moment?

"…You got one shot." He said gruffly. "After that, I won't be responsible for what happens to Feral."

She nodded and said, "Just keep him occupied however you can. And remind them not to shoot the watch, or even touch it. Soon as I get it from him…"

Well, she hadn't thought that far ahead.

"…If something bad happens, take me out and destroy the pocket watch."

T-Bone really did want to cry now. He felt cold, as if a piece of him died slowly and painfully upon hearing those words. It was what he himself would have done though, and that was why he nodded. She apparently knew what she was doing, so he had to trust her.

"This is either your most brilliant plan or your most insane one- we're gonna find out soon enough!"

With that, he went barreling out from behind his cover and fired his grappling line towards one of Feral's legs. It managed to slip underneath one of the Enforcers before snaking along the Commander's right ankle. T-Bone tugged, and the Commander fell. Razor did not hesitate, advancing forward with his shield up as the Glock fired towards him. The shots would have connected with his legs were he not low to the ground; standard SWAT approach.

The Commander fired until the clip was empty before kicking out towards the shield, attempting to stop it with his foot. Razor was expecting this as well, and thus he suddenly leapt upwards a short distance before ramming the metal disc right onto Feral's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Razor mounted him and started punching the hell out of the guy, hoping for a knock out sometime in the near future. Unfortunately, it wouldn't really happen as Feral pointed the pocket watch towards the SWAT Kat, preparing to activate it from close range. Razor moved out of the way, shifted his legs, and suddenly had him in an arm bar. Hips upward, pain everywhere. Oh yes, definitely pain. Feral gritted his teeth as he attempted to get out of what couldn't be escaped from- Razor was awful good at this.

"What the _hell_ are you doing, SWAT Kat?"

Razor blinked for a moment. Now, that sounded like the Commander he knew- was he fighting it?

"Commander, you gotta drop the watch, now!"

His hold had loosened from his surprise, and Razor didn't see the malicious grin that spread across his opponent's features. One of the slim SWAT Kat's legs was grabbed and he was suddenly taken for a ride, tossed towards the gap in the walkway!

On reflex, Razor fired his grappling line into the ceiling of the clock room, reeling himself upwards. Unfortunately, the Commander tracked him, smiling as the watch charged up. Razor's eyes widened, locking on to the instrument of doom. Suddenly, out of the corner of his right eye he saw the freight train that was his partner barreling down on the Pastmaster's puppet.

Commander Feral was suddenly careened into by a shoulder tackle, linebacker style.

He went off of his feet as the watch blasted toward Razor and missed. The Enforcer was rammed into the nearby wall and treated to several knees to the gut as T-Bone attempted to turn his insides to jelly. Didn't matter who it was- he didn't like anyone trying to knock his partner off.

Felina couldn't watch this anymore. She wanted to help, but she didn't want to see her uncle get turned to so much meatloaf. "Stop," she said through her tears, "That's enough! There has to be another way! There _has to_!"

T-Bone shook his head and said, "The Pastmaster's got a hold of him, Lieutenant! We can't let up!"

The break in the merciless attack was all that was needed though, and the Commander whacked T-Bone across his face with the empty Glock. As he stumbled back, Feral lay into him with a side heel kick, sending him flying backwards into the Enforcers behind him.

Once again, he aimed. "This is getting tiring."

From above, he did not notice as Razor dropped on top of him like a bomb, feet first. His heels rammed into the top of his head, sending a shockwave down his spine. That alone disrupted his movement entirely, and not even the watch could go off. By the time Razor hopped off of his head, T-Bone was already on his way and rammed into feral with a flying knee, slamming into his solar plexus with a vengeance.

Feral was down, he was winded, and he had no possible way to counter the massive assault tactics of the Kats. He had tried sure, but their team effort was a bit much. As he flew backwards and rammed against the wall yet again, T-Bone moved in for yet another round of attacks.

Unfortunately, a three-round burst from an F2000 behind him stopped his movements. The bullets only shot into the floor, but it was enough to make him hop upwards for a moment.

He looked behind him and blinked for a moment as he saw Felina point her rifle at him.

"What the… there's no way around this, Lieutenant!"

Felina's eyes brimmed over with tears as she slowly shook her head.

"You… you don't know that. My uncle could still be in there, fighting his way out. Just let me talk to him, reason with him. You guys have done a great job, but there's another way. I have to try, okay? So please, don't move."

T-Bone moved towards Felina, but unfortunately he was halted when the other Enforcers raised their weapons at him.

"Please… don't make me do this. You're my friends and I respect you… so that's why I'm going to let you off the hook for this, because circumstances demanded that you restrain him. Let me take care of it now."

Well wasn't this wonderful. Here was another person that he had to trust, and another crazy plan that had a low probability of working. But did he have a choice? Once again, no he did not. It was either let her do her thing, or be ventilated.

Cautiously, Felina approached the injured and winded Commander of the Enforcers, her steps timid and her aim uncertain. She couldn't let this go on- she had to end this peacefully.

"…Uncle? Are you there?"

Feral looked towards the incoming Lieutenant and smiled weakly. "F-Felina…"

She smiled, her tears streaming down her face. So he was still there…

"Hello, Uncle. Wow, isn't this an interesting situation? I bet your tactics didn't have this in mind. I don't like saying I told you so, but…"

Ulysses chuckled sadly. "There's no time to talk about all that, is there?" He coughed up blood. Oh, they had done a number on him, but Felina realized it had to be done. He took a breath and continued speaking.

"Listen to me, Felina. I need you to do something for me. I know perfectly well now what the Pastmaster is trying to do, and there's only one way to solve it. Will you do me this favor?"

Felina nodded and said, "Anything."

The Commander stood shakily, as if he couldn't stand on his own two feet for long. He had a grave expression on his features.

"If I can't drive this madman out of my head and back where he came from, kill me."

Felina shook her head immediately. "No. I'm afraid I can't do that. I can shoot at the bad guys; I even shot at the SWAT Kats to keep them from beating you to a pulp, but never you. **Never**. "

Ulysses said softly, "Unfortunately, you don't have much of a choice. They had the right idea- and it pains me even now to admit it. You _must_ take me out if I can't fight this bastard!"

His head rang. It was a bad sign. Feral groaned as he placed a hand on his forehead.

'I doubt I can hold him for much longer… not now, at any rate.'

Felina walked towards him, inching closer. "I'm positive you can fight him! You've got a stronger will than anyone I know- there's no doubt in my mind that you'll win. So please, don't tell me to-"

Feral shouted now. "Don't question my orders, Felina! I can't deal with magic, or psychic attacks, or anything of that sort! I'm just a normal kat, that's all. If I can't drive him out, you have to kill me!"

The stress was too much. His head pounded and he dropped to the floor with a cry of anguish.

"**Uncle, no!!**"

Felina was torn. Now she understood what the Commander felt when he sent her out on the front lines- family, or duty? To be protective or to reward merits which were long past due? Was he Commander Feral, or her father's brother? He couldn't be both, but he wanted to.

But right now, she was sure of whom she was.

She ran towards him, attempting to help him up. Yes, she was sure that there was a way out of this. She could do this… she could help him win! But of course as these things go, nothing is as it seems. The headache had stopped as she approached, and Feral spoke once again.

"If you won't kill me, then I'll just have to kill you, foolish girl."

She had a hand wrapped around her neck and was lifted upwards as Feral stood, his vigor somehow returned to him. He had a sickly grin on his features, distorted into a mask of greed and insanity. Felina gritted her teeth and hissed at him.

"Complain all you want, but this is the end for MegaKat City. I do believe that you will be a fine sacrifice for the return of the Dark Ages, now that the Mayor has been placed out of the equation. The power of your blood, charged with such passion, will prove to be better than that coward's."

Felina couldn't reach her rifle- she had dropped it as she was picked up. Well, this was not good… and she could feel the blood being cut off from her brain.

'Uncle… you can beat him! FIGHT IT!!'

The grin spread.

"Die."

* * *

Calico Briggs was nothing if not stealthy at times. 

She knew how to hide herself when things got ugly, how to head towards the nearest safe area with the least amount of trouble, and how to get the hell out of dodge in her car. Hell, in any car, for that matter. So it was no surprise when she slipped from one cover to another, silently watching the battle between the SWAT Kats and the possessed Commander Feral.

'I can't make my move yet- they have to stop him from going anywhere.'

And for a while, they did- Feral was getting his ass handed to him. It was unfortunate to watch, but they needed to keep him immobilized. For a while, he was against one of the walls, out of breath and out of running room. She prepared to move in when she heard the gunfire.

Her eyes widened as Felina stepped forward, claiming that there was another way to solve this. And for a while, yes there was. It seemed that the ass-kicking that Feral had taken did wonders for his mind, because the Pastmaster lost his focus. For the moment, the Commander was back… but then said something that she was getting tired of.

'There are so many willing to die… all these kats, willing to put themselves on the line for MegaKat City.'

Her hands curled into fists from where she watched.

'No, no more. It stops here.'

She was about to move forward anyway when Felina was suddenly snatched up by Commander Feral- apparently, the Pastmaster was back in control, and he had Felina in a death grip. His powerful forearm muscles tightened as his hand closed tighter. Callie could almost swear that Felina's eyes began to roll to the back of her head.

She tried not to cry out before moving from her position. For the most part, it worked.

'It's now or never, Callie- let's do it!'

Stealthily heading for Feral, she was close enough to hear him gloat about how the Dark Ages was about to return, and that she would be a fitting sacrifice. She didn't quite understand, but she didn't necessarily care. She did indeed have only one shot, and she would most likely have to take it now.

She heard him declare that she was going to die when she moved, swift and sure. Her mind was almost unnaturally devoid of distractions as she advanced, and before Feral could break her neck… his grip loosened, his eyes widened, and he abruptly dropped the Lieutenant as he staggered backwards.

Felina coughed as she tried to take in the air that she had lost, her lungs burning with each breath. She was at death's door there for a moment, but everything was all right now. Even the Enforcers lowered their weapons in relief.

But the SWAT Kats were, as T-Bone mentioned, dangerous toms. They had their guards up still, waiting for something stupid to happen.

Callie's eyes were shut tight, waiting for whatever was going to happen to… well, happen. And soon enough, she heard a voice in her head, sudden and malevolent, filled with indignation. It was of course, the Pastmaster, and he was not too happy about his toy being taken from him.

'Who dares? Who DARES TO-'

The Pastmaster stopped abruptly as he read the thought patterns. His voice was filled with a silent dread.

'No… not you, Callista. No.'

Callie opened her eyes. Nothing had happened- she wasn't being taken over. The Pastmaster was hesitating, stopping his mental assault. It worked… her crazy plan had worked! Newfound confidence spread through her, emboldened her. She looked at the watch with a hard glare.

'I knew it. You still think I'm her, don't you? Well I'm _not_. My name is Calico Briggs, Deputy Mayor of MegaKat City, and don't you forget it, dammit!'

His voice was… haunted. Every word was filled with longing.

'No… you _are_ Callista. I can sense it- feel it as if it were my own blood in my own veins. Yes, she is here. Even now, she remains in this clock tower you call City Hall, waiting for the return to her time. It will happen eventually, whether I am victorious or not. But make no mistake… you are Callista as well.'

Callie raised an eyebrow, and it looked as if she were deciding whether or not to get rid of the watch.

That was when she remembered the queen's words. She still lived inside of her. She had the authority, the intuition, the strange aura that had people fight for her, die for her… but she could also inspire them to live for her, couldn't she?

She smiled fondly and responded, 'You're right, I am. And that's why I have to fight you.'

The Pastmaster's voice was wracked with pain now, absolute loss.

'Tell me why, Callista! I love you! Even through the ages, I remain devoted to you!'

Callie's voice responded with equal passion, but not of love. No, not love at all.

'Well I'm not in love with you! You scheme and manipulate and kill to get what you want- you strike fear instead of taking it away! You hate everything that isn't part of your time, when your time is long past. The Dark Ages are over, Pastmaster. Go quietly along with them.'

The Pastmaster's voice was filled with anger now. It sounded like he was ready to move.

'I will not fall to the likes of you! I will have my era back! I am incapable of surviving without it!!'

She grimaced and said out loud, "Damn, you talk too much!"

She felt him begin to invade, and her fur stood on end. The itch between her shoulder blades started up again, and before she knew what she was doing she threw it towards the clockwork.

"**Shoot it dammit! Shoot it NOW!!**"

A shot rang out, and with a fatal ping, a 5.56 mm round rammed home. Lieutenant Felina Feral lowered her rifle, a satisfied smile on her features.

"Suck on that, you son of a bitch."

A guttural scream echoed throughout the room as the watch hovered in place, and all at once the gears were drained of the tainted energies. Purple streams of time-bending power tore free from the massive clockwork, and began flowing back into the watch. From the watch itself, the ghostly cries of pain emanated, bouncing off of the walls.

All the energies that he had expounded came back in full force, and all his tortured soul could do was scream in agony. The watch was already full of energy in its purest form, his very soul. As of now, it was being overloaded. There was nothing he could do about it now, because the hole in that watch was being filled with too much power at once.

"No more! **NO MORE!!**"

And yet, it continued coming on strong, until every last molecule of time-bending power was absorbed. With a final scream, the watch blew apart, metallic shrapnel flying everywhere. The Enforcers had to duck to avoid it all, but the watch was utterly decimated, destroyed beyond any sort of repair.

Slowly standing up, Felina picked up one of the shards of gold, watching in amazement as it turned to rust, and then to dust. Brushing her hands against her uniform, she helped Commander Feral to his feet and said, "Well, that was refreshing. So can we get out of here already? I'm tired, and I need my bed."

* * *

As the Enforcers carried Commander Feral off to the ambulance that was waiting downstairs, the Deputy Mayor stood on the balcony of the clock tower, observing the city's skyline with the SWAT Kats and Lieutenant Feral. It was 10:00 AM- two hours before noon. Had they finished this any later, they would be looking at an entirely different scene. Two hours, considering the grand scheme of things, was not much time. 

They had just made it. Barely.

T-Bone stretched out, his joints popping from the strain that was placed on them. "Well, it sure as hell is a good day today, all things considered. Then again, every day that a kat gets to kick ass like that is good!"

Razor turned toward Felina and sighed sadly. "Sorry about your uncle. If worse came to worst, we would have had to do exactly as he said. Yeah, T-Bone roughed him up a hell of a lot, but it got him out of whatever he was in. Still, it doesn't make it any better that we almost killed one of the good guys."

Felina sighed and turned towards Razor, smiling sadly. "You know what? It doesn't matter. We won, my Uncle is all right, and the city isn't a pile of Dark Age stones. I just wish… there were some other way to do that."

T-Bone nodded and said, "Nah, there's always another way. That one was just the fastest. But why'd you shoot at me? I was gonna check to see if he was back to normal. If he wasn't, I'd have given him a nice love tap on the chin again and again until he woke the fuck up."

Felina lowered her head and said, "I know. At least, I do now. But… I just…"

That was when Callie piped in, placing a hand on Felina's shoulder.

"You can't be both an Enforcer and Commander Feral's niece, not at the same time anyway. I think that's the mistake he was making, and I think he realizes it now. So cheer up- you just might have that promotion you were looking for soon!"

Felina smiled and said, "Yeah, but I'd rather have my Uncle than some stupid medals or a bonus to my pay check. Still, I hope that now he sees things my way."

T-Bone remembered the conversation they had before everything went to hell. He chuckled and said, "No offense to your Uncle, Lieutenant, but I would bet money that Feral won't change a bit. He's got too much pride to even admit a fault or failing. Probably best that you leave the issue alone for now. You just saved the city- that's the point of the job, not to get someone to see things from your point of view."

Felina nodded and said, "Yeah, I understand. But really, Callie saved the day." She turned towards the Deputy Mayor and cocked her head to one side. "That, most admittedly, was the most insane plan I have ever seen in action. And yet, it worked. Did you have any idea whether it was going to or not?"

Callie scratched the back of her head and said, "No, I didn't. But I couldn't think about that, could I?"

Felina gaped. T-Bone and Razor simply looked at each other and grinned.

"So, this is what the world would be like if everyone thought like a SWAT Kat, huh?"

They both turned towards T-Bone's voice, but by the time they did… they were gone. They looked over the edge and gasped as they saw the two SWAT Kats falling towards the ground. Felina looked over at the grappling hooks where they had once been and smiled.

"They're crazy," the Deputy Mayor whispered, entirely breathless.

Felina grinned and turned towards Callie, "Crazy like a pair of sexy foxes. But don't let anyone know I said that."

Calico Briggs could not help but smirk at that. Of course, she saw the Cyclotron roll away through the streets a few moments later, and was entirely relieved.

"It appears that everything went as it should, Calico Briggs."

The two she-kats turned and saw Callista, except she was slowly, ever so slowly, beginning to fade. Callie, for some reason, felt sad when she saw this. It felt like a part of her was… disappearing. She would never see her again- she knew that Callista would be long dead before this time arrived.

"I'm gonna miss you, queen."

Callista smiled warmly and said, "You will not miss me at all. You must remember- you _are_ me. You are my future, and I am your past. You may not have my magic, but you have everything else at your disposal. Use it when you need to."

The Deputy Mayor nodded, while Felina simply raised her eyebrow in confusion. Oh yes, she had definitely missed something. "What I want to know is what's going to happen to City Hall, as well as the surrounding area? It's gonna take a while to clean all that up."

Callista shook her head and said, "On the contrary. All the damage that has been done by that which is of the past will return to normal when I fade. You see, I am the last of the Pastmaster's spell, and when I am gone your city will be whole again. But it is improper to leave without saying farewell to… well, to myself."

Felina saw the humor in this, and she laughed along with Callie and the Dark Ages queen that was a dead ringer for her.

Callista looked towards the horizon and said, "It is beautiful… my future. I will work hard to make this a reality, in whatever way I can. This place will remain for years to come- you have my word."

The she-kats nodded as the queen allowed herself to fade as the light of the sun hit her corporeal form. Callie suddenly shivered, an eerie wash of sensation running along her fur. Felina looked towards her for a moment before looking down, thinking that something had happened. In fact, something had happened- the streets were free of debris and rubble, the buildings that had been beaten up were back to how they once were.

"It's as if all this never happened."

Callie nodded absently as she stared towards the horizon. "Yeah…"

Felina yawned and stretched out. "Well, now that all this is over, I'm heading back to my apartment. I hope that Uncle Ulysses won't mind me sleeping in for a few hours before heading back to Headquarters. What are you going to do, Deputy Mayor?"

She shook her head and said, "Go somewhere to think, other than this office. I have a lot to take in from these past few hours. I'm sure that Mayor Manx can last a while without me."

Felina truly thought about that one, then grinned and said, "Doubt it. Just stay here and take care of him, okay? When the time comes to elect a better official, you have my vote."

Callista grinned and said, "That's flattering, but I doubt the mayor is going to end his victory streak any time soon. Besides, I do better from behind the scenes anyways."

Lieutenant Feral nodded and began walking back towards the door that led to the balcony. But before she could go beyond five steps…

"Oh, damn. Almost forgot to ask!"

Felina turned around and raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

Callie, sure that there was no one around to hear her, lowered her head bashfully and looked coyly through her lashes. Sure it wouldn't work on another girl, but it was her natural reaction when she was embarrassed about something.

"Could you… teach me how to shoot?"

* * *

T-Bone and Razor were driving through the city on the Cyclotron, weaving dangerously through traffic as they headed back towards the military scrap yard that was their base of operations. Both toms had been presented with new options this day, whether the she-kats they were interested in knew it or not. And they continued having one thing echoing in their heads. 

It had been said time and time again, and now it was starting to make its impact.

"The Commander… Felina… they couldn't be two people at once," Razor said as he contemplated what that meant. It was true, they could not. It led to all sorts of complications- when one tried to live two different lives at the same time, it led to disastrous results, or just plain confusion or misunderstanding.

T-Bone nodded and said, "Yeah, but we're not trying to be two people at the same time. We just happen to have these clothes on and fight the baddies. That's about it, bud."

Razor shook his head and said, "No, that's not it. We have secret identities- we got people coming after us all the time. We can't tell anyone who we are, because they'd be in trouble if we did. Think about it man- we're in the same hole that Feral is. And now we got two incredibly sexy she-kats that are worried about us."

T-Bone was silent for a while before he nodded. "You got a point, buddy. But that's why we're here- we're the knights that keep our respective princesses safe, even if we have to do it under cover of darkness. They might worry about us, but they shouldn't. We throw ourselves to the wolves every day to keep them safe- to put their minds at ease. It's no big shit; it's just what we do."

Razor grinned and said, "Roger that! You know what? Suddenly I don't feel so tired anymore."

T-Bone revved the engine, coaxing the Cyclotron closer to redline. "Then let's ride! We ain't got shit to do but cruise, man. Besides, we might be on call at any time!"

With that, he hit the boosters and began driving back towards their base. They probably had a few cars to work on today, and another visit from their benefactors. But hey, such was their normal, day to day life.

At least the second one was more exciting.

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Bell Tolls (Finale) - **_**Comes the Dawn**_

Hell yeah. See, now that was a satisfying end. Sure it's not as long as earlier, but it does serve its purpose as being a closer. Six thousand words ain't bad though. So then, tell me what you thought about it, huh? Leave some comments.

Okay, back to the reviewer appreciation.

**Raiden Snake** has hailed me as "The Dan Brown of Fanfiction." Holy shit, man! You better stop- you just might give me the wrong idea. As for your review, I hope my response to your queries has satisfied you to some point. If not, drop me a line at my profile page. You know the one. **kardel88**! You are my homie, seriously. The quality of fics in general is deteriorating- someone must save the arts of storytelling and grammar before they are lost forever!

That is why I am here.

And now, if you have the track, I need everyone to rock out to "Rogues", by **Incubus**. This is the ending theme for this story arc!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	9. Friends in Need

"This is Ann Gora, Kat's Eye News, with an update on the situation from earlier this morning. After a struggle that stretched on for more than seven hours, the threat to City Hall has been neutralized. We could not get a statement from Commander Ulysses Feral or Deputy Mayor Briggs, but eyewitness reports state that the SWAT Kats were heading away from the clock tower at around ten in the morning.

"Other reports indicate that several figures were involved in the battle for City Hall, including the Unconventional Tactics unit of the Enforcers, and a personal, handpicked team led by Commander Feral himself. Though we may never know what happened inside due to lack of any sort of apparent damage, this reporter is grateful that the SWAT Kats were able to handle the situation. High in the skies, this is Ann Gora, returning you to your normal broadcast day."

The brown-haired she-kat looked down at the massive clock from her position in the news helicopter, wondering what kind of a story she would have been able to report from in there, while the fighting was said to have taken place. She also wished that she could have gotten a statement from any of the parties involved.

'Still, this is a good enough piece for now,' she mused to herself as she had the helo return to the news station. She wasn't worried- a good story would come along sooner or later, and most of the time a good story involved the SWAT Kats.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Two days had passed since one of the wildest early mornings that the SWAT Kats had ever spent at City Hall. But of course, afterwards they had to get back into their normal routine, which was paying off their astronomical debts. Yes it was a tough job, but someone had to do it, right? Besides, it wasn't all that bad, especially today.

A familiar green car drove up to the garage, and apparently it did not need fixing. As a matter of fact, just a few days ago it had all been taken care of. Chance Furlong raised an eyebrow, wondering what the sudden visit was for. Sure, Callie had their number and all, but she was infinitely busy with attending to the Mayor.

'More like baby sit,' he thought with a chuckle. She deserved a break, but she deserved it somewhere better than a military scrap yard.

But he didn't complain as Calico Briggs exited the car, still in that pink business suit. And damn, she still looked hot in it. That wasn't even considering the way she moved, which had him staring (though discreetly) towards her hips and waist.

"Hey, Chance. Working hard, or hardly working?"

The big tom chuckled and said, "The second one- we're done with our stuff for now. What can I do for you, Miss Briggs?"

The blonde placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward slightly. "I told you to call me Callie. We don't have to be strangers, you know. And don't you dare talk about how I shouldn't be friends with the guy who keeps my wheels spinning- it's a pile of crap and you know it."

Chance raised his hands defensively and said, "All right, all right! Sure thing, Callie! So then, to what do I owe this sudden, surprise visit? We took care of your ride two days ago. Is something already wrong with it?"

The Deputy Mayor shook her head and sighed. It were as if he refused to treat her as more than just another customer- something about being honorable, she supposed. Callie didn't buy it though, and cleared her face of the mild irritation as she walked towards Chance.

"Truth be told, I came to check up on you guys- see how you were doing. You know, things that a friend does now and then. Besides, the office isn't exactly the place I need to be right now- the Mayor is having an actual meeting, which is of course one of the only things he does personally."

The mechanic laughed and said, "Well there's not much room, but we can seat three on the couch here. Oi, Jake! We got a guest here, buddy."

He did not get a response.

Callie and Chance looked towards each other before heading towards the back. The further they headed, the more they heard the telltale sign of a heavy bag being whacked into. Past the television and the couch, past the barbell and weight rack, further and further still. She smiled as she observed their workout gear. So then, they did work out after all.

'Then again, I can already see that,' she thought to herself as she saw Chance's broad back. Not an ounce of fat on him, he was all muscle. Impressive calves, strong, toned thighs, a cute ass… wait, no. No, that was not right, bad Callie.

Then, she re-thought that. 'Why is the _truth_ so bad? He's hot, incredibly so.'

"Something wrong, Callie?"

She blinked as the mechanic brought her out of her daze. She was lucky that he couldn't see the blush that turned her creamy fur a tinge of red, but she managed to compose herself enough to say, "Oh no, not at all. Just admiring your place here," with that same cool voice.

Chance looked around and said, "What, this hole in the wall? It's nothing special. Sure we've got a few places to sleep in here, but other than that the accommodations aren't exactly… you know."

Callie chuckled and said, "At least it's somewhat neat. You guys keep things organized around here- it's better than most garages I've been in where the floors in the waiting room are sticky as all hell, not to mention the whole place smells like smoke."

He nodded understandingly as he turned towards her. "Yeah, well we could use a few upgrades to the place- new couch, new TV, bigger weights, things like that. And before you say anything, do not try and get that kinda stuff for us. You don't have to, really."

She folded her arms beneath her breasts and raised an eyebrow. "I swear some guys don't want a girl to shop for them. I don't get that."

Chance took a step back. Something about her tone of voice suggested that she was not in the mood to argue. Hell, the very statement was less of a comment and more of a challenge. "That's not the point, and it's not what I meant. I don't want you to go out of your way for us- there are plenty of other things you could be spending your money on. You got bills to pay, clothes and food to buy, stuff like that. Spending all that money on us would be…"

He shook his head and said, "It'd make me feel better if you took care of yourself first, that's all."

Callie dipped her head, suddenly interested in her feet. Another blush rose to her cheeks. Why did he have to be so goddamned _nice_? It entirely defused her! Without looking, she began closing the distance, walking towards him with careful, measured steps.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, you know. But I've already paid my bills; have enough clothing for a good while, a fully stocked fridge… You're forgetting who you're talking to, Chance. When I want something, I can get it whenever I want."

As she approached, Chance backed up. Why did he not like this? The way she moved was entirely too distracting now and he could smell the perfume she always wore. Her hair shone faintly in the lights overhead, making the she-kat seem all the more surreal. Damned if he didn't want to drag her to one of those back rooms and show her how much of an effect she had on him.

'But not now,' he thought to himself as he searched for an exit. There was only one right now, since Callie would not let him pass. He was entirely unnerved, holding his desires in check. 'Keep your cool, man! Say something!'

He wanted to protest, to tell her that they could get it on their own, but… the words were stuck in his throat. Right now, she probably could get anything she wanted, especially from him. And there was nothing in this world that he could do about it besides acquiesce.

And then, it happened.

She looked up at him through her eyelashes. For some odd reason, that always got him. By now, he was backed up against the wall and she was entirely too close for comfort, and yet not close enough. His hands balled into fists- he wanted to run. Him, Chance Furlong, wanting to run from one of the sexiest she-kats a tom could lay eyes on!

But yes, unbelievable as it sounded to him, he wanted out of there. But there were no exits. He couldn't get past the Deputy Mayor- a deep-seated part of him knew it. It was tactically impossible- he couldn't hit her, he couldn't yell at her, he couldn't even complain when she was this fucking close.

'Her perfume is foggin' everything… damn!"

She spoke, and it was all he could hear.

"So you, Chance Furlong, will not tell me what I can and cannot do. If I want to help you as a friend, then by any means in my vast capability, I will help. You name it, I've got it. If I don't, I can get it. All you have to do is ask. Is that so hard, asking for help?"

The mechanic could do nothing but shake his head. No, it wasn't hard. Well, perhaps it was, because what he needed help with was more than just what was held in this room. He was hot and bothered, entirely off center, and the only way she could help with that was to either kiss him… or get away from him.

The second condition was readily met.

"It's settled, then. Now what did you say you needed again?"

Chance shook his head again and said, "You're dangerous, you know that?"

Callie smiled. "Yes, I do. Now hurry up and tell me what this place needs, so I can make arrangements. Seriously, it shouldn't be too hard to make you guys comfortable."

The door opened to Chance's right side and Jake stepped out, a gray sweatshirt and black sweatpants on. His hands were wrapped, a sign that he was the one hitting the bag. The slimmer tom raised an eyebrow and said, "Callie! Sorry, I didn't hear you come in. What brings you here?"

She smiled towards him and said, "Oh, just wanted to check on you two. See if everything was all right over here. Chance was nice enough to give me a tour of the place, small as it is. I have to say, it's the best back room that I've seen in a garage."

Chance wanted to roll his eyes. A tour his ass. One minute she stalks him like a wild thing, and the next she's having casual conversations with Jake. What was he going to do with her?

'Love her to death.'

That was the only answer he had, really.

Shaking his head to clear the heat from his thoughts, he said abruptly, "Well then, how about we continue said tour then? Jake, you comin' with us?"

Jake shrugged and said, "I don't mind, really. There's not much to this place, but it does have a few things to keep us up to speed, if you get what I mean."

Callie nodded and said, "Then let's go, already. I can't wait to see what else you guys have around here."

With that, she saw the training room, as they called it. There were plenty of things here that she took a look at- a heavy bag and a hit bag, kicking shields and hand targets, a wooden dummy, several concrete blocks, sand bags, and even a metal plate that was two feet long, three wide, and roughly three inches thick. It looked… strange, as if it were made of water rather than metal. She ran a hand along it- it looked untouched thus far.

Jake noticed what she was doing and grinned. "I made that one recently. The heavy bag isn't enough these days except to practice combinations. It's pattern-welded, a combination of steel and titanium. It's tough to find the pure stuff in natural situations, but in the scrap yard out there we can find anything. It can stand up to a 7.62 mm round and keep on ticking."

She nodded and said, "So what's it for? Don't tell me you hit this thing."

Chance grinned and said, "Oh, yeah! Of course, we don't wrap our hands during the process- that'd ruin it. See the more you hit it, the stronger your hands get. It's like a heavy bag, but more intense. According to Jake, you don't even have to hit it that hard, but that's just his opinion."

Callie shook her head and said, "I don't see the point. I mean, why exactly would you do something like that?"

Jake and Chance looked at each other before grinning at Callie.

"Glad you asked," the slimmer tom said as he retrieved one of the concrete blocks, setting it on a nearby table. Callie didn't know it yet, but they were fortunate that it was sturdy as hell. He gestured towards it and said, "Looks tough, doesn't it? Guess what- it's not."

Callie raised an eyebrow, but said nothing; she only watched as Jake centered himself. For a moment, she saw his features go entirely blank, as if he had put on a mask of indifference. Then he raised a hand, just one, and forcefully dropped it onto the block with the palm side. An audible smack echoed through the room, and he removed said hand from the stone.

Nothing happened.

"I still don't get it." Callie said with a disinterested frown. Chance nodded and said, "Neither did I, at first. But check this out…"

He walked over to the cinder block and looked towards Callie with a confident smirk as he tapped the block with one single claw, nothing more.

The cinder block crumbled. Callie's eyes widened.

"…How did you…"

Jake grinned. "The funny thing about any attack is that it's not the attack that counts, but the force and energy produced by said attack. Every ounce of force I put into that attack went right into the cinder block. And all it needed was a tap from Chance here. So what I throw might look soft…"

"…But it lands _hard_," Chance finished as he cleared the table.

Callie nodded and smirked. "I see. That was impressive. You did all that, that by just by practicing your moves on this here?" She ran a finger along the beautifully crafted metal plate. "Then why hasn't this bent already?"

Jake shrugged and said, "It's made of steel and titanium, Miss Briggs. What do you think?"

For a while, she was silent- then she nodded. "I understand. That's why you made it in the first place- you would have broken anything else in here if you used full force."

Chance nodded. "Bingo. Well, are we done with the tour yet?"

The Deputy Mayor shook her head and said, "Not by a long shot, but we can pause for now." She wanted to play around some in here- it looked exciting. Besides, she could use the workout. For the moment however, she smiled and said, "I just remembered that I have somewhere to be- an appointment, you might say. But before I leave," she said as she poked Chance in his impressively sculpted chest, "You are going to tell me what you guys need."

Jake raised his eyebrows and said, "Did I miss something?"

Chance sighed and said, "Just a talk between me and Callie about her giving us a bit of a boost around here, nothing serious." He looked towards the Deputy Mayor and said, "You don't have to do this. But thanks anyway."

She smiled and said, "My pleasure. Now hurry up and let me know what you guys would like…"

* * *

Two hours.

That was how long Felina Feral had to wait for Calico Briggs- two hours. She had gotten a phone call two hours ago that stated she was on her way from, of all places, the garage. Something about getting her car checked out. But she was patient, unlike her uncle.

'But two hours? This is a bit absurd. Still, she did say she was coming.'

Sure enough, she saw the Deputy Mayor's car roll up towards the parking lot of Enforcer Headquarters, and lo and behold, out stepped Calico Briggs, sweeping a hand through her blond tresses.

"Sorry I'm late- had to make a few quick stops."

Felina smiled. "Nah, I don't mind. I'm sure you've been in here before, so I'll skip the tour and get right down to business. Let's go then," she said as she motioned for her to follow. Soon, the two had arrived at the firearms cages, located in one of the sub-levels of Enforcer Headquarters.

"Benny," Felicia acknowledged as she headed towards the range. "I trust you've met the Deputy Mayor before?"

He nodded and said, "She's been on tour here for a while now- wanted to know if our weapons were up to date. She needed it for a budget report, I think. Thanks to her, we got all the latest pieces in our arsenal, including your specific F2000s, Lieutenant."

Felicia smiled and said, "Been meaning to thank her for that. But now I need you to pull out one of those Glocks- I think the 19 should do nicely."

Benny raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't carry a Glock usually, you got that .45 USP, right?"

The Lieutenant smirked and said, "Too big of a gun for her."

And then, he understood.

"Ah. Well then, welcome to your first firing range, Deputy Mayor. Don't let her push you around too much."

He winked, and she blushed.

"I'll try my best," Callie said as she looked towards Felina with trepidation. She shrugged and said, "Don't let him tease you like that- you'll be fine. Come on, I'll show you how this thing works." She took the Glock and a few clips full of training rounds before leading her towards the targets.

After giving her a horizontal shoulder holster with two magazine pouches on the right side, Felina began explaining the basics of the basics. "All right then, let's start with the basics. When you're not shooting at something, make every precaution necessary so that you don't shoot at all. This ain't the movies, so use common sense. Gun pointed to the ground, away from what you don't want shot, and finger off of the trigger. Got it?"

Callie nodded. That was easy enough.

"Right, then. Second rule and this is an important one. Your gun, or any gun for that matter, is _always_ loaded. Not half empty, not entirely clean, not even the safety on, always loaded. Treat it that way. Drill this into your mind until you don't have to think about it anymore, and you'll be fine."

Callie most definitely nodded at that. This was more of a matter of respect than technique, but she understood it. "Got it, and the third?"

Felina raised an eyebrow and said, "Got it? No, no you don't. You always come into a lesson with the mindset that you know absolutely nothing about the subject. Don't be so eager to start shooting."

Remembering what Benny said about not letting the Lieutenant push her around too much, she placed her hands on her hips and said, "Well that's a given. You think I came in here with any experience? No, I know perfectly well that I know precisely jack shit about this, so don't you talk to me like I do."

Felina blinked for a moment, put off balance by the response. Then, she smiled.

"Good, just checking. Third rule: watch what's _behind_ what you're shooting at. A lot of things could happen with a bullet- but there are two very, very possible things. It could miss, or it could simply punch through, as if the target weren't even there. In either of those cases or in any case at all, you have to be mindful of your surroundings. If someone who you don't want to shoot is behind who you _do_ want to shoot, he or she is going to get hit."

Callie grimaced. That was a problem, definitely.

Felina nodded and said, "With that said, there's a second part to rule number three- make sure that your target is valid- that means dangerous, threatening you or other people. There are three measures of threat- Compliant, Resistant, and Assaultive. I trust you already know what those mean."

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "I've heard of them. Compliant means just that- they'll do what you say without another word. Resistant is what it means too, except they might resist your words but go along with just a push or shove, or it could mean they're fighting you, trying to break free."

Felina smiled and said, "You know, I could teach you how to restrain someone, but one thing at a time here. Good- you got it so far. So what's the last one?"

Callie nodded and said, "Assaultive is… well, they're fighting you. How they fight you dictates your response- if they come at you with bare hands or some kind of blunt object, you fight back with bare hands until you either knock them out or they give up. If they have anything more… potent in their hands, same thing- except they have to be put down for good, whether you have a gun or not."

The Lieutenant nodded and said, "Then that's one less thing I have to teach you. If you understand that, then you don't need to know when to shoot. All you have to know is _how_, and we're getting to that part now."

Callie smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

All of one hour passed, and she hit the magazine release instead of the trigger a few times, she was deemed… well, adequate. Not good, not even a beginner, just adequate.

Felina smiled to herself and said, 'This should be rather interesting. She's got potential, that's for sure.'

"You wanna keep going?"

Callie nodded, keeping the colorless shooting glasses on over her normal ones. "We might as well! I don't have anything better to do."

Felina smiled and said, "Okay then, let's stop shooting for a bit and focus on the next thing."

And so, she learned the barebones basics of how to shoot. Sure she wasn't good at it yet, but in her head she vowed that she would come down here every morning until she was satisfied. Felina agreed with that- she woke up early anyways.

"Oh and next time," she said before Callie left, "Bring your own Glock and shoulder holster. These belong to us."

The Deputy Mayor nodded. "Done."

* * *

Commander Feral was situated in his apartment, incapacitated for the moment. For the past two days, he had been recovering, knowing perfectly well what exactly he could and could not do. Now on his third day, he checked the news, just to find that someone had gone on a joyride through the streets of MegaKat City, causing havoc in the traffic lanes. He was stopped, sure enough, but only after a crazy chase that was captured by Kat's Eye chopper.

'Well at least we can handle those,' he brooded with a grimace.

He had gotten to thinking about what T-Bone had said to him. His attrition tactics were the wrong way to fight? That was crazy. The only way to deal with a criminal was to face him head on, not at an angle or from the side. He didn't like sneaking around and acting from the nearest alley, he wanted to get in their face and show them that no one fucked with the Enforcers.

'But the SWAT Kats constantly fuck with us, though they haven't directly attacked yet.'

And that was the problem- every attack they made against a criminal or terrorist, they made sure to do it in clear view of the Enforcers. An indirect shot at their incapacity to deal with the situation, and it always worked whether they taunted them verbally or not.

It was the same thing in the Clock Tower, except they had Felina behind them as they did so.

It hurt his pride more than anything else to see his own niece running with the very vigilantes that he was so adamantly trying to unmask and lock away. And yet, circumstances called for it. He knew perfectly well; but it didn't make him feel any better. There was only one way to keep that from happening again, and that was to keep her from participating in further engagements.

He shook his head and said, "My brother will never forgive me for this, and neither will Felina."

Still, he had to do this, for her sake and his peace of mind.

No, he was not going to cut her from the Enforcers- just stall her. Keep her off the streets and out of trouble, but more importantly, away from the SWAT Kats. They were a bad influence in the first place, and he didn't like his niece being around bad influences. With that said, he made the most mortifying call he would have to make.

She was going to be demoted, as soon as possible. He'd put her so far down the chain of command she would have to stick to her allies instead of behind enemy lines. He'd put her as far down as he could without outright kicking her off, because he was concerned for her safety.

Sure, it was unfair, but he was the Commander. Felina would have no choice.

'You'll just have to forgive me one day for this.'

* * *

Jake and Chance were currently busy setting up their new entertainment system- it was a wonder what lengths Callie would go through for them. They did indeed have a new set of weights now, state-of-the-art ones too. It was nearly evening, but they weren't closing up yet. They were on call even in the dead of night, for when someone had a flat tire or dead battery, or anything else of that sort.

That said, they were thankful that they had a guardian angel right now.

Chance especially- he couldn't get the scent of her perfume out of his head. Oh, he would have trouble sleeping tonight. The only remedy for it was physical exertion, and while Jake was busy finishing his setup of the new toys they had, the bigger of the two headed in to deliver a few blows to the body bag.

The chains rattled in a satisfying manner as fists and feet, shins and elbows and knees rained on the tough hide of the bag. He soon lost himself in what he was doing, which was enough to get rid of the memory that bounced around in his head.

It had been all of two hours since he had finished, and by then the stars were in the sky. Having worked up a good sweat, he toweled of and headed back in.

"How's it lookin', bud?"

Jake was relaxing on their old couch, looking up at their new HDTV with surround sound and a full entertainment system. "We're operational, and it's extreme! I swear, whatever you said to Callie worked man. Now we won't have to be bored as hell."

Chance scratched the back of his head and said, "Actually, it's what she said to me, but whatever."

Jake peered at his big partner for a moment before sighing and pressing the mute button, halting the sound from The David Litterbin Show.

"Yeah, I did miss something earlier. You gonna talk about it?"

Chance shook his head. "No, I'm not. It's not important anyways."

Jake glared towards him, a concerned twist to his mouth. "There you go again, man. You not wanting to bother other people with your problems is noble, but you gotta talk sometime. Why not talk to me instead of a shrink?"

Chance glared back. "You think I need a shrink?"

Jake shook his head and said, "Not yet, but that's where you're headed if you don't talk to me, buddy. I won't send you there, but someone else might if you don't let this stuff out. Know what I'm saying?"

The bigger tom sighed and said, "Yeah, I know what you're saying. Just that…" He sighed and said, "Callie got us all this stuff, just for us, and she didn't have to. I told her earlier that she didn't need to bother with this- she should take care of her own stuff first. Just when I thought the message got to her, she…"

Jake raised an eyebrow. Why was he hesitating? Did something so bad happen that the big lug was unable to say it? "Come on dude, just spill. What happened?"

Chance muttered under his breath. It wasn't going to be pretty, and Jake would probably laugh or tease. When Jake said to speak up, he said what was muttered.

"She made a _move_ on me, man. She just walked up to me with that sway in her hips, looked at me through her eye lashes, and got close enough that I could count the hairs on her head. I couldn't do anything but answer yes and no, and then she just stepped back like it was nothing!"

Jake sighed in sympathy. "That… is one dangerous she-kat."

Chance nodded and said, "Straight up Mata Hari. If she does that again, I dunno what I'm gonna do."

That was a lie- he knew exactly what he was going to do, and he knew that he shouldn't do it. He shuddered to himself and said, "I'd rather not think about it, Jake. Let's just watch David Litterbin before we get another call." He took a drink from his milk can as Jake turned the sound back on.

"Well at least you know she likes you. She wouldn't try that unless she cared, right?"

Chance smirked and said, "She was playing with me. There's no one who would like gear heads like us. We're nobodies."

Jake turned towards the bigger tom and smirked. "But she could turn you from nobody into somebody, and she won't even have to throw her cash around like she did today. Just watch- you'll get used to having a she-kat in love with you someday."

Chance smirked. "And you and Felina?"

Jake shrugged and said, "Hey, I'm just now starting to realize my own potential here. I know I said earlier this week that we're just a couple of grease monkeys, but recently I've had a change of opinion. You can have any damn thing you want if you go after it. Maybe you should just _grow some nuts_ and ask her out?"

The bigger tom grunted for a moment and said, "It won't work."

The slimmer tom shrugged and took a swig of his milk. "Then you've already lost to Mata Hari."

* * *

Early the next morning, Callie had returned to Enforcer Headquarters, this time on time. The day before, she had gotten her own gun, a Glock 19C, her own accessories, and familiarized herself with every single part in the best way she knew how- taking the damn thing apart.

It was simple enough to field strip the firearm and find out where each part went, what it did and how it did it. She realized the reason why there was no safety on the outside, like most guns she had seen- all of them were_ inside_ of the gun itself. It was ingenious really- if one dropped it, it wouldn't misfire. It was easy to clean, so it wouldn't misfire. And as long as she kept her finger off of the trigger, it wouldn't misfire.

'One, two, three, perfect. Felina definitely has the right idea with her guns.'

With that, the next morning she felt more confident as she approached the building, wearing not her business suit, but a pair of blue jeans and short sleeved blouse, colored white instead of pink. As a matter of fact, the only pink things she wore were the pair of pink shooting glasses and her usual business suit in her backpack, along with her black shoulder holster and the case that had her gun.

However, despite her efforts to come earlier than her teacher, Felina was still there first. Still, she had that smile on her features as she nodded approvingly.

"Well, how about that? You're here on time. You got everything you need?"

Callie nodded cheerily. "Sure do. Let's get this going, and quickly- I have a few papers to sign today on a building project that needs authorization."

But as soon as they headed in and Felina swiped her card for the lower levels, the first problem of the day occurred. Oh, they got downstairs all right, but there must have been a problem in the computer logs. Her rank was that of a Sergeant.

Felina raised an eyebrow. "What the hell?"

Callie peered towards the readout and said, "That's strange… I thought you were a Lieutenant."

She scratched the back of her head and said, "Last I checked, I was. The computer system must be malfunctioning today- I'll get the techs right on that."

So the day moved on, but the matter would soon rear its ugly head again.

Felina strolled into the firing range, her spirits restored for a while. Benny however, saw her and looked at her as if she were someone to be pitied. "Morning, Sergeant."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "No one told you? Damn, news gets around slower than I thought. You got knocked down a peg- chain of command said that your actions at the clock tower were unfitting of an Enforcer. At least, that's what I heard. I don't know the whole story, but-"

Callie knew. She didn't know how she knew, but she just knew.

"…Commander Feral."

Felina was entirely silent as she walked mindlessly into the weapon cages. This time, she retrieved an assault rifle, a G36K. As she began attaching a scope to the top rail, her thoughts whirled in a storm of confusion, sadness, anger. Why? Unfitting of an Enforcer? She had just saved the goddamn city- sure she had help, but no Enforcer was any good without backup! _Why!?_

Her mind retraced her steps, attempted to figure out how this was possible.

One thought continued repeating.

He had a grudge against the SWAT Kats.

Thus, he hated her being around them. The only way to prevent her from interacting with them was to kick her footing out from under her, reduce her to a beat cop instead of a member of the SWAT team. She would lose command of her unit, lose her benefits, and lose… everything she had worked for.

Her mind cleared.

By the time Callie saw her walk out of the weapons cage, she noticed that Felina's eyes were brimming with moisture.

'Oh, no…'

Felina took a stance, peered through the scope at the paper target. Her mind was clear; her face was so emotionless it might as well have been shaped from stone. The only indication otherwise were the tears threatening to stream down her face as she aimed for the head.

'You bastard.'

She fired. Clean shot, center of the head. She lowered the sights, aimed for the center of the chest.

'Bastard.'

Pop. The paper rattled as another highly accurate shot hit home, smack in the middle of the target's upper body. She adjusted her sight again, this time aiming for the neck. Another shot. Left and right collar bones, two more shots. Abdomen, another shot.

'Bastard.'

Unshed tears blurred her vision.

She switched the fire selector to full automatic and muttered, "Fuck it."

She unloaded the entire clip into the paper target, screaming after a few seconds as the bullets roared down the barrel. Her mind was clear now, and so was her anger.

The paper target was doomed to oblivion. Click.

She was out of bullets.

Felina felt her knees buckle, threatening to collapse beneath her, and felt the need to blink so the tears would run. But she refused to do either in front of Callie and Benny. She wanted to just sit down and cry so badly… but she would sooner shoot herself than break down in front of a colleague and the Deputy Mayor. She had a feeling they would understand, but she would never forgive herself.

'I'm an Enforcer, dammit,' she thought to herself. 'I'm better than that, even if Uncle Ulysses doesn't think so.' So she willed her legs to remain rigid, wiped the moisture away from her eyes with the back of her glove, sniffed as quietly as she could, and stared down at the range of targets as she tried to recompose herself.

Though the niece of Commander Feral did her best not to show it, Callie could see that Felina was suffering inside, and sympathized greatly with her. Though she did not know what exactly the situation was, her heart went out to the hard-working Enforcer who had just wanted to make her uncle proud, and instead ended up being punished for it. There was only silence in the firing range as the Deputy Mayor approached the immobile she-kat.

Felina felt arms encircling her. She started to raise her arms so she could push Miss Briggs away gently… then paused, and let her hands fall back to her sides. A hug was alright, she reasoned. Besides, it helped a little.

Callie rested her head against the back of her teacher's shoulder and closed her eyes, allowing a tear of her own to slide down her cheek. For a reason she could not name, Felina's pain was a tangible thing. The Deputy Mayor felt Felina's sorrow as if it were her own. This was yet another measure of her intuition. It was not something that she realized consciously, but it allowed her empathize more effectively with the poor she-kat.

The Deputy Mayor hugged tighter, partly to get Felina's attention and partly to ease the tightness in her own chest.

Suddenly, the Enforcer turned around where she stood, even through the gentle, yet firm hug. Callie started to let go, wondering if Felina wanted her to stop, and suddenly found Felina's arms around her as well in a tight, somewhat awkward embrace.

The hug she returned only lasted a few moments, but it was enough to help her start picking up the metaphorical pieces.

"I guess," Callie said softly as the two of them finally pulled apart, "the lesson is off for today?"

Felina let out a much-needed bark of laughter.

"Hell no, the lesson is _not _off. You're not getting out of our agreement just because I'm a little upset."

Callie couldn't help but feel angry. For the first time, she wanted to throw her weight around and make her friend a Lieutenant again- hell, higher than that. She deserved First Lieutenant, _Colonel_ even.

'Maybe I should.'

The thunderhead in her mind spewed lighting. The idea was born, and it would gather momentum until the clouds burst overhead. When they did, there would be Hell to pay.

* * *

**Chapter 9: **_**Friends in Need**_

Awww, damn… I don't know how long Felina has been an Enforcer- I'm going to assume she's been in for a few years now since she's the rank of Lieutenant, a Commissioned Officer. But of course, now that Feral has made his move, it's possible that we could see a falling out between the two.

Hell, more than possible.

But anyways! Drama, drama, drama! I love **DRAMA**! Can you not tell?

Conflict! The clashing of two opposite forces drives it, which is why I love it! Story breeds conflict, conflict breeds action, action breeds fight scenes, fight scenes breed chaos, chaos breeds order, order breeds story, _repeat_! This is how I write, and I wish everyone wrote that way.

Anyways, I'm outta here. I just had to get this chapter off of my back or I'd never fall asleep.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.

_EDIT: Shout out goes out to Master Nemesis, for betaing this chapter. It is re-posted with a more accurate portrayal of Felina, but a similar response from Callie. Enjoy!_


	10. Everyday Heroes

The rest of that day went as it should. Felina Feral, now a Sergeant, was cleaned up and her hair was straightened out before they got back to what they were doing. Maybe a few rounds fired would help the Deputy Mayor think a bit clearer about the plan that was taking shape in her head.

"Now remember," Felina said, "You're aiming for the center of mass- that's the center of the chest, stomach, anywhere on the torso that will _stop_ the aggressor. It's a 9mm, so it's a bit more likely to injure someone than it is to kill them. Still, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful."

Calico Briggs nodded and said, "I hear you. But you know the time might come when I just might have to. I doubt I'm ready for it, but… I'd like to know how, just in case."

Felina raised an eyebrow and said, "You're awful calm about that. No doubts?"

Callie paused for a moment. "Hell, several of them. But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't learn. Some kats need to be put down before they can cause any real damage."

The Enforcer nodded. "Well put. We'll get into that when you become a better shot. Gear up and let's get to it."

Callie had already been taught about stance and foot position. There was a fine line between stability and mobility, and that line had to be constantly walked as if it were a tightrope. Her earplugs were put in; the stylish pink shooting glasses were donned. After loading a magazine and sliding it home, she assumed the Weaver stance just like she had practiced at home (oh yes, she had practiced), and aimed.

She remembered something just then.

Her plan would have to be put on hold, tossed to the back of her mind. It was quite unfortunate, but even the idea of revenge was forming a storm in her mind. A storm that would distract her entirely- keep her shots from hitting what they should hit. What was in front of her was not the target itself- no, it was Commander Feral. She actually wanted to hurt him.

'No plan is worth that.'

She breathed. Felina nodded.

"Right, keep breathing. That's an important part of it. Just shoot when you're ready- I'll be right behind you."

Callie did not hear. She breathed. Her heartbeat in her own ears slowed, calmed. Her face was serene again. The storm cleared. If only she could keep it that way- but no, even that thought was a distraction. She breathed. Her mind rested.

She felt it- the shift of her energy. It was an eerie feeling, as if something indescribable were running through her, something she could not name. Everything relaxed at once, and Felina raised an eyebrow as she looked her way.

Callie fired. The bullet struck the paper target, dead center of the chest.

'Holy shit,' Felina thought as her eyes widened, 'That was dead aim.'

"Good, do that again," she called out.

Confidence surged within the Deputy Mayor. She fired again- the second shot flew nicely through the hole the first one had made. Felina grinned.

"Right then, pick your targets. Shoot until your magazine is spent."

Felina couldn't believe it. She was a quick study- _too_ quick. How long had she been practicing the day before? How well did she know the Glock in her hands? Highly interested, Felina did not shoot- she simply watched as Callie fired one round after another, picking out specific targets that the Enforcer knew would disable with one shot.

It was entirely crazy- she had to know how that happened. "Okay, stop," she shouted over the noise of the gunfire.

Callie's finger lifted from the trigger and placed itself out of the guard, pointing down the barrel. Her eyes blinked almost sleepily as she rose from the depths of her self-induced trance. After looking at the target, she smiled confidently.

"Well, that was a good start. So then, do we go on to the next lesson?"

Felina nodded. "Sure, but before that… how the heck did you do that? It's like you became better with a pistol overnight."

Callie smiled secretly and said, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Felina doubted she would. "Oh whatever, next lesson."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

Felina's eyes widened as she heard the Deputy Mayor's plan on their way back to the parking lot. "You can't be serious about this. Only the Mayor has authorization to give someone a Commendation- you're not even that far up the ladder yet. You might as well be his _secretary_ for the way he treats you, and Uncle Ulysses knows it."

Callie placed her hands on her hips as the elevator rose upwards.

"So what do you suggest I do about it? There's nothing you can do- you complain too loudly, and he kicks you out."

She smirked. "He kicks me, and he loses his best pilot, not to mention his best Enforcer. Those two facts will not change, no matter how low I am on the food chain. What I suggest you do is let it ride and let me handle it. Besides, I'm in the middle of a rather personal investigation."

The Deputy Mayor raised an eyebrow.

"Explain this… investigation."

The elevator dinged. They were at the ground level.

"Not here. Tell you what- after you get changed I'm coming with you to City Hall. I'll explain on the way there."

Roughly fifteen minutes later, they were both in the car, Felina dressed in a leather jacket with a blue top and black jeans tucked into a pair of combat boots, and Callie in her usual pink business suit. Both were strapped this time, the Enforcer with her USP, the Deputy Mayor with her Glock. No one could tell the difference, since the shoulder holsters stowed their pieces neatly underneath their clothing.

"Right, now start talking," Callie said as she stopped at a red light.

Felina got straight to the point.

"Remember that attempted armed robbery a few days ago?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but that case is over. It's been over a while ago- what's there left to investigate?"

The brunette with tufts of white near her ears continued.

"What's left… are the heroes of the day. Don't you think those two moved a bit too fast for standard, civilian-level training? I've seen a few martial artists, especially in the Enforcers, but no one moves _that _fast. I don't know where they got their training from, but I can bet it's not from any dojo in MegaKat City."

The light turned green. She drove onward, attempting to piece her thoughts together. Felina was right- they did move far too quickly for civilians. She could barely trace their movements, and the fight ended within seconds. Jake was able to count exactly how long it took from start to finish.

An alarm sounded off in her head and her body tightened, just slightly. Jake was able to count how long it took to incapacitate all five of them? And Chance knocked the first kat so far back you'd swear he was a feather on the wind. Those facts alone were suspicious.

"You're right. That's not normal," she said with a sudden realization. "That just leaves the question of where exactly they learned how to fight."

Felina shook her head and said, "I'm trying to find that out now. Could be that they're not all that they seem. Let's swap numbers when we get to City Hall- I'll be in touch, just in case something turns up. _If_ something turns up…"

Callie nodded, and her thoughts drifted back to Felina's demotion.

"About what happened with your uncle... are you sure," she said with a touch of worry, "There's nothing I can do?"

Felina nodded. "I'm sure. Let this one go for now. I need to stay in the force until I can get this done, and then I'll complain all I want to the Commander. After that… well, if I'm off the team I know a few places I can go."

The she-kat in pink's heart went out to the Enforcer once again. If Felina's mind was set, so be it. But still, she wanted to do something to help. Maybe she could complain to the Mayor about it- but no. That would be interfering, wouldn't it? Felina said she could handle it, and thus Callie would let her handle it.

'Revenge that is not yours to take should be best left to those slighted.'

She had heard the quote before, and now it stuck in her head. The right thing to do was absolutely nothing.

So why did the right thing make her feel so useless?

* * *

Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson sneezed more than once that day.

In fact, during the course of the past five minutes, they sneezed six times in a row. Hell, more than that.

"There a bug going around or something?" Chance asked with a slight annoyance as he ducked back underneath the hood of a car that needed to be serviced before the next day.

Jake spoke from underneath yet another vehicle, "Nah, nothing I can think of. Besides, we had our doctor's appointments last month- we're good. Someone must be talking about us or thinking about us."

Chanced stopped for a moment and said, "What does a sneeze have to do with that, man?"

Jake pulled out from under the car and lifted his welding mask.

"There's an old story about how whenever you sneeze, someone is talking about you. And whatever they are saying is right, at least most of the time. Since we just sneezed like, twenty times without explanation… I would say someone just had a full-on conversation about us."

Chance shook his head and said, "I think the smell of motor oil is getting to your head, man. You might need to lie down for a moment."

Jake smirked as he put his welding mask back on. "Ever the skeptic, huh buddy?"

With that, the two of them got back to work. Soon though, it was lunch time, and time for the mid-day news as well. But of course, there was never any good news to tell as Ann Gora sat in her helicopter, that same professional expression on her face even as she gestured towards the raging inferno that the camera displayed.

"We are high above the scene of a terrible accident- a fire has erupted at MegaKat Harbor. Warehouse 12, the location of several stockpiles of specialized goods, has caught aflame due to a gas leak that was left untended. But what started as an easily handled situation turned into a full-on catastrophe as two more nearby warehouses went up along with it."

Their eyes widened.

"Fire crews and specialized Enforcer units are doing their best to contain the conflagration, but no progress has been made yet- wait, I'm receiving an update… It's been confirmed that there are still kats trapped inside the blaze. This chopper can only fly so close, but it is apparent that they are in need of dire assistance…"

They stopped listening. As a matter of fact, they weren't even on the couch anymore.

"We gotta get there before Feral tries something stupid! Let's hit the TurboKat and haul ass over there, Razor!"

They instantly went into codenames, even before they were dressed.

"Hang on T-Bone, I got an idea. This is the perfect opportunity to test out the brand new Thunder Truck, as well as the Hydro Cannon! Before you say anything, yeah I made another one, and it's got a modular weapons system this time, just in case something like this happened. Good thing I got it ready a long while ago!"

T-Bone grinned. "That's my sure shot for ya! Let's ride!"

With that, a new weapons platform was locked onto the rails at the back of the truck- a pair of high-volume, high-pressure water cannons. The whole apparatus had a seat built into it, and it rotated on a pivot system that swung a full three hundred and sixty degrees, like the artillery piece that came with the first one.

Of course, the water had to be stored somewhere, so the support column for the cannons had the pump and pressure systems built into it. Right underneath him was the boosters, a brand new twin afterburner system instead of just one. They could move a hell of a lot faster with that if they needed to.

With that, and their gear set, they blasted out of the hangar, hitting the afterburners before they reached the exit. The truck hung a good ways in the air for a moment before it landed hard. Both T-Bone and Razor were lucky they were strapped in as the shocks on the Thunder Truck II were tested big time. At top speed, even without the boost, it would take them a hell of a lot less time than the fire trucks to get there.

Once again, the SWAT Kats were on call.

* * *

Felina was on site, observing the fire with gritted teeth. They had heard of the explosion and came as soon as they could. Callie was mostly there for risk assessment and damage control, something that the Mayor himself needed to be for.

'Then again, he's afraid of his own shadow. Fire would be the death of him.'

"Shit," Felina cursed sourly, "There's nothing I can do- I'm just a grunt now! I'd be able to take control of those guys if I were still a Lieutenant… As it is now, Lieutenant Commander Steele over there is in charge while the Commander is recovering."

Callie rolled her eyes. "Steele is an idiot. He's about as capable as outdated kitty litter and stinks twice as bad on his best day. This might not end well. Not to mention that if he sees you here, he'll probably start talking shit."

Felina's fists tightened.

"Let him. I've been waiting to knock a few teeth from that smart mouth of his."

The Deputy Mayor placed a hand on Felina's right shoulder. "Don't look now, but I think you're going to have your chance. Let me handle him."

Lieutenant Commander Steele was approaching their position, his stride confident and haughty. He had a smirk that was a mile wide and a foot deep and probably wished that the Commander would stay in bed for just a while longer. He stopped two feet in front of the she-kats, his chest pushed outward.

'Full of hot air and just as easily popped,' Felina reminded herself. She had to remember to keep her cool.

"Good afternoon, Deputy Mayor and _Sergeant_ Feral. So glad you could join me for another Enforcers triumph."

Before Felina could take a step forward and give him what she figured he deserved, Callie shook her head and said, "Cut the bullshit, Steele. As far as I can see you guys are highly understaffed for this situation, which means you have your hands full and it's starting to spill over. How many warehouses are going to catch fire before this is over? Give me numbers, not words."

With him in charge, it was best to assume the _worst_.

The Lieutenant Commander grimaced. Sometimes the Deputy Mayor was too fond of her high position- she figured she could push him around. Well that opinion would change soon.

"None," he said with a growl, "Because we are going to stop this before any kat gets hurt. We've got every available unit covering the situation along with the fire department. It's under control here. If all you came to do was bitch and moan, you're wasting your time. So get back behind your desk and watch from up there, Deputy May-"

BOOM.

The three kats ducked slightly as an explosion tore through one of the buildings, sending firefighters scattering. He looked behind him and gaped as the roof of the warehouse partially caved in. They were possibly too late... he was having a bad day today.

"What the _hell_ are you idiots **doing**!?"

Callie grimaced and said, "Victory indeed. What exactly are you going to do if any kats were in there, say oops?"

He turned and snarled at her. "You don't _know_ that. They could be in any one of those three!"

He was panicking. No, this was worse than a bad day.

Callie exhaled hard. She wanted to kick him in one of his shins for being such an incompetent fool. Commander Feral, at the very least, had better leadership skills- it was just that his rigid tactics and lack of field leaders made for many a bad day. Unfortunately, he was out of commission at the moment.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, trying to clear the stress that began to accumulate in her body. This was not a good situation. Of course, Felina wanted to help, but she faintly heard Steele scoff and say that she had no authority here and he gave the orders. As if his orders were any good.

'It looks like I'll have to take this in my own hands.'

"…Steele, I'm going to try something, and you _are_ going to cooperate. Otherwise I tell Feral what a piss-poor job you did here, and you will either get demoted so fast your head will spin, or get kicked out before you feel the boot hitting your ass. Get me?"

The Lieutenant Commander grimaced. That was no idle threat.

"…Whatever," he grumbled.

The Deputy Mayor took a deep breath before letting it out slowly; making sure all the air was spent. Then, she started breathing normally, her eyelids drooping slightly. She didn't know whether this would work or not, but once again she couldn't think about that. She asked herself the question: which one were the survivors in?

She looked towards the second burning building. While the fire was a threat, it was not the focus of the problem. Her face remained neutral. Her body remained still. Nothing happened.

"What the hell are you doing, Deputy Mayor? We don't have time to test your x-ray vision," Steele said with a marked frown and folded arms. "I have kats to lead, so if you'll excuse me-"

Without looking, Felina said with authority, "If I were you, I would do _nothing_ but stay here and wait… _sir_. We haven't expounded all the possibilities yet. First we find out where they are, _then_ we go rescuing. If you wanna help, you won't move until she's done, sir."

Steele's eyes almost popped out of his head. Sure she called him sir, but there was that tone, that attitude… but as soon as he started to speak, Callie gasped. Her facial expression turned from neutral, to wide-eyed in shock and fear.

"The building to the right! They're in there, and they don't have much air left! Go, **NOW**!"

Steele did not think twice.

"MOVE, DAMMIT! Focus all your cannons on Warehouse 10! Get a team in there and get those kats out! Go, go, go!"

They went. The teams moved immediately, hitting the fire with all they had. Steam billowed as the water quenched the flames, and yet Callie was right- they were understaffed. There were too few kats for too big of a problem. Her head snapped towards the third building as the itch between her shoulder blades came forth again, and watched as a second explosion completely decimated the building.

'It's not enough!!'

She almost fell to her knees as she realized that the other warehouses could go at any time, when her ears suddenly picked up something. It was the sound of a truck, approaching at high speed. She swore she could hear the rumble of the engines, the noise of the wheels, and the sound of a pair of boosters.

She looked behind her right shoulder and her stress seemed to release in the space of a single moment.

"_Yes!!_ The SWAT Kats are here!"

Steele's eyes roved towards the Thunder Truck as it hauled ass, and they glinted greedily. They were how he could save face in this situation… if they saved the day, he would take the credit and argue passionately that they got in his way. Their arrest would be assured because of him… and so he let them do as they wished.

'This is the end for you vigilantes. And the beginning of my real career,' he brooded to himself as he watched the SWAT Kats drive by.

A slow, sinister grin crept along his features. This was going to be glorious.

He didn't see Felina looking towards him. She knew that look, and she didn't like it. She never did. Her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing for now. No, she would bide her time- wait until he did what he was going to do, and then either punch him, cuss him out, or simply go back to headquarters and file a report.

She was in the mood for the first one.

Meanwhile in the Thunder Truck II, T-Bone gritted his teeth and said, "There's no way to tell which building they're in Razor, but it doesn't matter. We gotta contain these fires before they spread any further, buddy! Aim for the one the firefighters are spraying down first. Turn those cannons on full power and let 'em rip!"

Razor grinned and said, "Roger that. Hydro Cannons engaged!"

He stepped on a pedal near his left foot and the engines that pumped the water revved. As soon as the pressure gauge located on the panel just below the cannons was maxed out, the slim SWAT Kat pulled the triggers, and the cannons were let loose, high-pressure streams of water exploding outwards. The fires were put out at a much faster rate now, and combined with the efforts of the firefighters and the Enforcers, it was ended in minutes instead of hours.

The ambulances were already on the scene, helping the kats recover and healing their burns, and the SWAT Kats began to take care of the other fires on their own.

Steele grinned madly. 'That's right, save the day. It'll be the last time you ever do.'

Callie felt an odd shiver run along her spine. She couldn't help but wonder why she didn't feel so good right now… they were here, they were saving everyone, so why didn't she feel more relieved? She looked towards Felina, who was busy watching the action. Or rather, busy trying not to look at Steele. Apparently, he wasn't paying attention to her either, because he didn't notice her expression when he saw the look on his face.

'I've seen that look before on a bunch of the criminals,' she thought to herself as she made her way behind him. That look was crazed, as if he found some sort of his own little victory in this whole thing. He was rubbing his hands together too, and that was not a good sign. Once she was behind him, she placed her hands on her hips and began speaking.

"Well, we certainly do have to thank them once they're done, don't we?"

Steele perhaps, did not hear her. Either that, or he didn't fully understand the situation.

"Yes, that we do," he said smugly. "Those toms just saved my career… it's just too bad they're the ones that will pay for it. Feral's going to give me a nice prize for their arrest. Of course, once I take credit for all this."

The Lieutenant Commander was poked on his right shoulder, and as soon as he looked behind him his jaw went slack.

Callie had a confident smirk and a cold look in her green eyes.

"Thanks. That's all I needed to know. Sergeant, you can dislocate his jaw now. I doubt he'll be saying anything else that's useful anyway."

She held up a pocket recorder and twirled it around her fingers.

Before he could say anything to protest, Felina began the process of doing just what she was ordered to do. Her right hand balled into a fist and delivered a solid hook to Steele's left jaw. She was no slouch- that punch had a lot of swing to it, and with the already awkward angle his head was turned at there was a bit more strain on his neck than normal.

The Lieutenant Commander felt his jaw loosen as he fell to the ground.

"I tried to go easy on him. He is, after all, my temporary commanding officer," Felina said with a smile that radiated false kindness.

Callie giggled and said, "His position is temporary all right. Not only did he fail to put out the fires, but he tried to usurp the command of the Enforcers away from Commander Feral. Oh yeah, it's very temporary."

Steele's eyes widened as he got up off of his ass, staggering a bit as he did so.

"What the hell are you she-kats doing? Those two are a menace; they need to be put away! There's _nothing_ wrong with what I'm doing here!" Of course, this was the Commander's thoughts too, but even he could admit when they had saved their asses.

Callie placed a hand on her chin and said, "You know, I wonder who the Commander will believe more… you, the man who's after his position and does a worse job of it, or me, the Deputy Mayor who pays the Enforcers their _salaries_, and thus gets to conduct these kinds of investigations whenever she wants?"

Steele grimaced.

"…What do you want?"

Callie smiled and leaned forward slightly.

"I want you to leave those two alone. They just saved the lives of… what, five, six kats, maybe more? Not to mention kept the fire from spreading any further. Something _you_ could not accomplish. So you leave them be, and do whatever it is you do… or you could try your plan and have to deal with me and Felina here. That's not even saying what the Commander will do to you when he finds out."

He gulped. "…Whatever!"

Callie pinned him with a glare. "NOT whatever. You will address me from now on as you would your commanding officer while he is gone, or_ I_ will discharge you from the Enforcers _myself_. And trust me, I have the authority. Do you understand, or do I need to have Sergeant Feral here clear things up for you?"

Steele's face seemed to collapse in on itself in mortification. This was one dangerous she-kat.

He saluted sharply.

"Understood, ma'am!"

Callie nodded. "Thank you. Make sure to file a good report to the Commander, all right? And try your hardest to tell the truth, because I will keep tabs on you."

They walked back towards Callie's car, satisfied smirks on their faces.

They hadn't even driven three hundred feet away when they gave each other a high-five.

"Damn," Felina laughed, "I've never seen Steele so pale before, not even in a flight simulator!"

Callie nodded and said, "That's the last time he thinks he can order me around, I bet. So then, Sergeant, shall we break for lunch, or do you want to head back towards Enforcer HQ?"

Felina grinned. "Lunch… sounds perfect, Deputy Mayor. Work doesn't need me anyway."

* * *

It was later that day when Callie finally stepped into the office, and saw the Mayor working on his golf game yet again. He looked…"Ah, Callie! You were… not in this morning, is there something amiss that I should know about?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Not at all; in fact, it's been a fine day so far. Well, except for that fire, the cause of which is still being investigated. Damage estimates are still being calculated, but we could be looking at a heavy hit to the treasury, depending on what was in those warehouses. In addition, Lieutenant Commander Steele of the Enforcers failed to salvage one of the buildings, adding to damages."

Mayor Manx listened with half an ear, most of his focus on the next putt. "It does not sound good then. That Steele is a bit reckless, isn't he?"

Callie smirked. "If he were reckless, that would mean he actually _tried_ to do something of use."

The Mayor grunted in response as he made the putt. The golf ball slid neatly into the pocket that it was meant for. "I trust the situation has been properly taken care of then?"

She nodded. "The SWAT Kats were on the scene, and they effectively put out the blaze, helping those that did not yet escape out of the building. We owe them again, Mayor Manx. Still, they left before I could give them proper appreciation."

They did that most of the time, it seemed. She would have to do something about that one day.

The Mayor simply lifted his nine-iron and casually placed it on his right shoulder. "Yes, well I do hope they stick around one day to receive the people's appreciation, and mine of course. By the way," he said as he walked back towards his desk, "I heard that Felina Feral was demoted a rank… is there any viable explanation behind that?"

Callie frowned distastefully. Should she tell the Mayor what she thought, or should she let Felina handle things? She knew she would run into this situation sooner or later, but now that she had… well, she hadn't thought that far yet. She had to make something up…

"That… is still being looked into. I don't know why really- she helped save everyone- she was a big part of it all." The train of thought in her mind raced onward as she thought of an excuse, something to stop the Mayor from sticking his nose into it. "It's suggested," she said after a few brief moments, "That we let the one who was demoted handle the situation. I'm sure there's nothing for us to worry about for the time being."

At least, she hoped not.

Apparently, the Mayor accepted that suggestion and nodded. "Well then, let's hope it takes care of itself without any further incidents. Now then, about that building project…"

And thus, it was business as usual. Well, not exactly as usual- but then again, this was MegaKat City. How did one define usual in a place like this?

Answer: they didn't. But the rest of this day was calm enough… for now.

* * *

It was another evening at Enforcer Headquarters. Felina Feral was here late, as usual. It wasn't like she had a choice- she didn't have a tom to go home to, and she was burying herself in work, trying to keep herself busy enough not to be angry at her uncle. Oh yes, she was still angry at him. But that wasn't the point right now; the point of her being here was to continue simply staring at the file before her in amazement.

'All this time, I never thought they'd be right here in front of me. But here they are.'

She had to do some digging in the Enforcers' records, a bit of snooping of her own. She didn't have the security clearance to peek into the files anymore, so Felina had to do some clandestine activity for the first time since her drop in rank.

'And against my own organization too- I'm surprised the sky hasn't fallen yet.'

She chuckled to herself as she pored over the records, finding mention of the achievements of two specific toms that used to be part of the Special Tactics unit of the Enforcers, the precursor to her Unconventional Tactics team. In fact, they were pretty high up on the chain of command, leading their own teams. But most of the best cases she found were the ones where the two worked together.

Their records were cold now, which meant that they were pretty much dead as far as Commander Feral was concerned.

The names rang in her head time and time again, along with their ranks.

'Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson, rank of Detective III.'

Felina picked up the phone on her desk, grinning to herself. Before she made the call, she placed a finger on Jake's portrait.

"I got you right where I want you, you cute thing."

She would have to make a visit to that military salvage yard later. For now, she could sleep with the knowledge that her personal chase was almost over. And yet, unbeknownst to her, it was just getting started…

After making the call to the Deputy Mayor informing her of what she had seen, Felina replaced the file where it was stored and wiped her prints from the doorknob that led to the file room. She began heading towards the parking lot, whistling a merry tune to herself, and was glad that it was someone else's job to lock up after everyone left- if she were demoted to _that_, she'd go crazy.

Speaking of demotions... she slowed down as she walked towards her car.

She was thinking about confronting him with this issue tomorrow, but… hell with it, she would do it this evening. No time like the present, and besides, if she didn't she'd probably forget later. Nodding to herself, she quickened her pace, working out what she was going to say to him in her head. By the time she had opened the door and climbed in, she was halfway through the imagined questionnaire.

Whatever happened in his apartment, she would most likely either regret it, or she would get something good out of it. His apartment wasn't far- only about one hour from the headquarters. It meant that she had one hour to figure out the most… diplomatic way to solve this. That was, if there _was_ a diplomatic way…

However, when she unlocked the door with the key she had given him, just in case she needed to come over, what she saw took all of the pieces that she had effectively put together apart all over again.

He was in bed, recovering. From the necessary evils that had been visited on him. Concern colored her features immediately as she knelt next to the bed.

"Felina… what brings you here?"

Her uncle sounded… calm, almost docile. She couldn't remember the last time he acted this way around her. She couldn't help but smile as she placed a hand on one of his broad, powerful shoulders.

"Just here to check on my Commander. You ready to go back on the job yet?"

He grimaced as he sat up, and she shook her head. "If you're not ready to move, you shouldn't move," she said with a definite tone of worry.

"I'm fine," her uncle said in classic Feral form. "I go to the doctor tomorrow and get my injuries checked- if I pass the tests, I go in, but go easy. If not, we could most likely see that bumbling Steele in my chair for another week. I doubt the Enforcers can survive with him at the helm."

She chuckled and said, "Well you're right about that part. You saw that fire on the news, right? I headed for the scene with the Deputy Mayor and he was posturing around as usual. He was entirely useless- the SWAT Kats came to help put out the fire, and… well, that was that."

Ulysses scoffed and said, "Figures. He couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. I don't much like it… but better the SWAT Kats than Steele."

Felina laughed and said, "Well you do have a point. Did you know he even had the nerve to try and push around the Deputy Mayor?"

Feral raised an eyebrow. "He's not _that_ goddamn high up the chain. Maybe I should have a talk with him about showing a little tact. Perhaps a three-week suspension will cool his heels for a while."

The she-kat shook her head and said, "It's okay- I think he's learned his lesson well enough- Callie took care of it nicely. She even made him salute her- it's kind of scary, seeing her in action. When she wants something, she doesn't just wait around for it, that's for sure."

Her uncle lifted both brows now at the nickname. "…You two are on friendly terms then?"

Felina smirked and said, "Yeah, we are. Something wrong with that, uncle?"

He shook his head and chuckled. "No… there's nothing wrong with that. It's good to have a she-kat like her as a friend, even if she is nothing but a secretary for the Mayor. But then again, Manx isn't exactly the hardest-working tom out there."

His niece laughed. That was true enough.

Things were silent for a moment as they sorted out in their heads what to say next. After a while, Felina opened her mouth to speak, but her uncle beat her to the punch.

"Well let's cut to the chase, shall we? I know why you're here, and I figured that you would come ask me sooner or later."

Felina's mouth shut, snapping closed like a trap. She looked down at the bed sheets and simply said, "Fair enough… why, uncle?"

He sighed haggardly. He couldn't tell her that she could never understand- she was an adult, and didn't deserve that kind of excuse. "Which version do you want- the official one I gave, or the real one?"

She was silent for a moment as she looked up at him, her eyes hard.

"The real one will suffice, but just for kicks let's start with the one that's on record. Conduct unbecoming an Enforcer? What kind of crap is that, uncle?"

He cut in before she could get going on her rant. "You disobeyed a direct order and got yourself in trouble for it. I do these things for a _reason_, Felina. You should have waited until he had me before you tried to do anything. You can't imagine what it was like, having that monster in your head… the purest form of torture, as if he enjoyed causing pain."

Felina was silent. She knew that… she _knew_, and yet…

"There had to be another way."

Feral shook his head. "There wasn't. It still hurts to think about it, but the SWAT Kats had the right idea in beating me to an inch of my life. It cleared my head enough so I could plan out what to do. They made a sound tactical decision, while you hesitated. I know you think of me as your uncle and you love me, but… you're an Enforcer first. Contrary to how many times we fail against the larger threats, I do not give an order without planning it out first, though I admit I had little time to do so."

Felina paused, and then shook her head. "No… that's not fair, uncle. I _can't_ make that kind of choice."

He grunted and said, "Sometimes we have to do what needs to be done, no matter how much it hurts or what it costs. I'm not about to try and make you see things my way, but this is just the way it is."

She lowered her head, entirely mortified. She would have had to kill her own flesh and blood? It was infeasible, unacceptable. She wouldn't do it, no matter what it cost. She would rather have her uncle alive than have their enemies locked away or dead. If she lost her Uncle Feral… she didn't know what she'd do.

'I can't… I can't make that kind of choice.'

She composed herself before any tears could show, and said "What's the second reason? What's the real one?"

Ulysses knew that this was not a good reason. It was personal, it was selfish, and it was just plain fucking wrong. But he had to say it.

"What hurt me more than anything else… was when you and your Unconventional Tactics unit started using the same reckless, hot shot tactics as those SWAT Kats. For the longest time, I couldn't do anything about it, because you were my best Enforcer. What you were doing may have been successful, but it put you at great risk."

He paused, gathering his thoughts.

"I… I didn't want to see you throw yourself into the fire anymore, Felina. Not with those dangerous toms. After I saw you in the Clock Tower, working with them, I thought I had lost you. I figured that I would do anything I could to keep you from being influenced by them any further… so I made the call."

Silence reigned. Felina's fists clenched.

'I knew it… dammit, I _knew_ it!'

She tried not to get angry. She tried so hard. Her voice was barely under her control, but it sounded icy, emotionless.

"So then, instead of putting track record and past successes into consideration, and the stipulations of the mission, you put your own personal fears and grudges first in consideration of a rank change? Without even asking why I did what I did?"

Feral began to speak, but his niece cut him off. "No Uncle, you don't have to say a damn thing. I understand perfectly well. I don't condone what you did, but I _will_ stay in the Enforcers. I have promises to keep and people who are counting on me. But I won't forget what you did to me. If something like this happens again, you can have the badge, and you can have the gun, because I don't want any part of it."

Ulysses Feral attempted to speak… closed his mouth, and then opened it again. The second time he closed it, it was for good and with a nod of acquiescence.

Felina nodded as well and said, "I hope you can come back to work tomorrow, Commander."

With that, she got up and left.

On the way back to her own apartment, she felt cold and numb. She was usually right about these hunches of hers, but this was one time where she wished she weren't.

* * *

**Chapter 10: **_**Everyday Heroes**_

Well, there you have it. I would have had her find out whom Jake and Chance were associated with later, but I figured, why not now? It's a good time, and she could find that information easily, any time of the day, unless the records were destroyed. Fortunately for her, they were not- so there you have it.

Anyways! Remember that this author eats reviews for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and twice in between for snacks. Leave comments.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	11. Breaking Point

In the early morning, around 5:26 AM, no one stirred in MegaKat City.

The streets were entirely too quiet- there was a lack of cars on the road, of kats walking the sidewalks; a lack of any kind of activity whatsoever. A kat could almost hear a pin drop out here if he or she were listening enough. Still, there was one car out on the road, headed for the outskirts of town. It wasn't any kind of Enforcer patrol. As a matter of fact, it was a regular car- a roadster to be exact.

The noise of the engines bounced off of the buildings, accompanied by the whine of the supercharger underneath the engine. One of the newest models, it had black factory paint, standard wheels and transmission. But the rest of it was aftermarket- new engine, new exhaust system, stylish pipes, and a direct injection nitrous tank stowed beneath the carpet of the trunk.

She smirked to herself as she drove towards her destination. 'I don't spend this money on nothing. Sure clothes and food are important, but my car is my life.'

One day, when she had enough money, she'd probably get a body kit; trick the damn thing out even further. For the moment though, it looked like an ordinary car- it just ran better than most. As her thoughts drifted from the car to the task she had at hand, she wondered exactly what questions she would ask.

One of the main ones would be why they decided to leave the force. She knew they were kicked out, but the report also said they complied with the discharge without another word. Did they have a falling out with someone? She wouldn't be surprised- her uncle was not a man that had tact. There were other questions, too- how they met, how long they were on the force, what kind of tactics they used.

As she thought back to the picture of the slimmer tom with a more athletic build, another question entered her head: whether or not the cute tom was seeing anyone.

She smiled.

"Jake Clawson. Nice name, that."

Felina Feral was nowhere near a shy individual- on the contrary; you could say she was _too_ confident, _too_ assertive at times. Whenever she focused her energies on something, it was usually hers within a brief time. Right now, she was busy channeling her efforts towards Jake.

He certainly did look cute, and the more she read about him the more she wanted to find out. She just hoped that he wasn't a total bore… Chance, she knew was not a bore. The guy looked like a walking freight train- shorter than her uncle if only by a few inches, but just as built.

'He's not my type though- too many muscles. Handsome face though. But Jake…'

She blushed and shook her head.

"What's wrong with me today?"

She was close to her destination now- she had to straighten up and fly right if she wanted to be taken seriously. With that thought in mind, she wiped her features of the torrent of emotions and parked just in front of the garage where the two toms worked. As she got out of the car, putting on a pair of stylized mirrored shades, she headed towards the repair shop.

The goddamn place was empty.

She began to look around, observing her surroundings. Yes, this looked like your normal, standard body shop… but there didn't seem to be anyone here at the moment. She called out, "Chance Furlong? I'm Lieutenant Felina Feral from the Enforcers; I'd like to ask a few questions."

For some reason, she couldn't let them know she was demoted. Some part of her cringed at one of their potential responses.

She checked the waiting room… and found that the door was locked. She sighed to herself and said, "Well shit, they're closed. My fault for coming this early," she said as she headed towards her car again. She thought about heading back towards her car and heading towards Headquarters, when she heard something from the scrap yard.

Curious as to what it was, she headed over, moving in between the rows of car racks and organized scrap heaps. As she peeked out from one corner, she saw an open area that had one of the most elaborate obstacle courses she had ever seen. Her eyes widened as she gazed upon it- it was ingenious in its design. No pile of junk was useless here- it all had an element of challenge to it.

Along the monkey bars she saw them swing, wearing nothing but tank tops and olive cargo pants tucked into their combat boots. The big tom was obviously Chance, wearing a white top and powering his way through the course as if he were some living brick wall on two legs.

Behind him, wearing a black top was Jake. She couldn't help but stare- he was lean and fit, his muscles still defined though he was smaller and slimmer-framed. She licked her lips unconsciously.

'I found you.'

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**Chance, for once, was leading.

By the time they had reached the Iron Hill- that was what they called the pile of junk that led towards the rope that hung over an improvised lake, he had gained considerable ground. Jake however, was only four or five paces behind, never letting up for an instant. Chance began climbing the hill like a tom possessed, knowing perfectly well what was up ahead. He wanted to get this part over with.

Yes, by now he could swim, but this was the part where he could potentially lose his lead.

Of course, it could have come before then, like now… when he felt something tugging on his left pant leg. It was Jake- he had caught up, and apparently he was willing to climb over him if he had to. Well that was a viable strategy, but it wasn't about to work today. Chance kicked Jake dead in his face with the heel of the left combat boot and said, "_Hell_ no! This one's mine, you little bastard!"

Jake's nose and jaw smarted, but he was all good. He began climbing with newfound vigor. The challenge had been issued, and damned if he wasn't going to at least finish! By the time he had successfully surmounted the Iron Hill, the rope was left dangling and Chance was seen flying through the air, over the pond.

'Shit.'

He had to haul ass now if he wanted to get close enough. Jake swung over and caught up just as Chance grabbed the vaulting pole. He moved in for a slide tackle, attempting to clip his ankles out from under him. Seeing as he was behind him, Chance didn't see him coming until he was suddenly falling, but he still had the pole in his hands anyway, locked in an iron grip.

Jake got up and dove towards his bigger counterpart, ready to wrest the rod from him, but Chance was right there, kicking Jake backwards with both feet from his prone position. Immediately, he got up and proceeded to head towards the pile of junk, expertly vaulting up and over before Jake could get back up. Of course, he left the pole where it was for Jake.

The slim tom cursed vehemently as he grabbed the pole, took a few steps back, and did his own up and over. But by then, Chance was only a few meters away from breaking the tape. Jake moved to close the distance- he had not exactly been sprinting- he usually moved at a relaxed pace, attempting to flow along and pass the obstacles with precision instead of try and pass the tom in front, so that at the end he would eventually lead.

But now, he hauled ass.

Before long, Chance looked behind him and gaped. He was still there!

'Damn, he's as persistent as ever! I _am_ going to win, though.'

With his mind set, he continued pushing forward. But his dead sprint was quickly matched by Jake, and the two were soon striding for who would be in front. It was just a few feet away now… Chance attempted something crazy just then. It was only a few feet away… so he dived for the tape. Unfortunately, Jake had the same idea.

Time seemed to slow as two pairs of hands reached for the tape… and the first thing that touched was one of Chance Furlong's claws. It was a barely visible thing, but there it was. The tape broke a fraction of a second later, and it looked like they had both passed through.

After they both rolled on their right shoulder, they stood and glared at each other, breathing hard.

"You kicked me," Jake said as he poked Chance's broad chest, "Twice!"

Chance simply glared back. "You shouldn't have tried to pull me off of that climb. And there's only one pole- you know that! Besides, that second kick was perfectly legal since you took my ankles out with that slide tackle."

Jake was silent for a few moments, still glaring.

"Again," he said after a while. "I won't accept a stalemate."

Chance's grimace turned into a grin and said, "You're on!"

From their sides, they heard applause. Both of them turned their heads to see a black-haired she-kat with tufts of white near the ears. They relaxed immediately as they beheld the beautiful figure of Felina Feral as she approached.

"Damn, if I knew this was what you guys did most of the day, I'd come more often," she said with a grin. The grin tapered off as they scratched the back of their heads, wondering what exactly she was here for. She cleared her throat and said calmly, "I'm Lieutenant Felina Feral, Enforcers. I need to ask you two a few questions."

They looked towards each other, then looked towards her. Chance shrugged.

"It's no problem, Lieutenant. And before we get started, we know who you are. Still, I understand the need for pleasantries. I'm Chance Furlong, and this is my associate, Jake Clawson."

Not used to being so casual, he raised a hand and waved once. "What's up?"

Felina smiled and said, "Well then, let's get inside before the sun starts beating our asses. Sorry for coming over so early- I just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. I do have a lot to do back at my office, so trust me when I say this won't take long."

As they headed towards the garage, Jake and Chance muttered to each other.

"What do you think she's here for, buddy?" Chance asked, just a bit nervous. "She doesn't look like she's here for just a casual chat, that's for sure."

Jake shrugged and said, "If I were you, I'd wait and see what she wants to talk about instead of trying to make assumptions. She could just want her car tuned or something- that's all."

Chance raised an eyebrow as he looked towards Felina. Somehow, he didn't think that was the case. But Jake was right- they would have to find out sooner or later. Still, they prepared their cover stories, just in case she asked the wrong question. The very fact that she had found this place was bad enough.

Still, the suspicion melted away when Jake's eyes beheld the car that Felina had parked in front of the only building in the scrap yard. "Holy shit…"

Felina grinned. "You like that? It does look like a normal car, doesn't it? But check under the hood- see what's up. I hear you guys are good with cars anyways, so you should know."

They did. Chance's eyes widened. "Goddamn, Lieutenant! This is one hell of an engine… and a supercharger too? How much power does this thing turn out? Did you have this installed yourself?" He shook his head then. "Nah, this had to be done professionally. But seriously, this is a fucking sweet package!"

Razor looked towards Felina, raising an eyebrow. "You don't mind if I… y'know."

She shook her head and smiled. "Go ahead, look under it."

He grinned and moved to take a look at what was underneath the frame, and widened his eyes as well. "This sure as hell wasn't installed professionally, though- at least I don't think so! Check out this exhaust system down here- she's got an x-pipe, silencers for the exhaust… hell, she's even got new pipes back here!" He was starting to get excited.

"That's not all, either- look inside- you should find a switch or button somewhere- check for anything out of the ordinary."

Chance checked. And look at that, there was a button where the cigarette lighter used to be, all set up and ready. It was colored red in contrast to all the dark leather around. He wanted to press it just to see what it did, but he refrained. Anything colored red was not exactly a good idea to touch, except for emergencies.

"I see it- what's it do?"

Chance slid out from under the car, a wide grin on his features. "That, buddy, controls the flow of NO2. She's got one, maybe two NOS tanks in her trunk- I could see the connection lines from where I was sitting." He looked towards Felina, that same grin on his features. "This ain't all stock- most of it is _aftermarket_. You're looking at a tuner."

Chance looked towards the car once again, and then looked at Felina as he closed the hood.

"What was it… you said you wanted to talk about?"

She nodded and said, "Let's go inside- you guys might want to sit down for this."

* * *

This early in the morning, Enforcer Headquarters was one of the only places that were still open. They had probably been up late, the street patrols running through the night. Due to what had happened earlier in the week, the perimeter and extent of squad car runs had been increased. Hence, Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs had been able to enter the place without trouble, simply walking through the front doors.

When she had arrived at the parking lot, she had not seen Felina's car.

But then again, with the call that she had received the night before, she didn't expect her to be. The way Callie saw it, the Sergeant was probably looking into what she found, visiting the garage that the Deputy Mayor usually went to every now and then for a tune-up. She wondered briefly why they would lie to her like that- it wasn't fair, and it wasn't right.

'Besides, I found out later,' she brooded to herself, pouting slightly.

But it didn't matter- she would learn why they had said what they had to her. So she didn't worry over it and continued making her way downstairs. There was only one problem- she didn't have an access card for the firing range, and she could understand that it was a high-security area due to the weapons cages being there.

She huffed impatiently, leaning against the elevators and waiting for someone to help. Today, she wore her usual pink- but not the business suit. Instead, she was wearing a pink track suit instead, the black backpack a contrast to her outfit. Shoulder holster, gun, magazines and shooting glasses were once again stored inside of it- she wasn't about to carry a gun into Enforcer headquarters unless it was on the range.

Common sense, really.

"A fine day, isn't it?"

The Deputy Mayor looked to her right and spotted Ulysses Feral walking into the building, dressed as usual in full uniform. She waved towards him and said, "Commander Feral. Glad you're all right- did you have a good rest?"

Feral nodded. "It was better than good, actually. Felina came over to check on me- we had a nice long talk before she had to go to sleep last night."

Callie raised an eyebrow. So she had gone through with it, except earlier than she had figured she would. It was her hope that she wouldn't have to do anything after all, because if she did it wouldn't be pretty. Putting those thoughts in her pocket for now, she said, "I'm glad. Anyways, you came just in time- I need to get to the basement levels. I was supposed to meet Felina there, but she had something to do."

Commander Feral raised an eyebrow curiously, but nodded. He wondered what exactly Felina was doing with the Deputy Mayor all the way down in the basement levels, but figured it was none of his business. He showed his card to the scanner before asking Callie, "Which floor?"

Without a pause, she replied, "The second one."

Feral raised both eyebrows now. "What business would you have down there at the firing range?"

Callie looked towards the Commander and said, "If you really want to see, come along. I'm sure you'll want to know what we've been up to down there- after all, you're a concerned uncle."

He hadn't even said anything about it.

But he wouldn't ask how she found out; he simply pressed the button for the second level basement. The trip there was silent mostly- the two of them didn't really have much to say to each other. He wanted to thank her for the Clock Tower, though he thought it eerie that she knew what the watch was capable of without even having touched it.

'There are just some things a tom shouldn't ask,' he mused to himself.

Soon, they had arrived, and as the Deputy Mayor opened the doors, Benny looked up from his newspaper. "Ah, well if it isn't Ms. Briggs! Sorry, the Sergeant isn't here right now. Or did you come for some individual practice?"

Feral looked towards Callie.

"That's the idea. But before I start, could you give me one of those .45s please? I'm too used to the nine."

The Commander understood then. "She's been teaching you how to shoot. That's enterprising of her, as usual. If she had told me, I would have gladly helped out. Tell me then, how much did she manage to teach you?"

She nodded and said, "Quite a bit, actually- but today I figured I would teach myself."

Feral and Benny raised their eyebrows, but the officer in charge of the weapons cages nodded and said, "I see. Well then, which one do you want? M1911, Glock 21, a USP-"

Callie held up a hand and said, "The USP will be fine. Felina's used to it, so I might as well give it a try."

Feral couldn't help but smirk. It was a heavier gun- she'd have trouble aiming with the magazine fully loaded and locked in. Maybe she just didn't know it yet? But he'd rather not explain right now- he asked what she knew, and this was her chance to show him. Of course, to his mild surprise, she was able to pick it up and test its weight against her hand.

She loaded the magazine with .45 caliber hollows and slid it home. Looking over the gun for a moment, she nodded. "Well, here goes nothing."

Feral placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "This isn't your Glock, you know. It acts differently-"

She cut in smoothly. "…Which Felina taught me about. I know it's only been what, two, three days maybe since I started, but try and trust us, okay? She knows what she's doing, and thus so do I."

The Commander simply remained silent as she donned her shoulder holster, put her ear plugs in, fit two more magazines into the extra pouches, and approached the targets with her finger outside of the trigger guard and pointed toward the ground. Well she got that part, so what about… ah, good stance! And she raised the gun nicely.

'Let's see you handle the kick.'

Safety off, one breath… and she fired.

Feral watched as she fired off all twelve rounds into the target, and in surprisingly minimal time. It took all of approximately twenty-five seconds to empty the clip, and she managed to stay on target. The only pauses that he noticed were when she switched locations on the paper. She hit the magazine release, pulled another one from one of the pouches, and reloaded in no less than a second.

The paper was full of twelve highly accurate holes. Whoever that was in front of her, he or she was not getting up. Sure, all of her shots were meant for a stop only, but the kat would damn well _stop_.

Before he could blink, she began firing again, her breathing steady and sure, her face a mask of serenity. She wasn't angry, gritting her teeth; she didn't even look like she was breathing hard. She simply aimed and fired quickly, her aim shifting when necessary.

'Damn, she's good. Felina, you are turning our Deputy Mayor into a competent young woman.'

The final clip was rammed home before Callie changed stance. She extended her right arm out towards the target, peering down the sights for only a brief moment before firing several shots via point shooting. It wasn't a bad way to end it- soon, the final clip was spent and the paper target was pretty much ruined.

"I see your point, Deputy Mayor," Feral said with a tone that sounded quite impressed.

She ran a hand through her hair, tossing it slightly before hitting the safety lever again and re-holstering the .45. Pulling the ear plugs out, she turned towards Commander Feral and smiled. "Right, well then what was that about saying you wanted to help?"

He shook his head and said, "Nothing at all. It looks like you're doing just fine. Still, with all the crazies around you might need more than just a sidearm. I'm not trying to turn you into a markswoman, but I would like to see you safe."

And for once, not saved by those SWAT Kats, but that was a different story.

Callie raised an eyebrow. "I think I'll be fine, but…"

Then she chewed on her bottom lip. Would she really be fine with just a pistol? A doubt surfaced in her head. No, no she had to learn more than one way to fight, and that meant more than one gun. If she were lucky, she could use a dropped or stripped weapon against her aggressors.

That was, when Felina taught her some of those disarm techniques.

"On second thought," she said, changing her mind, "I'd love to learn."

Commander Feral smiled and said, "Benny, give her an MP5. Let's see how she handles a _real_ gun."

* * *

Felina sat on the couch, watching the Cougars' defensive line ram into the Savages as the second quarter of the game began. She leaned forward, her attention entirely on the game. For some odd reason, being here made her feel… comfortable. Safe too, though it was a reportedly dangerous part of town. Perhaps it was because she knew that the toms sitting to either side of her would not hurt her.

In turn however, she had lost all interest in her questionnaire.

Chance grimaced as the Savages were stopped cold at their own forty five yard line, shaking his head. "They're getting worse this year, dammit. Can't believe they blew that run! If they don't get one inch closer to a touchdown, I swear I'm throwing something at this damn thing."

Jake looked sternly towards the larger tom and said, "Callie just bought this for us, so don't you dare break it! You really need to control your temper sometimes."

Felina raised an eyebrow and said, "Calico Briggs? You two know her then?"

Jake nodded and said, "Oh yeah! She comes down here once a month to have her car tuned. It's no big deal that she's the Deputy Mayor and all that- we're on friendly terms."

Felina nodded and said, "Well then, I bet she'd be hurt if you guys lied to her or anything. Not that you have- just making small talk." The quarterback for the Savages rushed headlong into the defensive line… and attempted to jump right over as one of the defenders went for his legs. He made it, but barely. Chance stood up as if he didn't hear what Felina said.

"Hell yeah, that's the good shit right there! Go, go, go!"

Felina couldn't help but sit on the edge of her seat. Close to the first down marker now… but he was being chased by a tom that was built like a fucking tank. She stared wide-eyed as the huge linebacker leapt towards the Savages' quarterback, aiming to take him down.

"He's not gonna make it."

Chance grimaced and said, "He'd damn well better!"

The quarterback got rammed into from behind, and it was practically over before it began as the breath was knocked out of him. Felina grimaced as if she herself had felt the huge hit, and Chance placed a hand over his eyes. But then… as he fell to the grass, the ball passed neatly across where the marker had been placed, as if it were part of him.

Chance peeked through his hands, and when he saw what happened he pumped his fists in the air. "**Yes**! I _knew_ he wouldn't let me down! Did you see that sweet run? It was nuts, the way he jumped over like that! Crazy as hell too, but it worked!"

Felina couldn't help but grin in excitement. "I know, right? He must have been nuts to run right into their defensive line, but he just blew straight through that opening and kept on running!"

Chance laughed as he sat down, and Felina's grin turned into a smile.

'They're not bad… Callie, you do know how to pick 'em.'

It was then that she remembered why she was here. She cleared her throat and said, "I'm kinda thirsty- could you go get us a few cans of milk and a few snacks, Chance? I'd appreciate it."

He got up and stretched out, heading for the back. "Sure! I'll be a minute checking out what we have."

After Chance had left, Felina hit the mute button on the remote and, after a moment to compose herself, said to Jake, "You guys used to be Enforcers, right?"

Jake was silent. He hadn't said anything about her comment for a reason- it was true. They _had_ lied to Callie. There was no excuse for it, but there was a reason. But he had figured out that Felina had known something. And if Felina knew, it was not impossible that Callie knew as well.

The Sergeant shrugged and said, "There's nothing bad about it. It's just that… you guys were good. Back when the Enforcers were actually helping out the city, you guys were the top, doing what no one else had the balls to do. I don't know why you guys were kicked out, but… but we need you."

Jake was still silent, his eyes closed now. After a while of this, he opened them again.

"I appreciate the sentiments, Lieutenant. I'm sure Chance would if he heard this too. But we can't. There's a specific reason we can't, and I think you know what that reason is."

Felina raised an eyebrow for a moment, then her eyes widened as she realized. "…Commander Feral? Why? What did he do?"

Jake grimaced and sighed. "It's a long story, very long. It happened years ago. But since you asked, I'll answer. I'm kinda obliged to do so."

Felina silently listened as Jake closed his eyes again, attempting with no visible strain to recall what he tried to forget every day. But it wasn't easily left behind.

"We were in the Special Tactics squad, authorized to use lethal force if necessary to take down criminals. Our team was called in at the most dire of situations, those which required full-on military tactics instead of standard police work. I think the most common enemy we were called in to take out was Dark Kat."

Felina grimaced and said, "Of course. He's fucking insane- some kats just need to die."

Jake nodded and continued. "He was in the air over Enforcer Headquarters, approaching at high velocity. He was weaving in between buildings and going low enough to have his sonic boom throw cars off of the road. We were the only ones willing to follow him all the way, no matter what. It wasn't long before, the rest of 'em pulled back and tried to circle around."

Felina nodded. Sometimes being reckless was the best way to catch someone who was equally reckless. No one else had the guts, as she had said. But she said nothing, listening intently.

Jake shook his head and said, "He was targeting Enforcer Headquarters, which was new at the time. We took his weapons out with the first shot, negating the attack. We had a Fox 2 locked on his ass, ready to take out his engines. Nice and clean, he didn't see it coming. And then we got a call from Feral, telling us to pull back and let _him_ take Dark Kat on.

"There was just one problem with that- we had our missiles primed and locked- backing off and leaving him to Feral would most likely mean that we'd lose him again. Dark Kat could outmaneuver Feral any day of the week and twice on Sunday, and we knew it."

As much as Felina hated people talking bad about her family, she knew when the truth was being told. She held her tongue and asked, "So what happened?"

Jake grimaced and said, "We stayed on, telling him that it was our tag."

Felina hissed in sympathy. "That's why you were kicked out- you disobeyed a direct order. But it wasn't a good order, was it? You two had a lock, a confirmed target, and because of the Commander you hesitated to fire the shot."

Jake nodded and said, "I guess he got pissed at us for some reason or other, or figured that he'd muscle his way past, but he clipped our wing."

Felina's eyes widened as she went entirely silent.

Clipping one's wing meant that a pilot flew past with the intention of destroying one of the wings of an opposing pilot. It was an entirely insane tactic, because there was danger of destroying one's own craft in the process. She could see it in her head- one of the wings on Jake and Chance's craft being torn through from behind as her uncle hit the afterburners, racing towards Dark Kat with the intention of stopping him on his own.

"…No…"

Jake nodded and said, "Don't worry, we were fine- otherwise I wouldn't be telling you all this now. We managed to get out in time before we hit the runway hard, but our jet rammed right into the building, taking out a whole wing of the place."

Felina grimaced as the image flashed in her mind's eye. "Shit… "

Jake nodded. "Soon as we hit the ground, we checked for him… but Dark Kat was nowhere to be found. He got away… and if we had taken that shot, he wouldn't have. We heard Feral behind us, and Chance was reasonably pissed. Hell, I was a little angry, too, and when he said we were off the force, we agreed happily. There was just one problem…"

Felina raised an eyebrow and said, "What could be worse than being discharged from the Enforcers?"

Jake smiled wryly and said, "Being hit with the repair bill."

Felina's eyes narrowed. "…And that's why you're here, working this job that won't get you paid enough to do it anytime soon. And the city repaired it anyway with funds from the Treasury, so you guys should have been brought back by now."

The look on her face was not a good one. Her uncle had told her a different story- that their flying was reckless, entirely uncalled for. He said that two toms had damaged the headquarters and were put to work to pay it off, and that he had gone to take out Dark Kat on his own without further incident. She didn't know which toms… until now.

And it was all his fault, not theirs.

She told him, didn't she? She told him that if something like that happened again, she would leave. And here it was, one day after she had warned him.

Jake noticed this look and said, "Whoa, did I say something wrong?"

Felina breathed, cleared her face of that dark expression. "No, you didn't. It's not your problem anyway. Look, I know you don't want to come back, but… you don't have to work this job any more. You can live a normal life, be your own toms. You're not chained here, you know."

Jake smiled and said softly, "A tom could really get used to being treated like this. But we'd rather just do our time and get on with our lives after that. Besides, I dunno what Chance would do if he couldn't see Callie again!"

Felina nodded and smiled back. "So he's got a thing for her, huh?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah, he does, and in the worst way too. But because she's the Deputy Mayor, he doesn't think he can get within five feet of her. He keeps on telling me it's not gonna work, she doesn't deserve guys who get greasy all the time, shit like that. But you know what? I think he does deserve her. Anyone would die for a sexy, sensitive she-kat like that."

Felina held her chin in her hands and asked, "And you? Do you have any she-kat you would die for?"

Jake shook his head and leaned back, his arms behind his head. "No, I don't. It's not for lack of trying though; I just need to find the right one."

Felina chuckled and said, "And what is this she-kat like, pray tell?"

She had to hear this one.

Jake, without opening his eyes, said casually, "Well truthfully, I just want a she-kat that I can hang out with- someone who will listen to my crazy ideas every once in a while. She doesn't have to like what I do or believe in what I do either- but if she believes in anything, I expect her to stick to it, no matter what. She's gotta have will and desire, and pull through with whatever she aims at. Not to mention she's gotta be somewhat intelligent- I'm not going for any brainless feline."

Felina chuckled again, her voice a comfortable purr. His voice soothed her for some reason, and it was all she could hear. Right now, she no longer cared about getting them back into the Enforcers, she wasn't even angry at her uncle anymore. He could go to hell for all she cared and she wouldn't mind a bit. The only thing that mattered now was…

"What if," she said without thinking clearly, "That she-kat you were talking about was sitting here, right next to you?"

Jake opened his eyes lazily and smiled, observing Felina's beautiful, dark brown eyes staring intently at his own dark irises. His response was all too casual, as if his mind were already set on it.

"Know what? She just might be."

Felina couldn't help but lean toward him slightly, her eyes peering into those of the slim tom. His toned body was much more interesting to her, his smile teased and taunted her, daring her to come closer. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she couldn't hear it. Her mouth was dry, but she couldn't feel it. There was only one thing that all of her powerful will was focused on, and that was Jake.

'How could he say that so calmly? Doesn't he understand how much that means to me?'

She leaned in closer, peering deeper into his eyes as if she would find the answer there. Jake simply sat there, his cool gaze fixed on her own as the smile turned into a grin. He was so handsome when he smiled like that, she decided. But it was what he said next that seemed to put things in perspective for her.

"Lieutenant, whatever you want to do… do it. I got all day and nothing to do but fix cars."

She didn't have anything important holding her either, truthfully. But before she could close the rest of the distance, she heard Chance returning from the back room where the refrigerator and pantry was. She pulled back and her tanned skin darkened (her version of a blush). Her mind was jumbled with wayward thoughts again.

'What did I almost do!?'

Jake chuckled and cupped his hand under Felina's chin, his claws scratching softly.

She purred, and the blush faded instantly. She had not purred like that since…

'Oh, God…'

Chance came in through the door. "Hey, sorry it took so- whoa! What do we have here?"

The blush returned in force, and Jake responded before Felina could. "We were just having a talk, man! Chill. You act like we were making out or something."

Felina's blush seemed to deepen. They almost _did_ make out. But she composed herself enough to say, "Yeah, just a conversation. I had something I wanted to ask Jake, and he was kind enough to answer for me. That's all."

Chance, not knowing the subtleties of the situation, nodded to himself. "Well if you guys say so- shit, it's halftime already! I missed the last of the quarter!"

Felina got her head back into place again as she nodded and said, "Well let's break open that milk, huh? We might as well since it's out here."

Felina would go on to spend the rest of the day here. But as her mind cleared, her anger towards her uncle re-surfaced. That was two strikes, one immediately after the other.

He would not get a third.

* * *

Callie ended up spending most of the day at Enforcer Headquarters, attempting to learn all she could about her new toy. The submachine gun in her hands, an MP5A2, was designed with, once again, customizability in mind. The trigger housing could be switched out, depending on what the situation called for; the barrel was threaded just in case a silencer was needed; scopes and accessories and lights could still be hooked on and attached.

But first, she had to get used to the confusing iron sights and learn how they worked. That took her a good fifteen minutes before she began toying around with them, shifting and adjusting them until she had it how she wanted it. With that, she placed the stock against her right shoulder, took the safety off, and began firing the 9mm rounds towards a fresh target. Once again, her face was calm, serene; a picture of clarity. She had the general idea of how it worked, and now she fired neatly into the target, single shots penetrating into those same weak areas.

She quickly switched to three round bursts before the thirty round magazine emptied out, fifteen shots spent before the target was entirely eliminated. "Get me another one, Benny," she called out.

Commander Feral smiled. She was having fun- entirely relaxed and used to the submachine gun. The rest of her clip was emptied into the paper target before she lowered her piece and pulled out her earplugs, looking at her watch for a brief moment. "Crap, it's late. I hope the Mayor didn't blow the office up or anything."

The broad-shouldered man laughed warmly and said, "I doubt that he is even capable of such a thing. He'll be fine. In any event, I have another one for you."

Callie raised a hand and said, "Later, Commander. I've wasted all my free time here and I have to get lunch before I head for the office. Tell Felina I said that I missed her!" With that, she put all the guns back at the weapons locker and hurried back to the elevator. Oh, but she was indeed late. For what, she had no idea, but she was late.

She got moving towards her car, taking a moment to check and see if she had everything, and when she was finished she hopped in and began driving towards City Hall.

'Shit! Shit, shit, shit! The Mayor's probably going to eat me alive… The building project is going to die without me, I swear.'

She didn't want to call him incompetent, but… well, that's what he was when he wasn't doing his political thing. This building project was a major improvement to the city, something that couldn't wait. And besides, those F-16s up there needed to be replaced by something else- something able to do more than act as interceptors.

But that was on the backburner- she was late! Hell, she couldn't even get lunch anymore.

'Damn me and my having too much fun…'

But then she grinned. This was fun, these little lessons. And besides, they would help her out- the next time someone went to capture the Mayor, or even herself, they would no longer be taken quietly. Of course, she would stick to calling the SWAT Kats first before engaging any targets, but the fact remained that she would be in charge of how things went from this point forward.

'It's time for me to take control of my already hectic life.'

With that thought and a newfound determination, she raced towards City Hall with the plans for the building in her head, as well as a reminder to look for a new jet that would be the Enforcer standard for the next decade or more.

'I wonder if I could fly one of the ones I look at…'

She grinned. Nah, that was crazy.

* * *

Commander Feral found himself wondering where Felina had been all day- he had not seen her in the building recently, and he grew concerned about her when evening came. He had been looking around for her after leaving the firing range, and began to assume that she was simply on patrol. She would be ever the determined, dynamic Enforcer, trying to do her duty.

'I had to do it, Felina,' he said to himself. It didn't sound so good anymore.

But it would soon sound even worse when he opened his office door and found something on his desk. It was an Enforcer badge, along with a Glock 19, the standard sidearm for pilots. He raised an eyebrow as he observed the two envelopes, one manila and the other plain white. Something told him to open the first one, though he felt a bit of trepidation at doing so.

These hunches he had sometimes were all too right.

_I hate liars,_ was all that the front of the envelope said. He wondered what exactly that meant and why he felt bad somehow, before he opened the envelope and observed what was inside.

_Within this envelope is my statement of resignation, written earlier today while you were looking for me. I doubt you understand what the message on the front means, but you will soon. All I need to say is that you are cruel and too prideful for your own good. Perhaps this is what they call karma, your past catching up to you in a circle._

_Don't look for me tomorrow- you won't be able to find me at any of my usual places anyway._

It didn't have a signature- it didn't need to.

Feral sat at his desk, put his head in his hands, and cried for the first time in quite some time.

* * *

**Chapter 11- **_**Breaking Point**_

Damn, she popped her cork. Awful impulsive of her, wasn't it? Then again, she IS impulsive by nature, and when she gets angry she acts on it.

Well it would have happened sooner or later. Besides, this is a perfect setup for the next story arc! I figure that you guys will appreciate all this story buildup, hmm? How about her and Jake? All I have to say is, _holy shit! _That was definitely a close encounter. I can't wait to see what's next, can you?

But now it is time for reviewer appreciation.

**Raiden Snake**! Thy loyalty is boundless. I thought for a second that you were gone there, bud. Well I'm glad you think so highly of me, and I can only hope that this (much longer) chapter will do your opinion of me justice! **GeekGirl2**, thank you for joining the team of followers. I appreciate your comment, and yes it's going to get very ugly very quickly. Oh wait, it just did now.

Well then guys, keep on writing comments! Remember that this author eats them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and twice in between meals. Without brushing. Because they taste good enough to keep on his teeth.

_EDIT: Many thanks to GeekGirl2 for pointing out the typos! Also, I realized that I didn't put the chapter title in a very important place. Gomen nasai._

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	12. StealthKat Part 1

Nighttime in MegaKat City. It was the time of day when kats slept, and security guards were out in force. Well, not exactly security guards, but the Enforcers mostly. They handled the museums, the banks, the restaurants, the places where there were cash and valuables to be had. They handled the power plants and MegaKat Biological Labs, and Pumadyne Industries.

But they couldn't handle everything.

Tonight, there was a robbery about to take place. This time the kats behind it seemed more… organized, trained almost. They might have been former military perhaps, or probably ex-Enforcers. Maybe even part of Mac and Molly Mange's mafia once in a while.

Nonetheless, they were out of funds and needed a quick amount of cash. They had planned the route, the timing, the time of night. They knew where the money was and how to get it- where the safe and the cash registers were. One of them had figured out how to shut off the silent alarm from a remote location- or at least, how to disrupt it temporarily.

They had planned this out in advance, to the point where they had someone infiltrate, pose as a worker, and cut out the security alarms. Everything was perfect as they smashed the glass and made their way in, one of the nine kats carrying a welding torch and mask to cut the safe clean open.

They wore black, carried heavier weapons than submachine guns. Stolen and confiscated M4A1s with night sights and laser aiming modules hooked onto them. Their balaclavas hid their facial features, but not their voices. Some of them were female- dangerous she-kats who knew how to shoot straight and aim well.

One of them said quietly, "No police contacts. We have five minutes to clean out and get out. Break those registers open and cut the safe- the rest will cover entry points. Move."

They moved.

Meanwhile in the alleyway, the ninth kat held the device that kept the signal for the silent alarm disrupted. The small control unit in his right hand flashed and beeped as he leaned against the wall next to the delivery entrance, a bored cast to his eyes. He too was dressed in black, his face masked.

"Shit… I always get the bad jobs. Then again, I'm the only thing keeping the Enforcers from raining down on our asses, so I guess it's important. Still, why do I have a gun when no one's gonna come looking for us? Kinda stupid."

A voice from above him responded.

"Not really."

He looked up, and only had a moment to widen his eyes in fear as a combat boot rammed down on his head, rattling his brain. His vision blurred as he staggered against the wall, and made an attempt to level his weapon. Unfortunately before he could blink, the mysterious she-kat was upon him, a combat knife held to his neck.

"Hush now… you don't talk, you get to keep your voice box," she said in a sultry purr.

The only thing that was covered were her eyes, a bandana wrapped around her head with neat cuts in the cloth for the eyes. Hair as black as the night around them was in a ponytail tied at the base of her neck, and a pair of leather sleeves held the hair next to her ears in check, as well as keeping it hidden from view.

Her clothing was black as well- a pair of cargo pants tucked into military issue combat boots that stopped halfway up the lower leg, lightly plated with titanium alloy along the shin and instep. Her gloves were fingerless leather gauntlets rather than something to wear, plated with the same metal as the boots and stopping a few inches below her elbows. The sleeves of her shirt, which was damn near form-fitting, stopped at the middle of the biceps, and to top it off she had a flexible, lightly-armored vest along with shoulder pieces. It looked more like a part of her usual clothing than anything else, but it could stop a sniper round.

She had a roguish, almost carefree grin as she threatened him with the six inch long knife, looking down at the device in his hand.

"Well what do we have here? I'm guessing this is important."

She grabbed the wrist that was holding the device, twisted it painfully, and he dropped the console. Her left foot caught it on the instep- if it hit the ground, that'd be quite noisy, wouldn't it? She smiled and said, "Now then, sleep."

One of her gloves silently shot something from the underside of the wrist, and within the space of half a second the kat was out cold, a sedative-coated needle in his neck.

With that, she flicked the device upwards from her left instep, caught it with her right hand, and in one neat movement, crushed it entirely. It appeared that she was stronger than she looked as well.

"Well then, show time."

With that, she placed herself next to the door and quietly turned the knob, her ears twitching eagerly. She smiled as she heard absolutely nothing- no clicks, no sudden sounds. She had opened it in perfect silence. The door opened just as noiselessly as she made her way in, eyes searching in the dark. It looked like one kat was busy working on the safe already.

Another needle fired from her position in the doorway, and sure enough it dug into his shoulder. He cursed as the needle impacted, but before he could say anything else he was knocked out. Sure it took longer, but he was neutralized without dying. Unfortunately, the other kats heard the noise of the mask and torch clanging against the ground.

The she-kat quickly shut off the torch and moved out of position, prepared to ambush the next kat who came in. Sure enough, one of them did, and she gaped at the unconscious tom with the cutting torch. She tried to call into her radio, but for some odd reason the signal was jammed.

"Shit… damn radio. Turn on, you fucking piece of shit."

She turned her back and began heading back towards the others to warn them when she suddenly received three strikes in rapid succession- to the traps, between the neck and shoulders; to the sides of the neck, right at her carotid arteries; and finally, to the back of her neck.

Entirely incapacitated, the thief slumped onto the ground, though quietly as she was aided by the shadowy figure. She was dragged off behind the doorway before the would-be heroine withdrew something more common- a smoke grenade. She had two of them on her, and one was about to be put to good use.

"Time to make some noise," she muttered to herself. "Three… two… one…"

Pin pulled, canister tossed, and soon the kats in the front were met with the sound of smoke spewing all over the place.

"**What the hell!?**"

They never saw the next attack coming.

The lightly armored she-kat in black unleashed a keg of whup-ass, laying into the other seven would-be thieves, starting with the men behind the cash register. She was a blur as she took them out, moving too fast for the others to get a bead on her with their rifles. One of them was thrown over the counter at the others, knocking a few over like bowling pins. She followed not even a breath after, combat knife flashing in the moonlight.

The barrels of guns were cut off, fist and feet and claws raked and swung in a pattern that looked more like a dance in theory. By the time it was over, thirty seconds had passed and the smoke was clear. Most if not all of them were unconscious, and the few that were not were treated to more knockout needles.

"Wrong place at the wrong time," she said with that same purr of a voice. With that, she went behind the counter, casually pressed the silent alarm, and proceeded to vanish…

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Commander Feral stood at the scene of the foiled crime, a grimace on his features. The kats that attempted to break into Larry's Hardware seemed too organized for a handful of common criminals- they had military equipment and weaponry. From what he could gather, they had shut down the alarm systems three days earlier and had devised a way to disrupt any sort of silent alarms in the area.

The Enforcers would not have gotten there quickly enough- at least without visual confirmation. Not to mention that they were ready for a standoff, and had plenty of cover.

'But someone ruined it,' he brooded to himself as he observed one of the needles that were used. They were confirmed to have traces of an extremely potent sedative on them, and while it was not deadly, anyone that these little buggers dug into would not be getting up for a while.

'They might as well be gift wrapped,' he thought with a growl, 'And not even a calling card like the SWAT Kats.'

No, this was a different kind of strike- one that was done without a desire for glory or pride. But a vigilante was a vigilante, and had to be taken down. Unfortunately, there were no fingerprints, no footprints, and no visible traces besides the needles. And after about five minutes of trying to trace _those_, the chemists came up with nothing.

"Well damn… who the hell did this, then?"

From the evidence he could see, it was only one kat, and highly trained.

But before he could take another step, one of the officers ran up to him. "One of 'em regained consciousness, sir! We got him in irons now if you wanna talk to him."

It was one of the ones that had the gashes in his chest. Feral grimaced, but held no sympathy for him. The crook looked at the Commander with wide eyes, fearful.

"Kill me…"

Feral raised an eyebrow. "Trust me, I'd love to, but I have questions to ask you."

The thief shook his head and said, "You don't understand! You have to kill me before she comes back!"

Feral grabbed him by the neck and growled. "You will tell me what you saw, now, before I really _do_ kill you. You said it was a she-kat that did this? How tall was she? What weapons did she use? Did you see her face?"

He stammered in response, "I-I didn't see her face- she was too fast! First we heard something near the safe, and then someone checked… she was gone longer than she was supposed to be… and then…"

He shuddered. "You had to see it to really understand, but she's no civilized kat. She might be dressed like one, but she's really a beast. A she-kat released from her chains- gone _wild_. One minute there was smoke, and in the next blink of an eye there was some kat flat on their ass, screaming or knocked out in one shot."

Feral's frown seemed to deepen.

'A beast… released from her chains.'

That did not sound good, frankly. The rest of them would probably wake up with a hangover and no recollection of where they were when it happened, but this guy was proof that before they were knocked out, they were _afraid_. The weapons here were not fists or claws or feet or knives, or even the needles. The weapon was absolute terror.

'Just who the hell is this she-kat?'

* * *

The mysterious she-kat leapt from roof to roof, her ponytail flaring out behind her. She had the widest grin on her face as she made her way through the air, riding the wind as if she were flying. Naturally, she had to find some kind of way out of here- otherwise it wouldn't exactly be good for business. The Enforcers were crawling all over the place, looking for her. Hell, they had found the criminals she damn near handed to them, but not her. She had made sure of that. No one saw her face, her body, the way she moved. It was quick, sharp, and precise. 

'I wonder what other trouble I could cause,' she thought to herself as she patrolled the rooftops, searching for some other kat that she could tear apart. 'I wouldn't have done this a week ago, but I have to admit that it feels good being free from the constraints of rules.'

Rules. Who needed them when one worked better without them? She was more flexible, more agile, more tactically sound than the Enforcers. She moved under concealment and cover, and her fighting style was based on maneuver and mobility.

She was executing guerilla warfare against common criminals, forcing them to think twice before going out to rob someone or break a bank vault. And it would be just her… at least, for now. She knew that she couldn't do all of this alone, but most of it wasn't a problem for one she-kat.

Speaking of problems… she saw something going on below. A young she-kat was trapped against the end of an alleyway, three toms with knives grinning to themselves. Even from here, her sharp eyes could determine what was going on- they were either going to mug her, or worse…

"Come on babe, sit still and we won't hurt you too much. We're just here to give you a good time…"

The tom that was speaking looked over to the other two and nodded. "Hold her still."

She screamed. They moved.

Within less than three seconds, two three-inch wide metal spheres fell down towards them, bursting on impact. The light flashed, the sound exploded outwards, smoke billowed, and they were sent stumbling. For the next five seconds, their world was sound and fury.

Within two seconds, pain was introduced. For the next three seconds, they had their asses kicked. By the time the five seconds were up… two were incapacitated with one remaining, her hand on his neck and pinned against the wall. His knife was on the ground, trapped by one of the rough she-kat's feet.

"W-w-who the hell are…"

She cut in immediately. "Who _am_ I? I am fang and claw. I am fear, and power, and defense. I am going to make sure you never do what you just tried to do again."

She leaned forward and whispered dangerously, "I am _The Lioness_. And you, you bastard, are finished."

She rammed the back of his head into the brick wall. Lights out.

The threatened female feline was obviously scared- For a long time after the five seconds, she had cowered, holding her hands to her ringing ears. Soon, she was tapped on her right shoulder, causing her to open her eyes. First the right eye opened, cautious and wary. Then, in surprise, both were open.

They were unconscious, all three of them.

She looked down and saw a small piece of paper in her lap. It read, _don't thank me_.

She looked up towards the rooftops, looking for the one who wrote it. There was no one. She couldn't help but smile gratefully and call out, "Thank you. I don't know who you are, but thank you!!"

By the time she had yelled, The Lioness was already on her way, continuing her patrol of the city. It was scum like that she fought against, really. She felt the need to look for more- there was a lot of work to be done. Part of her thought that maybe she shouldn't have given her name. But… the rest of her didn't care. She was not the kat she used to be.

'That kitten is dead, and buried,' she thought to herself as she flipped and turned neatly through the air. 'She was betrayed once, lied to. Never again.'

That thought made her stop. Standing on the edge of a rooftop for a moment, she closed her eyes and lowered her head, considering the events of the past two weeks.

* * *

Two weeks ago, she had just left the Enforcers. Two weeks ago, she was angry, frustrated, lost. On the day she had left the badge and the gun on his desk, she was entirely furious. She had been lied to for years, with two toms treated unjustly by the very system they defended. And yet, a part of her was in conflict- that system was still worth fighting for. 

Two weeks ago, she broke every picture that had her uncle in it, every last one, including the good ones, the good memories. She was a whirlwind of unleashed fury and pain. He had done too much, was too stubborn, too prideful. He had done something terrible; almost hurt two of his own kats. She had enough of him and his leadership, enough of his duality, of trying to be her commanding officer and her uncle at the same time. She had enough of his overprotective behavior to last her a lifetime.

After she was done breaking things, she started cleaning up, calming down and considering her next options. She had a resume prepared, ready for submission. She knew where to send it, which places were the best to interview at. She had enough money, enough resources, to do anything she wanted.

Not but two days later, she got two responses. There were a few Private Military Contractors that needed good men and women who had a solid background, and they paid damn well; up to one thousand dollars an hour. That was plenty for her. She picked KatGuard, one of the best (and most legal as far as the Enforcers were concerned), and noticed that they provided security for Enforcer Headquarters, among other places.

She smirked. Oh yes, this would be a nice one.

A plan was forming in her head. A plan that would get her back to what she loved doing- saving people. She couldn't do anything else- she didn't know how. So she began spending her money- getting equipment and materials and tools. She started training, harder, faster. Pushing herself.

Slowly, one day after another, she changed.

And soon, before the first week was over and the day of the interview arrived, she was ready. Even after she started her job, hired by Mr. Young to train the security staff at one of his new buildings, she trained and focused and beat herself to death.

Soon, the she-kat that once was… was no more.

'Felina Feral,' she said to herself one day as she looked in the mirror of her apartment's bathroom, 'Is no more. She's dead.'

Yes… she _was_ dead. Her name was still alive, but she had become reborn within. And the idea continued taking shape, forming and building upon itself. Before the second week was over, she had assembled everything she would need, even making a few things of her own. After getting the last few modifications to her car completed, including that new body kit she wanted to get, the change was finished.

'I've changed… so my car should change too.'

She put everything into her car- her money, her heart, her spirit. It was her hobby, but one that she didn't mind spending a bit on. Now… now her car became her transport, the engine her voice. Her pipes were loud, and would blow the ears off of her enemies. She would move faster than her foe, be more nimble and agile.

She would have another identity; make a new name for herself.

Part of her, the part that loved Jake, the part that deeply admired Razor, the part that still believed… that was Felina. That would be her in the daytime, or in a situation that didn't need her help, for she would be needed any time of the day. But the other part… the part that was angry, hurt, bruised… the part that had just been unleashed…

That was what she was, she realized. Unleashed, set free from everything that tied her to the Enforcers. She shook her head and changed her thinking. It wasn't about anger or being in pain. It was about being someone new and different. The other half would be more extravagant, bolder, and even more enterprising. No one could tell her anything when this she-kat was let out to play- she followed her own rules. And she was goddamned sexy to boot, at least in her mind.

She would have to change her voice, too- that wouldn't be hard.

As she put the pieces together, she realized something. 'It's me… but with the volume turned to _11_.'

She grinned and said, "Oh, this is gonna be fun."

She already knew the name she would call this other she-kat.

She would become a beast… and thus her name would be The Lioness.

* * *

Her eyes opened in the present evening, a grin spreading on her features. Since then, she had been a whirlwind, patrolling and scouring the streets, making her attempts at moving faster and better than the Enforcers ever would. During the daytime, she was herself- well, half of herself. Mr. Young appreciated the efforts she made from day one to train his staff in self-defense techniques and combat tactics, and paid her well for her services. 

By the end of the first week she was in business, she had made a good portion of what she had spent on her equipment back in spades, almost enough to break even. She hoped that she wouldn't be needed too often; she saw this as being potentially costly. Still, what she put into it would come back to her big time and in the best way ever.

She always, always put it in the bank, in a private account where she had moved the rest of her funds. She'd probably need it later, just in case.

But for now, she was enjoying her newfound freedom; the sexy purr that her voice became, the intimidation tactics that she used, the ability to fight off multiple attackers using surprise and speed. This was what she had wanted the Enforcers to start doing in the first place.

'But I'm not an Enforcer anymore.'

She pulled out a small remote from one of the pockets on her cargo pants, and pressed it in. Ten minutes later, her car pulled up to the curb below.

"I'm so glad I put that in."

With that, she allowed herself to fall, headfirst, towards the pavement, her eyes closed and her breathing steady. One would think she was quite insane, jumping from a tall building with no sight reference whatsoever, but then halfway down, she opened her eyes. No, she wasn't that crazy, but a she-kat she knew might be.

Still, she was pretty insane. Heading towards the ground at a reasonable rate, she righted herself before her head smashed first, landing on the balls of her feet. With that, she rolled forward on her right shoulder, and stood up just in front of her car door. Cue huge grin here.

"I _have_ to practice that."

With that, she opened the car door and closed it soundly, hearing the engine's purr. She smiled and hit the accelerator, hearing the supercharger whine happily as her tuned car lunged forward. She would have to do something about work tomorrow- she'd been up quite late. At the very least though, word would get around soon that there was a new player in town.

She hoped that the news was interesting tomorrow… and she hoped that a certain tom saw it.

* * *

The next morning, Calico Briggs woke up to a message from Felina Feral, stating that her self-defense lessons were being switched to another time- _earlier_ in the morning. The message was left the night before, and she had missed it due to working all night at the Mayor's office. Not like she minded- it was for the city. Besides, the Enforcers had to have those new jets, and she was busy picking one. 

Thus, earlier in the morning than she would have liked, she woke up, got her usual morning cup of tea, and oddly enough, began to simply sit and breathe. For the past two weeks, she had been attempting to place her mind in a constant state of equilibrium. She noticed that whenever her mind was free of distractions, empty of thought and at rest, she felt as if a current were running through her, an invisible sort of electricity that she could not name.

Whenever that happened, she felt more… alive somehow. She could sense things that she previously could not, and pick up subtleties that most could not comprehend in any normal way. She even swore that she could see farther, hear better, and do most anything. But those too, were distracting thoughts.

Callie, in these predawn hours, made her mind a void, detached from thought and emotion. She didn't concentrate on it, simply let it exist. And sure enough, the current ran through her, and she let that exist as well. She did not attempt to take hold of it, or even guide it, simply let it guide her.

It was one hell of a way to wake up, that was for sure. Soon, her fatigue was washed away, replaced by those indefinable sensations that tingled on her skin, just at the surface. Her eyes opened, and they were the clearest green that a kat could look at. She had a placid expression on her face, as if she were entirely at rest. There was neither smile nor frown, simply peace.

It was times like these when the strangest things happened. She swore that she could hear something that could only be described as a song that only she could understand. It wasn't music per-se, but a pulse. Something that she felt was everywhere, not just in her. She could almost close her eyes and tell where everything was in the room, by simply listening to that pulse, that rhythm.

Times like now.

She didn't want to touch it or bother it, but she couldn't help but feel… amazed. Everything… she could see and hear and feel _everything_. And the thought entered her mind that Callista, with all the strange things that she had said, was right. She _could_ hear, and she could _truly _see.

But there was no time to try it out- she regretfully released the flow and headed towards the door, gathering her things as she went along. These days, her backpack was heavier, the ammunition pouches on the sides stocked with extra magazines, and she had more than one type of gun in the bag itself. Instead of putting her shooting glasses in the bag, she put them in a special case. Earplugs were placed inside one of the pockets of her track suit, and before long she was ready to go.

As she headed towards the garage, she recalled the last time she had seen Felina. Two weeks ago, she had been invited over to the… former Enforcer's apartment, to hear the news that Felina had left the force. Not kicked out as Callie had said she would be, but just left.

In an awkward moment of a sympathetic, tear-filled hug, the Deputy Mayor vowed to do everything she could to help her out with whatever she needed. That of course, was when Felina explained everything. She had gotten tired of her uncle's way of running things. Telling Callie everything about what Jake and Chance had told her however, only made the she-kat in a pair of white denim jeans and a light blue shirt cry again, double time.

Felina couldn't help but wonder, 'Does she always have to do that?'

But then again, Callie wouldn't be Callie without the tears. She was emotionally responsive, and perhaps that was her strength, something that frustrated Felina to no end. She wouldn't show her tears openly, or how she really felt, unless she was entirely comfortable, or entirely angry.

With the tears out of the way, they began reviewing what Callie knew, and going over a few things she should know. Today, seeing as the Deputy Mayor had apparently learned enough on how to shoot, Felina decided to show her how to actually take someone else's gun from them without getting herself hurt.

It was a bit harder to learn this, but Callie did have that strange thing she did when she relaxed and everything became clear to her. It only took her a few tries over the space of half an hour, and frankly that wasn't bad. For the third time that morning, she stripped Felina of her weapon in proper fashion, making the motion to break her arm before pushing her foot against Felina's short ribs and twisting the wrist in one motion, stripping the unloaded firearm away.

"Good, good. You got it. Okay, let's go over the three rules of disarming someone," she said as she stood up, dusting herself off. "Give me the first rule."

Callie nodded and said, "Stay out of the line of fire. The technique won't work if you get shot."

Felina immediately asked, "What if you're at a distance?"

Callie responded with equal speed. "Find some cover, wait for the kat to break theirs and get closer, and then go for the move."

The former Enforcer nodded. "Good. Now the second rule."

Callie had to pause a moment before she answered, "Take control of the gun and the hand that's holding it. The hold has to be firm, or the aggressor will have a chance to fire."

Felina shrugged and said, "Fair enough. What's the last one?"

Callie knew this one without having to think about it. "Finish what you start, and do it quickly. Break arms and legs, get in a shot to the head, whatever's open- and then either destroy or use the weapon that's yours."

Felina smiled and said, "That's it. If you know all that, then I trust that you'd be able to do it if, say…. I did _this_."

The itch between Callie's shoulder blades fired off and her body tensed as Felina moved with a speed she had seen only once. The arm, the hand, the shoulder, moved in perfect sync. She had seen this before, and it still shocked her.

'The snap shot! Has she gotten _better_ at it?'

But the flow was there as well- without pause, without hesitation. She had seen it before. And now, as the pulse rang in her ears, that sound that everything had, she could _feel_ it. For a while, it looked as if it moved in slow motion. Time became a meaningless thing. Callie smirked.

The shot was almost lined up… and Felina's eyes widened as the Deputy Mayor suddenly moved away from the barrel a fraction of a second before it was brought to full steam, her body a blur of peach fur and golden hair.

'She dodged it… _she dodged the snap shot_! If that were real, I wouldn't have been able to hit her with a bullet!'

Callie had moved to Felina's outside, and soon she had rotated her wrist until the thumb was pointed downwards. Her elbow lined up with the joint and in one swift motion, dropped with all of her weight. The point of her elbow stopped a few centimeters from impacting its target.

"I just broke your arm."

Felina was breathing hard- she couldn't believe it, though it was right there in front of her.

"…That you did," she said after a while. "And it was a clean break too."

She didn't even know whether or not Callie knew what she just did. Then again, there were some things that a kat just didn't ask.

"Do that again, but this time finish the technique."

And thus, a new kind of lesson began taking shape.

* * *

Later that morning in the garage, Jake and Chance were busy watching the news. They did sometimes in order to check on what's going on in the city that needed their attention. But something quickly caught their eye as the picture of a shadowy figure with a question mark in it appeared in the top right corner of the screen appeared. 

"The Enforcers have been having a difficult time keeping up with crimes at night as of late, but a new solution may have appeared in the form of a mysterious kat that has been roaming the streets, keeping the citizenry safe from the shadows. Ann Gora, our eyewitness reporter, has the details on this latest guardian of the night."

They leaned forward, interested in what was being said. This was news, sure enough.

Ann's voice was as clear and concise as they remembered it, and frankly it wasn't all that long ago that they had the interview with her. They could remember it even as they listened to her now- one of the biggest risks they had ever taken.

They kept tabs on Ann, and found out that the personal interview with them as the SWAT Kats had made her a celebrity of sorts. Still, she remained humble through it all, explaining that it was her job to report the news without bias or malice. Ironically, that statement alone made her even more of a celebrity.

They were sure that everyone in MegaKat City had their ears turned to their televisions now, just because she was on it. But some, like them, were actually interested in what she had to say.

"On the streets of MegaKat City, threats arise everywhere, most, if not all of them at night. The Enforcers have been working around the clock in an attempt to circumvent the issues at hand, but they have not had much headway. Then, a solution appeared, as they often do, from out of nowhere- citizens report of a shadowy female patrolling the streets at night, defending those who the Enforcers cannot properly reach with skills that defy explanation."

Chance smirked and said, "A wannabe."

Jake raised a hand and concentrated on the broadcast, effectively silencing him.

Ann continued onward, gesturing towards the smashed windows of Larry's Hardware. "What you see behind me is the site of a battle that took place last night, as a total of nine kats stormed this hardware store, aiming for the safe and cash registers. According to a report from the Enforcers, the she-kat entered from the rear entrance, using needles covered in a sedative of as-yet untraceable origin to knock out the first two perpetrators before pulling the pin on a smoke grenade. From there, a fierce melee took place that could have possibly ended in seconds."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "If all that glass there is an indication, she ain't kidding."

Chance scoffed and said, "That could have been the kats who were trying to break in. What we need is a look at the back door, or words from the guys who got nabbed. Not like we're gonna get that any time soon. Let's just wait for the next time she pops up- we might be able to ask her ourselves."

Jake shook his head and said, "That's not gonna happen unless we run into each other on patrol or something. We might have to leave this one alone for now, Chance."

The bigger tom folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "Still sounds like a wannabe."

Jake smirked and said, "Haven't you remembered anything from the Enforcer training we got? Never, ever underestimate a potential opponent. Don't call her a wannabe unless we can see what she can do."

Chance huffed impatiently and said, "Sure thing bud, but I still think we should just go out there and look for her. That can't be too hard- from what we've heard, she only operates at night."

Jake laughed and said, "Dude, if she's anything like us, like you say she _wants to be_, she'll have that alley covered. No, we wait until she wants to be found, and then we find out about her."

Chance nodded, almost reluctantly. He just wanted to go out and have some fun, but Jake did have a point. And thus, for the first time in forever when a situation came up, they did… nothing. Perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing- they would get to see Callie a lot more often until something actually happened.

The big tom looked forward to that. Next time, he wouldn't lose to Mata Hari.

* * *

**Chapter 12: StealthKat (Part 1) - **_**Rise of the Lioness**_

YES! Yes, yes, YES! This is what I'm talkin' about, right here! **Extreme** is the word of the day here, and it's going to be used all through this story arc, in spades, without commercial interruption. This story arc is most likely going to be choc-full of your favorite part of SWAT Kats- dogfights! Aerial combat and daredevilry at its finest! You'll know what I'm talking about soon.

This first chapter is a short premise to _The Lioness_, Felina's new alter ego. I'm not even going to go into how I thought about this one, but let's just say she's enterprising enough to pull all this off. Stay tuned, because I'm just getting started with her.

And now, the reviewers!

**Raiden Snake**! thanks for taking time out to look at all this! I appreciate your support, and everyone else who reads this! You still haven't answered my question as to how Chapter 11 was flawed, but I think I fixed most of them. They really were minor, and nothing to split hairs over. Of course, that brings me to my next reviewer, **GeekGirl2**! Thank you for pointing everything out for me- I appreciate your attention. And I hope this is where you figured it would go. If not, surprise!

Okay! Remember that I chew on reviews like dogs chew a rubber newspaper- early and often. They are my Scooby Snacks, feed me. Oh, and don't worry; The Fanfiction Mercenary will continue fighting the good fight, even through the harsh cold of Christmas! I'm open 24-7-365, baby!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	13. StealthKat Part 2

"All right, let's take a break here, grunts!"

Mr. Young's security teams were sweating profusely; some of them damn near exhausted. She had been working them tirelessly, more of a drill sergeant than an instructor. But those that could take it and give right back in double measure knew that it was important that she treat them this way. After all, she did use to be part of the Enforcers, and was a certified combat pilot. This was the kind of training she had, and it was the only kind she knew how to give.

Besides, when she wasn't being a hard ass, she was companionable.

Mr. Young stood by, observing the proceedings as they went along. He didn't much care about her methods, as long as they didn't involve permanent injury or loss of life. So far, she was doing well, and this was only her second week on the job. He approached her from behind and said, "You are quite remarkable, you know. To think that the Enforcers let go of someone as capable as you- they must be mad."

The she-kat turned to face the businessman and smiled professionally. "It's how I operate, sir. The harder they train, the more they'll be ready for. The more I push them, the more they'll push themselves. It's a proven formula."

He nodded and said, "I can see that. Still, it would perhaps be best if you took a break of your own. I wouldn't want you to overexert yourself, after all."

The former Enforcer raised an eyebrow and said, "Sir, I have plenty of energy left. I can go on for as long as this takes, or at least until my time here is finished for the day. Your guards might not be able to walk without stumbling a few paces, and they will certainly be sore in the morning, but they _will_ be fighting fit, just in case the worst case scenario happens."

Mr. Young nodded and said, "Indeed. Please, continue when you are ready. Don't let me stop you from doing your job," he said before walking towards the doorway, where he was watching the training session.

Felina Feral was most likely going to enjoy this job as much as her last one. It required less effort sure enough, but she was good at throwing herself fully into whatever she was doing, and thus, she did not feel ready for a break yet. Hell, she felt ready for days.

'And this is after a late night,' She said as she remembered how she had thwarted multiple hostile engagements in the space of three hours. She was always two steps of the regular Enforcer patrols, but soon enough she had to abandon her post. It was getting late, she had work, and the patrols of her rivals were getting more aggressive.

'It's good to force them to play hard ball,' she said with a smirk. 'It keeps them on their toes.'

Speaking of the Enforcers, she had one contact still inside the headquarters. It was someone that almost no one would expect, and someone that the Commander had hopefully not moved from his station. During this break that she had imposed, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a certain number, including the extension.

After waiting for three rings, she heard the familiar voice that she had missed for a while now.

"Enforcer Headquarters, firing range. How can I help you today?"

Felina shook her head and chuckled. "Did my uncle have you practice that one?"

The voice on the other line sounded genuinely surprised. "Is that you, Felina? God, I thought you were gone for good. You cut off all contact- phones, e-mail, whatever else we could use to contact you. I almost suggested we try you in Morse code!"

She laughed and said, "That's what I like about you, Benny- you won't change for anyone. So then, what's been going on?"

Benny sighed and said, "Well tons, actually. Since the Commander told us that you had resigned from your post, everyone's been acting as if there was a cloud hanging over their heads. I swore it would rain _inside the damn building_ for the longest time, the mood was so heavy. But of course, the thing that lifted our spirits again, at least the spirits of the pilots, was that we were getting an upgrade."

Felina raised an eyebrow. "Upgrade, huh?"

On the other end of the line, Benny nodded. "Oh, you bet. For like, two weeks or so there's been planning of a new plane from Pumadyne Industries- one to replace the F-16s we currently have on the runway."

She was lucky that he couldn't see her sly grin.

"Is that so? Do tell…"

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Wearing her usual pink business suit and carrying a clipboard, Calico Briggs walked along the production floor of Pumadyne Industries, wearing a hard hat atop her head of golden hair, which was currently tied back in a loose pony tail at the base of her neck. She was currently talking to the supervisor in charge, inquiring of the progress from the last two weeks.

"So then," she shouted over the sounds of the machinery, "How long will it be before we get this new bird in the air?"

The supervisor grinned and said, "This ain't just any bird, Ms. Briggs- this is a stealth-capable air-to-air fighter, the first of its kind. Radar can't pick the damn thing up via the radar-absorbent paint and design specifications. You'd have to see it via visual confirmation, and that's gonna be tough to do with a super cruise engine- it's got a standard cruising speed of Mach 1.5."

Callie did her homework before hand- she knew what all that meant. She was still surprised though.

"Wait," she yelled as the work went on around them, "You're saying that this thing can break the sound wall without afterburner?"

He smirked and said, "If there's one thing I don't do Ms. Briggs, it's lie. You wanna see?"

Callie nodded excitedly. This was going to be one hell of a ride, at least to look at. She wasn't one to fly jets… but then again, before the incident with the Pastmaster, she wasn't one to learn how to shoot, or use her intuition. Now she could do both.

'But I'm not _that_ crazy,' she thought to herself.

Still, when she was put on the elevator leading to the lower levels, there was a feeling of tension running through her, as if this were going to be something she would remember for a good while. She asked more questions, like what it was armed with, the service ceiling and engine type, how agile it was, and other things of that sort. She liked knowing the details- it allowed her to look at the larger picture with more clarity.

But he was vague, his answers fleeting. Some of them were shortened to "wait and see". It frustrated her to no end.

But of course, all of those thoughts melted away as the elevator doors opened, and they walked towards the underground testing area for not only the engines, but the plane as well. The first place she wanted to go of course was where the jet was stowed, or at least where a mockup of it was made.

The supervisor raised an eyebrow and said, "We don't _do_ mockups here. What you're about to see is a near-finished product, awaiting the final test run. We were going to give it to the standard military forces first, but the Enforcers could use another plane. Those F-16s can't match the TurboKat, that's for sure. And to think, it's an old F-14 swing-wing Tomcat. Modified out the ends, though- VTOL and customized non-lethal missiles, the mini-boosters, and even the capacity to break Mach 5. Those SWAT Kats must be mechanical geniuses to service and do heavy upgrades on an old jet like that."

Callie didn't want to say anything. She just grinned as he looked forward again.

'_Everyone_ loves you guys, don't they?'

That included her.

But even the grin faded when she entered a darkened room, the lights entirely off. She raised an eyebrow as they walked in, the doors sliding closed behind them. "Is this some kind of trick? If it is, I am not playing around."

Unseen, he smiled and said, "Okay, hit it!"

One after another, the lights turned on. Slowly, ever so slowly, it was revealed- the menacing, sleek front profile of the jet.

The supervisor extended a hand towards the beast and proudly announced, "Allow me to introduce you to the F-22 fighter jet, Ms. Briggs, also known as… the Raptor."

Her eyes widened as the lights brought the plane to full attention, and she fought to keep herself from scampering forward like an excited child. It looked _incredible_ and she immediately said, "Give me a tour. I want to know everything."

The supervisor nodded and said, "Sure thing. First things first- this bird is painted with an iron ferrite coating that significantly reduces radar detection by absorbing the electromagnetic waves and disrupting them. They turn into heat, the heat transfers to the jet, and the jet bleeds it off. Second, the overall design of the aircraft further prevents detection, scattering radar signals to the four winds. If a signal can't reach the station, the radar has less chance of picking the jet up."

Callie listened quietly as the supervisor went through each way that a signal was further detracted, including the engines, cockpit, and electronic counter-measures. She smiled and said, "So the only way a kat can see it is if… well, if they can see it with their own two eyes."

The tom nodded. "It's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than what's out right now."

The Deputy Mayor nodded in response and said, "What are the armaments?"

"Open it up," the supervisor yelled towards the control station, and they responded through a microphone, "Roger that, opening weapon bays. Stand clear of the doors."

The Deputy Mayor wanted to take a closer look anyway, but before she could take a step forward the weapon bays did indeed open. "Oh, wow… they're all inside the jet!"

The tom that was taking her on the tour nodded. "All missiles and cannons are located inside the fuselage, to avoid detection. If you'll come with me, please… "

She did.

"The side bays," he began explaining, "Have a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinders tucked into them- those are your standard infrared targeting missiles, also known as heat-seekers. Underneath," he walked towards the main weapon bays, "We have up to six advanced medium range air-to-air missiles. The range of these kittens is 50km, which means they can fire beyond the visual range of an enemy craft. Pilots have the option of firing the missile, and then breaking away to engage another target without having to worry about guiding it home. We call it _fire-and-forget_."

Callie nodded and said, "In other words, the missile has a potential of hitting from out of nowhere."

The supervisor smiled and said, "You sound like you know your stuff. Have you ever flown anything before?"

Callie shrugged and said, "Not really, no. I'm just a she-kat who likes to do her homework rather than constantly ask questions. What about the engines?"

He led her towards the back of the jet and had her take a look. "The turbines back here are one-of-a-kind; they have a remarkable thrust-to-weight ratio, which means this thing can climb, turn, and accelerate on a dime. The weight of this thing while fully loaded is near 25 tons… but the engines have upwards of 31 tons of thrust. That's a lot of power."

She nodded and allowed him to continue.

"You heard me talk about super cruise," he said with a smile. "Well with that much kick in the engines, it's no surprise that this kitten can break the sound wall without having to light up, or in a more common term, hit the afterburners. It can maintain a speed of Mach 1.5 without having to do any extra work. And that's not even the good part."

Callie couldn't believe it could get better, but she was ready for anything. The picture of a highly maneuverable, first-strike aircraft was already a tantalizing possibility, but if it could get any better, she wanted to see it.

"Okay, work the vectoring." The tech, unseen by the Deputy Mayor, hit a few switches and activated a system. She might not have seen all the buttons, but what she did see made her stare.

"What the… the back of the engines can _move_!"

The supervisor chuckled and said, "That they can. Twenty degrees up or down. Most fighters these days have to rely on their own aerodynamics to provide advanced maneuvering. The Raptor can achieve maneuvers that most other planes that are out at the present time can't, and that's because of the nozzles back here. The best part is that there's no separate control scheme for them- when you move, they move."

The Deputy Mayor had seen enough. "You have two jets in development, right?"

He shrugged and said, "Yeah, if you want to see the other one…"

Callie shook her head. "Thanks, no. Considering the changing circumstances and the capability of various foes to see the Enforcers before they can fire a shot, I think we've found a winner. Tell you what, I'll get a press release ready before the day is over, and we'll talk price tag later when the final tests are done. Where are they being held?"

The tom scratched the top of his head and said, "Well we're staging them at an abandoned air force base out there in the desert- the finals are tomorrow, and we'll be taking the test data with us just to make sure nothing goes awry. Why, are you gonna be there?"

She nodded and said, "Hopefully, myself and a news crew. The Mayor, I'm afraid, probably won't be coming to see this final test. He's a busy man."

The supervisor nodded and said, "Then we'll talk later. Hope we can do business together, Deputy Mayor."

As she left, she wondered what it would be like to sit inside the cockpit inside one of those pretty birds, but then she shook her head. She _had_ been in one, at least three times. But she was never there for a tour- mostly for being saved. She had definitely never been flying just for fun.

Regardless of her status as a pilot though, she had picked a fine replacement for the F-16, which was reduced to nothing more than an interceptor against the larger threats.

'That's going to change quick, fast, and in a hurry,' she thought gleefully. Sometimes she loved her job. With that in mind, the Deputy Mayor made her way to her car and began working on the press release.

* * *

In an as-yet undisclosed location in MegaKat City, a tom was watching the news report. It was midday, and the usual news flash had something a bit more… interesting than usual. The scraggly kat, wearing not much more than a red t-shirt and jeans that looked not just lived-in, but slept-in, watched the report from a black and white television. 

"And just recently," Ann said in the usual green clothing she wore, "Deputy Mayor Briggs released a statement announcing the new air-to-air fighter that will be given to the Enforcers to replace the F-16 Fighting Falcons they currently have in service."

The kat perked up. He had to hear this.

"Pumadyne Industries has been involved in a two-week long testing and trial phase between two of their most recent jets- the F-35, and the F-22. The winner would be chosen as the next-generation air-superiority fighter for the military, and just recently the Deputy Mayor helped choose a winner- the F-22 Raptor. According to the statement given, it is capable of avoiding radar detection with multiple applications of stealth technology- and is the first ever fighter jet capable of doing so. Final tests for the Raptor will begin tomorrow at MegaKat AFB, located in the desert region east of the city."

He didn't pay attention to where the trials were being held- not immediately, anyway. That information was tucked into the back of his head as he picked up a suitcase and began walking through the sewer lines, the wheels in his head a-turning. He couldn't do this in broad daylight- not like the last time he had tried. No, he would try and come out at night, like all the other freaks.

'That way, I have less chance of tripping the security,' he mused to himself with a satisfied smirk.

Within the suitcase was a dark green coat that was unique in its own twisted way- it was hardwired with powerful technology that turned the tom into a live wire, a living thunderbolt when it came to power lines and wires. It was known as the Surge Coat, and only one kat could use it with proficiency- Hard Drive.

'That bird… and anything else related to it… is mine.'

Of course, he wasn't the only one who watched the news. Sure enough, Felina saw it as well, and she had just about the same idea… well, not really. She wouldn't go so far as to steal it, but others would try. She would have to head out early this time in order to scout the area.

But not too early- that would make people suspicious.

"Listen up! Break time is over! Look sharp, idiots!"

For now, she'd have to work them hard. Mr. Young would not accept anything less. Come 6:00 PM though, she was done with being Felina Feral. Her car was just outside and ready for action, and of course her clothing was in a backpack. Fortunately enough, it wouldn't take long to change- she made sure of that a while ago.

Pretty soon, work was over.

And thus, she was allowed to leave after punching her ticket. Heading post-haste toward her car, she pressed yet another button on her remote, and the driver's side window opened for her. She slid in through there, not even minding to open the door. That'd take too long.

'I have to get there before he does, no matter what.'

With that, the engine was revved, the supercharger whined, and she peeled off. Not even two minutes into her drive, she hit the GPS and said, "Pumadyne Industries, shortest route."

The screen on her right side, just inside the dashboard, pinged. The route popped up and a voice responded, "Estimated time of arrival from this point, forty-five minutes."

She grimaced. "Not nearly fast enough."

She hit the nitrous, and her car lunged forward. Oh, she would get there first all right. Whoever thought they were getting in there tonight without authorization would have another thing coming.

* * *

Chance and Jake were busy working on a few cars that seemed to have multiple problems of late. All sorts of reports came in- leaky radiators, dead batteries, wheels that needed replacing, checks of the tire pressure, things of that sort. But of course, as was usual these days, they had a break. A break meant Callie. Callie meant that Chance got to sit and stare again, being found out just seconds before he said something. 

'Not today,' he said with a determined cast to his features.

The Deputy Mayor had been heading over now and then, seeing how everything was going, sometimes watching Scaredy Kat with the big tom and generally having a good laugh. Sometimes she worked out with Jake, practicing her restraints, locks, and holds on him. She had a feeling though that he let her perform them without pause- his eyes were sharp, and she bet that he could see five openings in her defense where she only saw two in his.

Still, it was all in all, a good time. But of course, today was a call for… well, as far as she said, business.

Thus, they were in business mode when Callie pulled up just in front of the garage.

"Good evening, Ms. Briggs. What can we do for you?"

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "Business as usual, guys? You look busy."

Jake smiled and scratched the back of his head. "We kinda are, but we could use a break. Come to the back- we'll get a can of milk for ya."

She shook her head and said, "I just want to talk, and that's all. I don't have much time here- but yes, let's go take a seat. I promise it's going to be quick."

Well, the quick part depended on their answers to her questions. She would either have a long, sympathetic talk, or walk out- quickly- and never come back again. Then again, they didn't have to know this. She already had the two sides of the conversation planned out in her head, and hoped for the first outcome. Something made her… sad about the second situation- she didn't want to hate them. Especially not Chance, after he had proven to be such fun. And such a sweet tom, kind, gracious, deserved a break in life.

'He looks at me like I'm the best thing he's ever laid eyes on.'

She couldn't help but notice from the corner of her eye. And yes, she liked him. The way he spoke and acted, the way he was always considerate. He was like a life-size plushy that she just wanted to hug all day- and that wasn't just because of how he was built. It was his easy, slow smile- confidence without arrogance.

'Who would have thought,' she mused to herself as she sat down, 'That the perfect tom for me would be working at a scrap yard?'

But first things first.

"No," Callie said as Chance reached for the remote, "Don't turn that on. It'd be a distraction."

The big tom sat down, scratching the back of his head.

She breathed. Closing her eyes, she attempted to clear her mind, allow it to relax. It was just a question, a simple query with two different answers, both of which had a myriad of meanings. In order for her to hear what the true meaning was instead of what she wanted to hear, she had to focus. She felt the current of energy running through her, calming her.

"I know that you two," she started out, her voice level and serene, "Used to be Enforcers."

Chance's eyes widened. Jake remained calm and that made Callie suspicious. But then, she soon got an explanation about his apparently smooth exterior. Before the bigger tom could explain anything, he said, "I figured so. I'll admit that I told Felina about all that…"

The bigger tom glared at him. "And why the _hell_ did you do that?"

Jake glared back. "Because it's over, Chance. What we used to be isn't what we are now. She wanted to know, and she deserved to know, so I told her. Besides, Feral already knows anyway, so why shouldn't his niece?"

Chance sighed in frustration, his head in his hands. Well, this was interesting… Jake suddenly had clarity of conscience, as he did at times… and it got them in hot water with the she-kat he wanted to be with. He should have prepared for this situation earlier, but now that he had not, he was forced to face the music.

Callie nodded to herself. That ended quickly- she had expected worse. "Why," she said softly, "Did you lie about it?"

This time, there was silence. After about five seconds, Chance responded.

"If we had told you," he said through his hands, "Would you have tried to do something about it?"

Callie opened her mouth to respond, and then closed it. She would have, wouldn't she? But what was so wrong with that? Why should they have to put up with such bullshit from Feral? What he did was wrong; an act of selfish pride and reckless flying that almost got two of his best injured. If what Felina had told her was right… they should still be Enforcers, not here in this place.

Still… she remembered Felina. She remembered how she handled too much shit without a big enough shovel. And she could say nothing.

Her lack of an answer was an answer in itself, and Chance nodded. "That's why. It's our problem, and we'll handle it in the best way we see fit. Not like we don't appreciate you wanting to help," he said as he looked up at her with a warm smile. "We always appreciate backup. But some things… a tom just has to deal with on his own. We know perfectly well we can't earn a living this way. We know that we can't pay everything back. But… we do what we can."

A tear slipped down one of Callie's cream cheeks. "It wasn't your fault."

Jake shook his head and said, "That doesn't matter. All we wanna do is do our time and get on with our lives." He blinked for a moment as his own voice echoed in his head, recalling the exact same words. He laughed. "I've had this conversation before with Felina, haven't I?"

Chance smirked and said, "That my friend is why rule number one is that you tell no one we used to be Enforcers. You'll end up repeating yourself without intending to."

The Deputy Mayor let herself cry. Once again, she felt useless, entirely incapable of helping out. Chance could smell them from here, the signs of her despair. He looked towards Jake, nodding his head towards the doorway. Jake's face formed into a knowing smirk of his own before he headed to the back.

The big kat was gentle at times, despite his apparent strength. He held Callie's face in his hands, tilting her chin upwards to look at him. His green eyes met hers, the starred remains of her sorrow still lingering. Why did he always have to look at her like she was his only hope at times?

"Why are you crying? I said this isn't your problem- you don't have to worry about me."

She nodded slightly and said, "I know. But that doesn't stop me from doing so anyway. I feel so…" she sniffled. "I feel so entirely _useless_. I couldn't help Felina; I couldn't help you guys… I'm starting to feel like I can't help anyone."

Chance smiled and said, "You're being silly. First of all, what would Felina need help with? She's always wanted to do everything on her own anyway- it's how her mind works. She thinks that no one can do things better than she can, and thus she would rather do things herself without asking for help.

"And as for us, you help us out without knowing it. Every day you come over here to visit _is_ helping. You're what I… we look forward to. Even out of your busy schedule, you come over here anyway when you can, and you just hang out. That's enough help to last a lifetime, and I don't know how to thank you enough. I don't even know if I _can_."

Callie sniffled again. She was coming undone. Why did he have to be so nice?

Before she could say anything else (or even explain what Felina's problem was), Chance wiped her tears away, once again rather gently. He didn't seem to care what she had to say- he was only concerned with making her feel better. "Don't cry for me… I don't know if I could take it, seeing you cry. Hell, I would probably blame myself for-"

She had enough. Callie decided to shut his sentence off right there, sealing her lips to his.

This time, he didn't stop her from crying- he couldn't. His senses were sent spinning, his thoughts scattering to the four winds. Eyes wide in shock, he sat still, entirely frozen. 'She's kissing me', was the only thought in his head, and even that vanished as liquid fire ran through him, seeming to originate from her lips.

She tasted heavenly, smelled like an angel from his dreams.

Part of him, the part that remained with some sort of sense, screamed that he could not do this. He had to push her away, to ask her never to do that again. He was not the kind of tom she should be around- he lived two lives; was two entirely different kats. If she knew who his other half was, she would be in danger, constantly.

Not like she wasn't in danger most of the time already, but he wanted to save her, not put her in the line of fire.

But he couldn't think straight- everything was a haze. Her kiss destroyed even the usual nagging voice in the back of his head. Somewhere within Chance, there was still a kitten that dreamed of having a fairy princess, a damsel in distress, a she-kat to save, even if it were from himself. It was yet another dream, becoming a reality. She had told him that she had loved him once- cared for him. That was when he was the other tom- the dark and roughshod half, the part of him that cursed and hollered and didn't mind blowing shit up, as long as the bad guys were caught.

Thus was his dilemma- she had told the other half, without even saying anything, that she loved him. It had come full circle. What could he do now but accept it?

'Nothing,' was the answer that his heart gave.

The kiss broke. Thoughts were still scattered.

Callie spoke immediately and said, "Now, shut up and listen to me." The traces of her tears were still there, and she rubbed her eyes and face before continuing. "I won't have you doing that- not while I'm here, not while I'm gone. Don't blame yourself for my tears when you have done nothing wrong. Can I feel for you, Chance? Can I feel sorry for you and want to help, even though I can't?"

Chance shook his head and said, "I don't think that- you can help."

Callie could not be deterred. "How is that _possible_? I keep on getting in trouble, putting myself in situations that I can't get out of, always having to be saved. I can't help anyone- I can't even help myself. I'm a damsel in distress, and am in serious need of a knight. And I hate it! Do you understand that? I…" She swore she was going to cry again.

"…I hate it."

Chance lowered his head, tried to find the words. He found that he could not. Hadn't he already said she was helping them? But then he remembered- she did always have to be saved. Most of the time she got herself in situations that couldn't exactly be remedied on her own, and she had to be extracted before things got out of hand.

If there was one thing she didn't do, it was lie.

"Maybe," he said after a while, "Your knight _wants_ to save you. It's his job, after all. Though he would like nothing more than to see her help herself, I bet he wants to pull your cute tail out of the fire when he can. I'm also sure that if she could kick some ass on her own, he'd be thrilled, and would like nothing more than to jump into the fire with her instead of reaching in to pull her out."

Callie rubbed her eyes again and said, "I'm trying, Chance. I'm trying to stand on my own, to learn how to defend myself so I can defend others. It's hard, but Felina is teaching me how."

The big kat nodded. "That's good- you're taking a step forward. But until you can do that, until you're sure, then let someone save you, whether it's your knight… or just a tom like me."

She couldn't help herself. It was like she was entirely drawn to him, their noses tied by a string. She kissed him again, but this time he wrapped his arms around her. He hadn't lost to Mata Hari- oh no, he had done something worse.

He had _surrendered_ to her, and without a fight.

* * *

Outside Pumadyne Industries, a rogue electrical spark ran along one of the power lines. The current ran along the wires, leading downward into the ground before hitting the generators inside the building. The lights flickered and flashed and the staff that still worked this late at night looked upwards, eyebrows raised. 

"Mmm… power surge," one of them said, and as soon as the lighting returned to normal.

The problem however was that they were no longer alone. In the darkness of the generator room, a kat stood, yellowed eyes glowing and his coat giving off visible currents of lightning. He licked his lips and said, "Where is that pretty bird?"

With a flash, he re-entered the power lines, searching for the room in question. Lightning zipped and flashed in the very walls, unseen by the kats that worked there. With literally the speed of energy, he moved from one area to the next, hiding in the light fixtures, unseen and unheard. Of course, it was nowhere on the ground floor or on the other floors either.

No, they were too small. They needed somewhere expansive, somewhere that could hold a jet.

He knew where.

'Basement levels, here I come.'

Meanwhile, at the same time as his swift entry, another kat made her way inside. Dressed mostly in dark leathers and body armor, The Lioness took the delivery entrance, knocking out the guard and disabling his radio without making a sound. After making her way inside, she managed to hide behind anything she could find, hopping from cover to cover and darting from one shadow to another.

For a good while, she avoided detection. It was almost like her training in the Enforcers. She smirked. 'Well, almost.'

Wondering where they would keep a jet in this almost-too-big place, she soon had to duck inside of a break room, and without even checking to see if there was anyone inside. Fortunately for her, there was not… but the kats were still coming. She had to find somewhere to hide, even if it was a dark corner.

'Damn, what a way to go,' She thought to herself in a panic. This was not going to end well… and then, she knew what to do. Quickly throwing her pony tail across her right shoulder and placing her hair between her teeth, she hopped upwards… and loosed her claws. While in the air, she clicked her heels together, unveiling a set of metal spikes. With that, she dug in and clung to the ceiling as if her life depended on it.

Her hair was out of the way and not hanging downwards; her feet and hands were rooted to the spot. All she had to do was hold on for dear life and hope that her core muscles could sustain their position for however long it took. Soon enough, the kats that she had heard outside came in, mostly for drinks of water. Some of them got sodas instead though, and they began talking.

"Mmm… that power surge was weird as hell, huh? Wonder what caused it."

One of the toms shrugged and said, "Doesn't matter what- just as long as the test data isn't wiped. The boss is gonna have our heads for it if it is. Speaking of that, have you guys seen the Raptor in the basement levels?"

The she-kat's eyes widened significantly.

'A power surge, suddenly and without explanation; testing data that is highly sensitive; and they have a goddamn _Raptor_ down there? Shit… this is a virtual playground for Hard Drive.'

"Yeah," another kat said, "That thing is a beast. One of the most maneuverable bastards I've ever seen- I swear, whoever gets to fly that is gonna have a damn good time."

Oh, she was sure of that.

Within two minutes, the break room was once again clear. She waited… ten seconds… fifteen… twenty. She lowered herself, disengaged the spikes, and landed neatly on the coffee table, light on her feet and without breaking it. The Lioness began hauling ass towards the nearest elevator shaft, stairs, whatever she could find.

Of course, there was only the elevator on this floor. Not to mention that the lower floors required staff ID. But she knew there had to be an override somewhere in the very elevator she stood in. Hoping that no one else would get in while she was here, she searched for something, anything she could use… and lo and behold, there was something.

It was an input port for a cable. They didn't have a remote system- she wouldn't have to take over a control room, just hijack the system directly.

Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out a cable with the exact size and wiring for that one port, plugged it in, and opened up the large, second armor plate on her left glove. Sure enough, there was an interface system there with several buttons and monitors.

"It's wonderful to rig something like this up," she muttered to herself.

A few key presses later, and there was a green light flashing on her panel. The elevator lurched slightly, then began going down. She unplugged, resealed the armor panel, and waited. Whoever was down there, be it Hard Drive or no, he or she was about to get their eyes clawed out for even trying to sneak in here.

About thirty seconds later, she was downstairs and immediately headed for the door at the back. She wasn't about to just play a guessing game- she was going straight for the first one she saw. Sure enough, she heard a sudden discharge, as if someone had hooked a live wire onto something. Lioness moved faster, not even waiting for the doors to slide fully open.

After standing up from her combat roll, she looked around for the source of the sound, and saw what was going on soon in a control booth high above. She grimaced as she saw several kats wearing white lab coats fall to the floor, their bodies smoking from being filled with an electrical shock.

'So it _is_ Hard Drive after all.'

Immediately, she withdrew a portable grappling line from one of her pockets and launched it towards the ceiling near the windows of the control room. Fortunately for her, it was quite apparent from the sparks and flashes that he was already at work. He wouldn't notice her until it was too late. And just as she swung towards him, she saw the blissful look on his face… just before it changed to surprise as she broke through the windows, then pain as her right boot rammed into his face, unhooking the connection line from the computers.

His face had a nice imprint in it, and her momentum knocked him back into the metal panels of the mainframes. The grappling line was retrieved and put away before she settled into a loose stance.

"Well isn't this nice. You're awful predictable, aren't you?"

Hard Drive shook his head to clear the sudden vertigo that he had been put under. Someone should get the license plate of the thing that hit him. And then, his vision cleared and he gritted his teeth toward the Lioness. He hadn't really expected this kind of complication, but it didn't matter.

"Perhaps… but you won't live long enough to read any more of my patterns."

A lightning bolt fired towards her, and she evaded. A few needles fired from her right glove, aiming to put a few sedatives in him. The problem with that was that they harmlessly passed to either side of him. She managed to roll out of the way and take some cover as another bolt blasted by her. Gritting her teeth, she considered her options.

'Needles are out of the question… that coat defends him from those. Thus we have option number two- concealment.'

She withdrew a smoke grenade, pulled the pin, and threw in one motion. A lightning blast hit the canister, which was of course, a bad move- the damn thing exploded, and smoke was everywhere. She didn't think, didn't breathe. She just moved. Hard Drive could feel a fist ramming into the right side of his face, another into his gut, followed by a knee to his ribs.

The last thing he felt before he regained his perception was a guillotine choke around his neck.

"Sorry… but you're not leaving with that test data. Not if I have anything to say about it," she said confidently, and in that same sultry purr.

"You're one tough she-kat," Hard Drive growled. "I like tough. For that, I'll keep you alive for now."

The Lioness suddenly felt an electrical current run through her, and though her gloves, boots, and armor were insulated, nothing else was… he touched her pant leg, and she got zapped cleanly. For all of three seconds, she was in sheer pain before finally letting go of him, falling to the floor with her muscles twitching in agony.

As she gasped for air, Hard Drive wiped the blood off of his cheek and resumed taking the data from the computer banks. Sixty seconds later, he was finished… but then he looked down at the jet and said, "Damn, can't stay and spend some quality time. I have to leave before _you_ get at me again…"

He kicked The Lioness across the floor, sending another shot of pain through her systems.

"Rest assured… we will meet again. Just because I didn't kill you now… doesn't mean that I won't do so later."

With another flash, he was gone again, the lights flickering wildly.

She couldn't see it- she was busy keeping her eyes closed, trying to fight off the pain.

'Damn it! Little bastard… He got away!'

The Lioness soon passed out, a tear running down her left cheek...

* * *

**Chapter 13: StealthKat (Part 2) - **_**Short Circuit**_

Well shit, that was a bad way to go. I just hope Felina will be all right. And I know that fight scene was a bit short, but hey- I had to do something with it. Hard Drive appeared at least twice in _The Radical Squadron_, and I consider anyone who pops up more than once an official part of the rouges gallery. That said I figured I would get him into this story line- see if I could take out another major baddie.

Ah, well then, now for the part where I thank my reviewers.

**Raiden Snake**! Your comments are much appreciated. And as for your response, I did that for a reason that has been clearly marked in this one- it's _no secret_ that they were removed from the Enforcers- Feral knows. Their secret of course, is that they are indeed the SWAT Kats… something that Felina will find out soon anyways. Oh, and about the change in Jake and Chance's story... well, just call it a bit of artistic liscense. I kinda like that version- it screws them over double, makes their situation worse.

For all you Chance/Callie shippers, this is the official beginning of the pairing for the rest of the story. I'll try and give this couple and Jake/Felina as much exposure as I can- it'll have plenty of time to grow in the story arcs, as well as the fillers.

Right then, I'm going to turn out the next one now.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	14. StealthKat Part 3

It had been all of half an hour after she had been incapacitated. The place where he had sent that electrical current through her was burned clean through, her skin a darker tan than she would have liked. Still, she was… mostly alive. It felt like she had been run over a few times by the plane down there, but she felt like she could stand.

Slowly, one knee after the other, she got up on all fours and slowed her breathing; tried to slow it. There was a buzz still in her ears from the electrostatic shock, and everything was doubled.

'Must've used a bigger current than I thought,' she thought numbly to herself before attempting to stand. With much difficulty, she did. She was surprised that no one had been down here to check things out, but perhaps that was for the best. She had to get out of here before things got ugly…

Well, uglier than they were now.

Hard Drive had taken the test data for the F-22 Raptor that was in its final testing phase, and killed those who were apparently integral to its development. The bird downstairs was now the only working one of its kind, impossible to duplicate. With the final test, it would be fully operational… and whoever controlled it and could buy or steal a good stockpile of missiles and ammunition, not to mention fuel, owned the skies.

She had tried to stop him. She was doing well, and almost had the demented tom bagged. And then, he got away. It wasn't a good night for The Lioness.

As she stood, she realized there was only one option remaining. It wasn't a goddamn good one, and it would definitely get her on the bad side of the Enforcers, but she had no choice. Somehow, she would have to steal that plane anyway. Not now though. This was an especially bad time, because there was no way she could do it without tripping the alarm. And if she tripped the alarm, she would tip off both the Enforcers and the SWAT Kats.

'I have to… get out of here…'

She moved too slowly, her body still weakened by the shock that it had endured. At this rate, she would never get upstairs again… hell, if she were down here until the daytime, she wouldn't be surprised. A grimace was almost permanently etched on her features as she moved towards the elevator again, one arm against the wall for support.

'I can't be stealthy like this. If someone finds me, it's over.'

She couldn't do this for long- either someone would have to come down here, or she would have to wait until the morning. The second one was not an option- she would have to wait for the elevator to open, then. With any luck, she could get in, get up the shaft, and get out of the building before anyone saw her. Yes the going would be slow, but it would be worth it.

She heard it down the hallway- the sound of the elevator's bell signaling that a car was indeed down here at that very moment. As fast as she could, she moved towards the nearest shady corner, pressed herself against the wall, and waited.

The doors opened.

'Here goes nothing!'

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Callie had stayed over at the garage, watching them working on cars for the rest of the evening. She never asked what went where and which was which, but now she did. Hell, there was nothing better to do at the moment. Chance explained as best he could, knowing more about what was under the hood than anyone else, even Jake. She was a curious little thing, and there were more questions than there were answers.

The two toms offered to let her toy around, get to know a car a bit better, but she did not entirely like that idea. It wasn't that she didn't like getting dirty- it was only oil, after all, and soap would get it out just like always. The thing was that she cared about her clothing, and wasn't dressed properly to work on anything.

Now in one of the spare back rooms, which were comfortable enough with a bed and a small closet, Callie looked out at the scrap yard, her green eyes scanning the piles of spare parts. She wondered what exactly one could find in this place. The saying went that one man's trash was another's treasure. What treasures were buried here?

'A spare change of clothing, I hope,' she mused to herself. Not expecting to stay for this long, she had forgotten a spare change of clothing. Fortunately for her, the door opened just then, and as if he were summoned there, Chance Furlong stood in the doorway.

"Hey… you okay now?"

The Deputy Mayor turned to face him and smiled softly. "I'm fine. Thank you for listening to me."

The big tom smiled and said, "It's what I do. Anyways, it's kinda late now… and I'm going to assume that you're tired. If you want, I could drive you back home… at least for another outfit. If you're gonna be staying here, I wouldn't want you to be inconvenienced."

Callie shook her head and said, "If I go home, I'll probably go to sleep in my own bed. Not to mention that I'm too tired for any kind of back-and-forth. No, I'm sleeping here. Besides," she said as she sat on the bed, stretching her arms upward, "This is comfy enough for me."

He had to wonder how she did that- every time she stretched upwards like that, it seemed to make her do interesting things to other parts of her body. Things he couldn't help but notice. Once again, he had to comment to himself how incredibly hot Callie was. The fact that she had kissed him earlier reinforced this.

Still, he didn't necessarily want to do anything to her. Not yet, anyway.

"Then you better head to bed- I'm sure you have stuff to do tomorrow."

She nodded and said, "That I do. Good night, Chance." With that, she settled into bed, sighing to herself as she pulled the sheets over her body. As she snuggled into her pillow, the big kat made a move to reach out to her… but then stopped. No, he couldn't. There were things that had to be taken care of.

And yet, he couldn't just leave her without something… could he?

'No, you can't.'

He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. She smiled, snuggled further, and Chance could smell the shift in her scent, the marked change that told him she was asleep. But the oddest thing happened before he left… she purred.

He turned to look over his right shoulder, eyes wide. Then, he smiled and said, "Good night, Callie."

Had he ever heard her purr before? No, he hadn't. She must have felt safe enough, happy enough, to do so while he was still in the room. He closed the door behind him as he left, only to walk a few paces forward and bump into Jake. He apologized before trying to walk past him, but Jake held a hand to Chance's chest.

"You did good, buddy," the slim tom said with a smile.

Chance smiled. "Yeah, but I wonder how long this little lull will go on. We might be called again, and that'd mean leaving her here. I don't think I feel good about that, Jake."

His good friend shook his head and said, "We don't really have a choice. Let's get back to work- we need to get those cars done by tomorrow morning- they'll be back for 'em."

With that, they walked away, getting back to what they were doing. Callie on the other hand, was fast asleep. Well, not entirely. Her mind was still working, constantly in motion. In the realms of the subconscious, hanging between being knocked out and being alert and ready, sometimes one experienced rather eerie things. For Calico Briggs, it wasn't so much eerie as it was… familiar.

Like something was wrong.

No, not here- she felt at ease here. It was somewhere else. Just at the edges of her mind, a suspicion arose as the tingle ran along her skin and the itch between her shoulder blades seemed to come to her without warning. Yes, something _was_ wrong. But she had no idea of what it was.

There was a dread- an almost irrational fear that tomorrow would not be a pleasant day, and part of her did not want to wake up. But the rest of her knew that she had to, and whatever was about to happen would happen whether she was there for it or not. She attempted to settle deeper into her sleep, to make it go away, but it continued nagging at her.

Callie woke up, blinking tiredly.

'This is not going to be good for my press appearance tomorrow,' she brooded to herself. But her intuitive alarm system was firing all of its klaxons. Something was _wrong_. Someone was in trouble. Someone needed help, be it hers or…

She considered using her signal transponder before shaking her head. "It's too late for this kind of crap. Besides, they won't appreciate me calling them on a hunch."

She would call the Enforcers, if Feral was still there and not Steele. The bumbling fool would probably mess it up, and make snide comments at that. But with how late it was, it was most likely that the latter was lounging around in the Commander's chair, which meant that there was only one option remaining. She would have to check things out herself.

'But it's wrong, just leaving here while I'm too tired and still a guest…'

The alarms in her head blared louder. It was worse to leave a kat in need.

Callie shook her head. "Too late for this shit…"

She got out of bed. She swore that if there was nothing wrong, she would just plain go home. The possibility for that was very, very wide, but if she was right… if she was right then there may be something she could do, even if it was to contact the SWAT Kats. It was worth a try.

The window was opened and she made her way out. They would understand, and she would call them later. Hopefully.

But then, as she successfully made her way out to the car, checking to see if her purse was there, she reconsidered her option to call them later. No, that would be rude of her, and besides, they would hear her engine noise. She dialed the number for their office, and sure enough, Chance Furlong answered.

"Yeah, it's Callie. Look, I'm just outside, getting ready to go. Something came up…"

Chance's voice didn't sound so surprised about that. "Yeah? Well you take care of yourself, okay? If you ever need anything, give us a buzz. We'll be here all night, you got that?"

She chuckled and said, "I'll hold you to that. Hopefully, it's nothing serious. If it is though, I'll call you tomorrow, if I can. See you guys later, and thanks for letting me stay over. Good night."

She hung up, put the phone back into her purse, and opened the trunk. Inside was a familiar black backpack, and inside that backpack was a shoulder holster with two extra magazine pouches, two handguns, and one sub machine gun. Well, now all she had to do was pick which one she would carry, and that would be that.

She took off her jacket and donned the shoulder holster, then opened the backpack. Depending on what exactly was about to go down, she may need a little, or she may need a lot. At this time of night, anything could be roaming around, so she picked the USP .45 and placed it in the shoulder holster, along with two extra clips in the pouches to her right.

The jacket was back on, concealing the weapon neatly, and she was ready to get moving.

'I just hope I won't have to use this,' she thought grimly to herself as she closed the trunk and started the engine. Soon, she was off to… wherever. That was a good enough explanation of where she was headed, since she didn't know herself. She only knew that something was wrong.

But for the first five minutes, she could find no one. Of course, five minutes was five minutes; nothing big. And then it stretched to ten… fifteen… then twenty. She yawned- this was getting nowhere. But of course, as soon as she thought that, she saw a car blur past an intersection. She hit the brakes hard and cursed loudly.

"**Fuck**! What the hell are you doing, you crazy…"

The alarms went off in her head.

'What? _That's the one who's in trouble_?"

Well, whoever the crazy kat driving that thing was, they were certainly going to be in trouble with _her_ if this was wrong. Her right foot was as if it were made of lead as she punched the accelerator, turned sharply to her left, and followed.

* * *

The Lioness was burning down the highway, attempting to get to the MegaKat Air Force Base before Hard Drive managed to wake up and strike. She had to do it before the morning arrived, or else it would be no good at all. After her successful, albeit lengthy escape from Pumadyne (and without even setting off any kind of alarms), she called her car up and, not even bothering to do the bunny hop into the window, got in and peeled off before anything else could happen. 

Sure it made her look suspicious, but wasn't she that already?

'I'm surprised I can even drive this thing in my condition,' she thought to herself with a grimace. Soon, she was on the right track towards the eastern desert, thanks to her GPS navigator. Of course, when she flew by an intersection, she noticed that a car was waiting to move. She certainly didn't have time to apologize- simply blasted through.

But of course, that car that was waiting suddenly turned in her direction and came right on after her. The Lioness looked into her side mirror, her eyes widening. She knew who that was…

"Holy shit… It's Deputy Mayor Briggs."

And she was catching up, quickly! Wondering what the hell that car of hers was on, she shifted to fifth gear and began burning the road with her tires, hoping to lose a potential headache. Of course, this headache was rather persistent as her car proved to be just as fast as the black, highly-tuned street machine.

'That's crazy… who the hell worked on that car to make it run like _that_?'

She didn't want to know. The Lioness was about to hit the nitrous and get the hell away, but… then she had an idea. Her finger moved away from the turbo and she pulled a bootleg turn, swinging the back of her car around and putting it in reverse. With that, she hit the gas and began moving backwards, an arm hanging out of the driver's side window.

With a few brief gestures, she told the Deputy Mayor to follow her closely. Hoping that she got the message, The Lioness executed a J-turn and peeled off again. Looking in her side mirror, she smiled as the Deputy Mayor's car quickly caught up.

"That's right," she said with that same relaxed purr, "Keep moving. Stick close now- It's your fault if you get lost."

With that, she began executing a bout of extreme driving that turned out to be the fastest route out of MegaKat City. Callie was hard-pressed to keep up, but her engine, such as it was, could handle it. The tires would need changing later due to all the drifts, but she would keep up nicely. If she knew anything from being around Mayor Manx, it was how to drive as if one's life depended on it.

At the moment, she was thankful that Chance and Jake worked on her car every month.

'This kat's nuts,' the Deputy Mayor thought in disbelief as they continued racing out of the city and towards the desert. 'It's a wonder I could keep up this far. Whoever is driving that car, they'll be lucky if I don't shoot them just for leading me on this crazy-ass roller coaster.'

And then, they were in the desert. The Lioness looked in her side mirror and thought, 'Not half bad. Unfortunately, this is where we part ways. I'm sure you'll know where to find me.'

That was when she hit the turbo. With a flash of blue flame from the exhaust pipes, as if they were a pair of afterburners, the car leapt forward, making the Deputy Mayor's eyes widen in shock.

'You're _kidding_ me! There's no way I'll be able to keep up now,' she thought to herself, entirely mortified. She thought about turning around and heading back, but as soon as the thought entered her head, the itch between her shoulder blades started up again. Her eyes narrowed.

'Just what is it you want, dammit?'

She was compelled to drive forward. The other car was so far ahead of her now that she could be in _sixth gear_ and not be able to keep up, but there was only one building, one possible area all the way out in the desert that anyone could be going to. She kicked to sixth and hauled ass towards the MegaKat Air Force Base.

The itch between her shoulder blades was gone, at least for the moment.

But once she got there, the other car was gone.

Seeing as she couldn't have just vanished into thin air, Callie got out, pulled out the USP, turned the safety off, and began heading into one of the hangars. This place was abandoned, unfortunately, and thus had no power, no lights, nothing but the stars. It wasn't like she was afraid of the dark, but she couldn't see an inch in front of her, having forgotten to bring a flashlight.

'Great time to remember the one thing I forget to pack.'

But it didn't matter. She walked in, her ears twitching, expecting a sound from somewhere, anywhere. But her heartbeat pounded in her ears, disturbing her hearing. The hand that held the gun shook, her grip tightening instead of remaining loose. She nervously ran a hand through her hair, looking around the darkness.

'No… This is not happening. I will _not_ panic. I will master myself.'

She breathed. The pounding seemed to fill her head, her entire body. The shaking became more erratic. And still she breathed. She breathed in her normal, steady way, without pause or stop or break. The pounding slowed, then ceased. The trembling came to a halt. Her own thoughts whirled, twisted in a violent, uncontrolled spiral.

She was afraid, all right. Not of the dark, but of what could pop out of it.

She breathed. One after another, her thoughts began to bleed off, imagined threats fading from her mind's eye. She should have started her breathing earlier, but had not thought of it until now. But once again, it didn't matter. Next time she would buy a tactical light to hook onto her USP, but right now she had to rely on something else other than light.

She breathed.

The thoughts cleared. Her mind was at ease. Callie's eyes opened as the current of energy, of untapped potential, ran through her veins, along her skin. Her eyes adjusted to the dark almost immediately, things that she did not notice before coming into focus. She could see.

"That," a voice called out from somewhere in the dark, "Was some damn good driving. Not as good as me, of course, but good for someone like you."

She pointed the handgun towards the sound, her body remembering the lessons that were held within it. It was a subconscious reaction, entirely unguided by thought or logic. Her ears twitched as she heard whoever it was move from that position to another, and Callie tracked her effortlessly.

"Not just that," the voice added, "But you're a quick study. You could shoot me right now, and pretty much be dead on. Not like I don't have a defense against hollow point .45 caliber rounds."

Callie was entirely calm as she responded, "Should we test that theory out, or are you coming down to explain yourself?"

From the dark, a pair of headlights turned on, immediately illuminating the hangar. She was effectively blinded by the sudden influx of light, but only momentarily. However, when she opened her eyes again, looking towards the car… she saw a she-kat that was dressed mostly in black, wearing armored gloves, boots, and a tactical vest that she could probably guess was her defense against her USP sitting atop the hood.

'Wearing a bandana… her eyes are covered. I can't make out her face.'

She knew a pair of kats who used the same tactics. And then, she knew who this was.

"…You're that she-kat they keep on talking about on the news, right?"

The black-clad she-kat bowed slightly. "My reputation precedes me," she said in a relaxed, yet altogether dangerous purr. "I don't have a name, but the citizens of MegaKat City call me The Lioness. And you," she said as she gracefully hopped off of the hood, walking towards Callie, "Are Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs. Whoever taught you how to shoot taught you well. It's just too bad I'm armored."

Callie pointed the USP towards the head of The Lioness and said, "Your head isn't. Now start talking- why are we here? Why did you lead me through the city like that? You could have gotten both of us killed."

The dark-haired vigilante stopped and said, "It was the fastest way through the city. Don't tell me you haven't noticed that you accelerate faster out of a drift than a conventional turn. And here I thought you knew your stuff, since you were such a bad-ass at the wheel."

Callie blinked. She was right.

Lowering her piece and removing her finger from the trigger guard, Callie turned the safety back on and said, "Right, I see what you mean. But why exactly are we meeting here? Couldn't you have just called me or something?"

The Lioness grinned. "Two reasons. One- it was fun. Don't tell me you haven't wanted to drive like that. But the second and more important one, I think you can figure out on your own. Tell me, what exactly is this place, an abandoned air force base, going to be used for?"

Callie had to stop and think. What exactly were they out here for? The final test for the Raptor wasn't until…

The itch between her shoulder blades came back. She gasped and realized why she had felt something so wrong earlier in the evening.

"The test," she whispered. "Something bad is going to happen tomorrow."

The Lioness nodded. "That something bad is Hard Drive."

Callie looked towards the vigilante as if seeing her for the first time. She knew about Hard Drive? No one had even heard of his escape, much less how he did it. In fact, this was the first that even _she_ had heard of his jailbreak. She opened her mouth to speak when The Lioness immediately cut in.

"Don't ask. I've had a rough evening with him down at Pumadyne Industries. He managed to get away with the test data that will be used in tomorrow's maiden flight of the F-22. Not to mention he's managed to kill everyone that was involved in its design and development. As of tomorrow's finished test, it will be the only air-to-air stealth capable fighter in existence. You know where it would go from there."

Callie grimaced. She did know. "So what are we going to do about it?"

The Lioness smirked and said, "You… are going to call the SWAT Kats as soon as you spot something wrong. I know you're good with a gun, but bullets aren't going to work against that Surge Coat. Anything metallic will be repelled to either side- you'll most likely hit someone else that you weren't meant to."

She sighed and nodded. "I understand. What about you?"

The tanned, dark-haired vigilante grimaced. "I'm going to make sure that plane doesn't end up in the wrong hands. In order to do that, I'm going to steal it. Hopefully, I'll be able to be a thief who stole from another thief instead of from Pumadyne or the Enforcers."

Callie smirked. "You're a regular Robin Hood. Why not let the SWAT Kats handle this?"

The Lioness pointed towards her right pant leg… and when Callie looked down, she hissed in pain. "Let me guess. That's from electrostatic shock… He always did like that. But that just proves that he's too much for you…"

The she-kat in black shook her head. "Everyone has a bad day. This was one for me. But tomorrow will be _worse_ for him, because he didn't kill me. He kept me alive, told me that he would kill me later. To be honest, I'd like to see him try; I'm going to beat his ass to within a fraction of his life, then tear that coat of his to ribbons."

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "He beat you once. He probably thinks he can do it again."

The Lioness smirked and said, "That's exactly what I'm counting on. I _won't_ lose this time. Even if I have to fight him in mid-air, I'll put him away. So if you see him fall from ten thousand feet and want him to live, you'd better hope the SWAT Kats pick him up. Because I won't care if he goes splat or not- some kats just need to die to learn their lesson."

Callie frowned distastefully and said, "No kat needs to die."

The Lioness raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? He took _lives_, Deputy Mayor. He killed other kats, knowingly and willingly, as part of his plan to take this jet for himself. If one takes a life, what do they have to give in order to balance it out?"

The she-kat in pink shook her head. "That might be, but…"

The vigilante smirked and said, "But what? What could you possibly have to say in his defense?"

The Deputy Mayor was silent for a good long while. She found that the words would not come, simply because she had none. Deep within, she even agreed with The Lioness- this _was_ the best way. It was just like with the Pastmaster- sometimes, a kat had to die, to spend an entire lifetime in some afterworld, to learn their lesson.

"None," she said finally, "I have absolutely no defense for him. I doubt he deserves one."

The Lioness nodded and said, "I know he doesn't. I saw him kill them with my own eyes- that's evidence enough for me. You be there for the press- you promised them, after all. If you see anything going on with that bird tomorrow, you call the SWAT Kats. If I fail… they have to blast that F-22 to kingdom come."

The Deputy Mayor raised an eyebrow and said, "They don't have the weapons load out for that. Most of their stuff is non-lethal, and meant mostly to disable."

The sultry purr of the vigilante replied, "You must not have seen everything, then. That jet can't just have something that restrains- it has to have something that blows shit up. They'd better use those Blowtorch Missiles, or even the Matchheads or Baby Boomers if they have 'em. But then again, they'll need a way to actually pick it up on their radar in the first place. It's going to be difficult."

Callie raised both eyebrows now. How exactly did she know about what they were armed with? Just who was she? She was going to ask when The Lioness smirked confidently. As if reading her very thoughts, she said, "Bet you want to know how I know about their missiles, and how their cement machinegun won't cut it this time. Let's just say… I admire their work, and have studied them intensively."

The Deputy Mayor smirked and said, "Obsessed much?"

The she-kat shrugged and said, "Call it what you like. Besides… the one called Razor is cute."

Callie blinked for a moment before she laughed, putting her gun back into the holster concealed beneath her jacket. "Know what, Lioness? I'm starting to like you. So then, what do we do, just wait here all night? It's gonna be a long night if we have to do that…"

The vigilante nodded and said, "Exactly. I sure hope you like sleeping in your car… Then again, you've got that quite interesting thing you're capable of. You could sense that I was important somehow," she said as if she were slowly putting the pieces together herself. "Thus you followed me here. I told you that this airfield was going to be used for something important, and you knew right away what the situation was, without even trying to think about it. I bet when trouble actually gets going, you _will_ wake up."

Callie blushed slightly at the praise. "It's nothing… I've just been practicing my intuition, that's all. Sounds silly, huh?"

The Lioness smiled secretively. "…Not really."

With that, she gestured towards the Deputy Mayor's car and said, "Get your ride somewhere out of the way. Otherwise people are going to start to wonder, come morning. I've got first watch- head to sleep when you need to."

And thus, the stakeout began. It was most likely going to be fruitless, but just in case he came by early… well, they would be ready, wouldn't they?

* * *

Morning came. The production floor of Pumadyne Industries was shut down, and all was pretty much quiet. It was most likely going to be an interesting day for the supervisor… but of course, when he went down to the lower levels to check things out, he was shocked to see most of the personnel dead, broken glass and pieces of some kind of canister everywhere. Not to mention that when he checked the computer files… 

"Oh, hell no. No, no, no, **FUCK**! They're gone… they're all gone!!"

He looked around in a fury. Who the hell did all this? To be sure, there was a fight in here… and charred remains everywhere. Charred bodies, but no other signs of a fire. Specific spots looked burned, as if someone used pinpoint accuracy to shoot at the other kat… but whom?

At the very least though, he had put two and two together on one level. 'Someone stole the data. Someone else tried to stop them, but failed.'

It didn't matter, though. A copy of the test data was also in the computers of the Raptor- from engine output to targeting information- it was all there. He shrugged and said casually, "Only way that this will be a total loss would be if the jet was gone too. I feel sorry for these guys," he said as he looked down at the developers, "But the test flight will go on anyway, if only in their memory."

There was no need to call the Enforcers… not yet, anyway.

With that, the bay doors were opened for the jet, located just behind it. The platform that it stood on rotated, and revealed behind it was an underground tunnel. "All right, kats! Let's get this moving! We need to be out there by 10:00 AM sharp, so let's step! The media and the Deputy Mayor are waiting!"

Thus, they were on their way, exiting the underground tunnel at MegaKat I-40, heading towards the desert via the highway. The time was currently 6:00, and it was most likely going to be a long trip. With that said, the tunnel was big enough to act as a takeoff point. "All vehicles stand clear. Final checks are in progress…"

The test pilot, his eyes shielded and wearing an oxygen mask, quickly traced his eyes over the panels, giving the information that was displayed to him a once-over. Indeed, the checks were set. The plane was ready to taxi in less than 25 seconds, and it only took a fraction of that time to make the final checks. Sustainability and easy maintainability was important for this jet, and it had it in spades.

He gave the supervisor a thumbs-up without looking behind him, and the tom nodded from where he watched. "Good flight and Godspeed. Hopefully you'll be able to get there without running into problems," he said in the radio.

"Roger that- I'll land there in less than an hour," was the response.

He hit the throttle, the engines came to life, and within a good five hundred feet he had successfully launched himself out of the tunnel at three hundred miles an hour, without using afterburner. The cars followed shortly thereafter, at a much slower pace. Their destination of course, was the testing ground. Due to the interesting situation that had been found earlier that morning, there were more cars than usual.

Four Stryker armored personnel carriers came along as well, carrying several armed kats in black tactical gear. They had their own personal security force at Pumadyne, seeing as they made enough of a profit every year to pay for their own defenses. They would take no chances here- If this test failed, the plane would be scrapped. If the plane were stolen during the test, which would be the official worst-case scenario, they'd have to destroy it.

'This will be near-impossible to do, though. Whoever steals it will have the capacity to kill us without blinking. We're just lucky it doesn't have the air-to-ground load out yet, or they would most certainly eliminate us from a much higher altitude.'

What was worse was if the data was somehow erased from the computer in the jet… if that test data was gone as well, it would all be over. The F-22 would be the only stealth fighter in existence, and entirely out of their hands.

'We can't lose this jet to whoever made that mess inside the computer room!'

* * *

Meanwhile, at the testing ground, Calico Briggs had her cell phone on and ringing, tapping a high-heel clad foot against the ground. They had damn well better be open at this hour- it was important that they get there before things started. She simply did not put up with bullshit. As for why she was so crabby today, well that was because she had an interesting evening. 

'Interesting as in boring as hell,' she brooded to herself. Nothing had happened the night before- no explosions, no one sneaking onto the runway in a sneaky manner, nothing at all. She was almost embarrassed to be there, if she hadn't remembered the fact that one should always come to the site of anything important before any of the major parties did- that way they would have a better grasp of the situation.

What was worse was the fact that The Lioness had… well, vanished. She had probably gone off to some other part of the base to lie in wait, remain hidden. Still, when she looked towards the place where her car was, it was gone. She folded her arms along her chest and pouted as if she had just eaten something sour.

'Bloody hell…'

Fortunately for her, her phone picked up and lo and behold, they were open. "This is the Deputy Mayor, Calico Briggs speaking. I'd like to speak to Ann Gora about the media coverage that is to happen later this morning- we have to set it up so that she comes earlier."

As she held on, The Lioness revealed herself to indeed be nearby, her car stowed away somewhere that it would not be seen. She waited in another hangar altogether, hanging out in the rafters. Her ears twitched as she listened for any kind of noises, and pretty soon she heard one. It was a rather far-off sound, but she could pick it up none the less. She grinned.

"Such a pretty sound," she said as she simply closed her eyes and listened to the engines of the Raptor as it banked towards the runway. "Clean engines, very nice thrust. If I can even manage to get a hold of the controls, this will be something to remember."

That was,_ if_ she could manage it.

Still, she had to get a look at it in action. Thus, she fell gracefully from the rafters, landed on her feet, and headed towards the top of the hangar. By now, she had a new pair of black military cargo pants, and an entirely different pair of boots. This time however, the pants were insulated- made from NOMEX instead of cotton, but with the same pockets and devices. Her left hand had something just for the occasion- It was equipped with a pair of Shock Spikes.

The specialized glove, still made of insulated leather, had an entirely different setup on it. It was a miniature hacker's rig, and just in front of the console, a pair of spikes that were two inches thick, four inches long, and tapered to a diamond-tipped point acted as the access points. It was a rather crude way of doing it, but she could successfully open the cockpit with them.

Integrated into the glove, just at the center, was the grappling line that she would hopefully use to actually get on one of the wings in the first place. She knew that Hard Drive was crazy enough to do a low, high-speed pass in order to get a clear shot at kats on the ground, so she would use that to her advantage. That was, if he was crazy enough to do it _this_ time.

But for now, she pulled out a pair of binoculars and observed the sleek profile of the Raptor as it descended upon the runway, a slow grin spreading on her features.

'Damn… that's one pretty bird. Too bad no one else will have it but me.'

* * *

The Kat's Eye News building was located in Downtown MegaKat City. It was, of course, one of the two major hubs of information in the city, and had a fleet of AS 350B3 light helicopters, ten in all. One of these of course, belonged to Ann Gora- it was her personal news helicopter, armed with the latest in recording and electronic equipment. She had specifically asked for the upgrades not only to the equipment, but to the engines and rotors as well. 

The fastest gets there first, was one of her personal mottos, and a fast helicopter needed a good pilot.

But of course, a good pilot didn't really matter at the moment- because atop the roof in the early morning, a tom in a green coat stalked amongst the choppers, looking for a specific make and model. His eyes were yellowed; a sign of the electrical current running through him at the moment, and his hair was frazzled due to the static electricity.

Within fifteen minutes, he had found what he was looking for. With a sickly grin, he charged up the coat, lighting himself up like a Christmas tree, and shifted into a form of sheer, pure energy. The lightning bolt suddenly shot into the electrical systems in a somewhat intelligent manner. He didn't aim to disable… only to hide and to wait.

He was entirely silent as someone approached, and that someone happened to be Ann Gora herself, followed by Johnny K., her camera kat.

"I heard this Raptor or whatever is a sweet ride. A pair of F119 engines, a slew of missiles, stealth… Man, I'd like to fly the thing, just to see how it handles."

Ann nodded almost absently, her mind focused on her interview questions. She didn't need any paper, any prepared speeches. She had her own sharp, witty mind, fast and accurate. "I know you would, Johnny. I'd like to fly it too, but only to get a better angle at my story. Shall we go, then?"

The camera kat sighed and said, "Sure thing, Ann. You're no fun sometimes, you know that?"

They had no idea that they had an extra passenger. That was good for him- they would lead him right to his final prize. And when he had it, the city would be his for the taking. He would have anything he wanted- and with the test data in his Surge Coat, Hard Drive would be able to sell this baby to just about anyone he wanted… or he could just keep it for himself.

'That sounds like a much better plan,' he thought to himself as the helicopter took off.

Below, he could sense several cars… no wait, they weren't cars. They were APCs from Pumadyne. So then, someone else would be there, and they figured they were ready for him. Well they would have another thing coming. As for The Lioness and the SWAT Kats…

'Well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it,' he thought grimly.

He would be getting to it pretty soon, because the helicopter was approximately twenty minutes away from its destination now. He could see them all down there- the Deputy Mayor, The Lioness, the workers from Pumadyne, and…

'My bird.'

He grinned to himself as he hid out inside of the systems. Quickly and surreptitiously, he moved from the electronics of the helicopter… to those of Johnny K.'s news camera. This would be perfect… and a plan was already formulating in his head about how to take care of The Lioness.

'While I'm at it, I'll take care of the SWAT Kats. And then, _nothing_ will stop me.'

He felt them alight on the ground. He sensed the pilot walking towards them, as well as the Deputy Mayor. He could almost smell the heady scent of the jet's exhaust. He couldn't wait. As soon as the camera pointed towards the Raptor, it was show time.

Ann turned towards the camera and said, "Thank you, Brian. We're here at the MegaKat Air Force Base, long since abandoned after Mega War II. It has been kept in pristine condition however for various air shows, test flights, and dedication ceremonies. We're here now for one such test flight, and the real star of the show is right behind me, the F-22 Raptor. With me is the test pilot for the flight, here to tell us about a few features of this remarkable aircraft."

The tom held his helmet in one hand and nodded. "Well this bird here is one hell of a ride. First of all, it's got two F119 engines built into it that provide 35,000 pounds of thrust each- that much power is enough to not only take off at under one thousand feet, but to sustain a supersonic speed without the use of afterburner. We call that super cruise. But the really interesting thing is back here…"

He led them to the back of the plane, and the camera followed. Hard Drive saw his chance. Just a bit closer…

"Here," the test pilot said as he continued his explanation, "We have two special engine nozzles that are capable of what's called thrust vectoring. They can pitch twenty degrees up or down, providing exceptionally tight turns, extreme angles of attack, and a faster vertical climb than the standard F-16 that the Enforcers use."

Ann nodded and said, "Impressive. This jet must be capable of truly incredible maneuvers. What will you be showing us today?"

Johnny K. couldn't resist. He had to get a sweet shot of the jet, and Ann didn't mind if he did. The camera panned over to the stealth fighter as he explained what he would be attempting to perform… and that's when it happened. Suddenly, his camera sparked as the lens shot a bolt of electricity outwards towards the jet.

"Fuck!" He pulled the camera away from his eyes and said, "Ann, the camera just had a power surge or something! That's not right, man…"

Ann, Callie, and the supervisor for Pumadyne all seemed to turn their attention towards Johnny. High above, watching them from the top of one of the hangars, The Lioness grimaced. It was starting. She just hoped that Callie remembered what to do now. As she expected, the jet came to life soon after, the systems booting up.

She put on the oxygen mask that was held in her right hand and said to herself, "Time for round two, you son of a bitch."

The engines fired up, white-hot exhaust carving a path behind the Raptor "Move out of the way," the test pilot shouted, "Or the engines will fry us!"

Callie did indeed move, but the only reason she did so was to get behind something. As soon as she did, she pulled the transponder out of her purse and pressed in the button in the center. It only took fifteen seconds for her to hear, "Yes, Ms. Briggs?"

She'd never get tired of that.

"We have a situation over here at the old air force base. Hard Drive has taken control of the jet that's being tested here. Who knows what he's going to do with the thing. He also has the test data for the jet stored in his Surge Coat- while he has that, he's going to know exactly what that thing can do without any training. Be careful!"

Over at the hangar underneath MegaKat Salvage Yard, T-Bone grimaced. "We're on our way!"

He hung up and turned towards Razor. "We got ass to kick. Hard Drive is gonna go tearing up town in some new jet. We gotta take him down, now!"

With that, they geared up, headed toward the TurboKat, and strapped in. Of course while they were doing that, The Lioness was busy running after the jet from the tops of the hangars, leaping from one to the other. By now, Johnny K. had found that the camera was still working, and had long since turned it towards Ann.

"As unbelievable as it may seem, the Raptor has started its engines without a pilot in the cockpit. While this reporter cannot explain the situation fully, what we do know is that someone is trying to stop it from escalating into complete chaos." She pointed towards the very hangars that the vigilante was leaping from. The camera swung as Ann spoke. "Running along the hangars, leaping from one to the other, is an unknown kat who is determined to board the jet at any cost. Could this be the nameless heroine that has been patrolling the streets at night?"

And in the jet, somewhere in the computer systems, a mad cackle could be heard. "And now, it's all mine! But wait… there's a copy of the test data here in the computer systems? Well how about that- clever of them. But those are mine too! I win anyway, you fools!"

With a spark of electricity, Hard Drive appeared in the cockpit, the canopy closing shut as he punched the throttle, going to maximum thrust.

The Lioness gritted her teeth. "Shit! You're not getting away this time, damn you…"

She jumped, firing her grappling line. Fortunately for her, it hooked onto one of the rudders. She pulled herself in… or at least, tried to. The wheels were up by now, and soon enough the Raptor suddenly pulled into a ninety-degree vertical climb. The Lioness got a good view of how the thrust vectoring actually worked as she was hauled along for the ride. Still, the grappling line held, and as soon as she got her bearings back she began hauling herself in again.

'Damn. If he keeps climbing like this, my head will pop. I have to do something before it gets ugly!'

Fortunately for her, the jet slowed, leveled out, and began moving forward again at 15,000 feet in the air. As expected, the canopy was closed. She crawled along the right wing after righting herself, trying to be as quiet as possible, when she saw it. It was a trap door… one that she was suddenly afraid of.

"Crap," she whispered to herself, "That's the gun, isn't it."

If he pulled the trigger on the damn thing now, she'd either be flipped off of the plane or blown to hell and back. If she were _really_ unlucky, both would happen all at once. She began moved towards the left side of the plane when it suddenly decided to help her on her way by… well, banking left. Hard. She was sent on a good roll, almost dropped off, and caught the right vertical stabilizer, her claws digging in. From here, she had a good look down and grimaced.

'Sure as hell can't land on my feet from way up here! I have to take him out before he starts firing.'

The jet leveled off and Hard Drive licked his lips eagerly. "Which one do I shoot first? So many options and so much time to make them from here… It's mind-boggling."

The thing about that was while he was targeting… The Lioness was creeping up on the cockpit. Once she reached the left side, she quietly activated the Shock Spikes. It wasn't going to be quiet for much longer, but she could say that she got the jump on him. Taking a deep breath from her oxygen mask, she rammed the spikes into the jet, just two inches below the canopy!

"What the hell?" Oh, Hard Drive heard that. But before he could react, the controls for the canopy were already hijacked, and it lifted upwards. An electrical surge was emitted from the left glove of the she-kat as she glared towards Hard Drive.

"I'm back. Did you say something about killing me?"

Hard Drive growled and stretched two fingers towards The Lioness. "Why I think I _**did**_!"

A bolt of electrical discharge fired outwards, aiming for the vigilante's head. She barely dodged before taking a hold of the fingers that were presented and, with a single jerk, broke them both. The scream that came from Hard Drive was unearthly, and even those on the ground heard it. While he was distracted, she unlatched the five-point harness with one hand, the other holding on to his Surge Coat. "You're coming with me whether you like it or not," she said menacingly.

"Incredible," Ann said into her microphone excitedly, "She is fighting the criminal in mid-air, without the use of another jet! This reporter has never seen such bravery in a kat until today."

And of course, The Lioness began beating the demented techno-pirate to oblivion, her fists ramming into him time and time again. Blasts of energy fired at her, and most of them missed… but one of them managed to connect, dead in the center of her chest. She was knocked backward, almost off of the plane… until she fired her grappling line again.

This time it clamped onto Hard Drive's left arm and dug in, causing him to cry out in pain again as The Lioness towed herself towards him, her right foot leading. Soon, he got rammed into and felt his ribs fracture from the weight of the combat boot combined with her risky, yet effective tactic. Of course, without that five-point harness holding him in... something else happened.

With a cry of pain, he flew out of the cockpit... and then with a scream of surprised horror, he fell a good five thousand feet towards the pavement. Of course, before he hit the ground, the TurboKat swooped in just in time and caught him with a Spider Missile. "Bingo! One Hard Drive in the bag," Razor said as he pumped a fist into the air.

But then they noticed that the Raptor was all too low… and they cursed softly.

"Can't do two things at once, partner! She's gonna have to bail," T-Bone shouted as his eyes widened in absolute terror.

And that was when she pulled up at the last second as the canopy closed shut again, the systems for its operation back online. T-Bone wiped the sweat from his forehead, then grinned and said into his radio, "Thought Callie needed our help! Guess you took care of it, whoever you are. You're nuts though- you could have gone splat, right on the pavement!"

She smiled and said, "Sometimes in order to catch a criminal, a kat has to put their own fur at stake.."

Jake nodded and said, "Roger that! Damn good flying there, miss..."

The she-kat chuckled and said, "No 'miss'. If you need to call me anything, call me The Lioness."

With that, she revved the engines. The Raptor peeled off into the distance while those on the ground watched.

"And once again," Ann said into her microphone, "The SWAT Kats have taken care of business. Yet they were not without aid this time, as a new heroine emerges on the scene, caught on camera for the first time. It is this reporter's fond wish that she continue serving MegaKat City for as long as she is able. We have not been able to confirm a name yet, but…"

"It's The Lioness," a voice said from behind them.

They turned and the camera focused on Calico Briggs.

"Her name is The Lioness. And it'd be best if she kept that jet- she deserves a reward for all this. As for the new fighter for The Enforcers… since this test is officially a scrap, I am changing my choice of aircraft to the F-35 Lightning II. I've seen the design schematics beforehand, and since it was my second choice to begin with, now it's my first."

Ann smiled and said, "There you have it. The choice has been made, and the testing is thus over. Reporting live from MegaKat Air Force Base, this is Ann Gora, Kat's Eye News."

* * *

A lone kat witnessed the newscast, his voice of granite and his face carved from stone. Sitting in an abandoned, derelict building with a single television blaring the voice of Ann Gora, he sat and waited. An Enforcer patrol officer lay dead on the floor next to him, his radio still working. The kat had killed him several hours before the battle against Hard Drive had begun, and was monitoring the Enforcer frequency from here.

He had failed. That meant that it was this kat's que to do what had to be done. The test data for the F-22 was still inside the Surge Coat, and in the hands of the authorities it would do no good for the plans of his employer. Leaning next to a nearby wall as an Armalite AR-50, loaded with one, and only one, 12.7 mm armor-piercing incendiary round. Frankly, one was all this kat needed.

Soon, he heard it- the Enforcers were at the extraction point. An armored transport had arrived to take Hard Drive into custody. They would no doubt be passing by his building, and he would only have one shot. If the kat had any guess as to where the mobile prison would be, it would probably be in front. He would have to either lead his shot or crack the hood open with expert timing. Once that round hit the engine, the explosion from the bullet alone would multiply that of the engine being destroyed, and the entire car would go up in a fireball.

All he had to do now was wait on the roof.

As he headed upstairs, he remembered his orders- observe Hard Drive's movements. Do not act unless the mission was a failure. Report all activity to his boss. Either way, this kat would be paid well. His boss didn't tell him what exactly the Raptor was needed for, or whether or not the Raptor was needed at all. But either way, the blathering idiot had to be silenced. With that, he folded out the bipod, attatched the scope, and waited.

Soon enough, he saw it from a distance- the convoy was approaching. The kat raised an eyebrow- he had miscalculated- the armored transport was in the center. Well that was fine- all he would have to do was change his trajectory slightly. And who knows- the blast could even take out the cars in front and behind. What were a few less Enforcers to deal with?

Once again, he peered through his scope. The sights were set, the crosshairs were lined.

One breath, held.

The kat pulled the trigger.

Not but a heartbeat, an eye blink later, the armored transport was decimated entirely, the bullet tearing through the hood as if it were cardboard. As expected, the engine's explosion was magnified by the incendiary around, and the kat smiled darkly as the fireball encompassed the entire vehicle. On top of that, he got the bonus he wanted- two cars, one in front and one behind, were destroyed as well.

"Gotcha."

It was time to go, now.

The kat packed up his rifle, field stripping it with a practiced hand before placing the individual parts in a long, stylish case. He picked up the shell casing as well- didn't want to leave any evidence, and made his way off of the roof via the hard way. As he leapt downwards into a nearby alley, landing on the balls of his feet, he checked for any Enforcers down there. Fortunately for him, there were none.

Casually taking out a cell phone as he walked into the crowds that were rushing his way, trying to get a look at what happened, he waited for a good area to talk, secluded from interference. One ring... two... three, then he was asked to enter a four-digit code for encryption. He did so as soon as he was outside of hearing and visual range.

Five seconds later, a voice spoke, disguised over the line. "I trust you have good news."

The assassin grimaced and said, "It's done. Managed to take out two Enforcer squad cars with him."

The other voice chuckled and said, "Don't be so professional about it. Please, come to my office- we'll talk about compensation."

The killer kat hung up afterwards and simply vanished.

* * *

**Chapter 14: StealthKat (Part 3)- **_**Hard Drive's Crash**_

Oh YEAH. That's the good shit right there. Another monumental chapter and it's longer! Harder, better, faster, stronger. That's how we work here. Big thanks go out to Master Nemesis for having me introduce the F-22 into this story- a truly revolutionary stealth fighter. I know I promised dog fighting in this story arc… and guess what? It's coming, and it's coming hard.

**Raiden Snake**! Sorry that I couldn't show you the bad-ass mix-up between the TurboKat and the Raptor, but you will get to see the matchup next time! **RaidenSilversword**, welcome to the show! Here's hoping that this chapter is inspirational. I swear, I'm having a blast over here; are you?

Okay, writing the next one now. Seriously, right now, even as this chapter gets posted.

EDIT: Wow, that's a worse way to die than the first time- at least I've solved that concern! Thanks to your reviews, I have realized my mistakes. The status of the story will be updated to reflect this new information.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	15. StealthKat Part 4

"Yeah, I'm going to have to call it in, Mr. Young. I'm not feeling so hot this morning… Hmm? Yes, there will be a replacement in later this afternoon. Don't worry. All right, I'll be sure to get better soon. Thanks…"

Felina Feral could have been an actress. She had pulled that off quite nicely, and had done the same with KatGuard. Today was going to be a day of learning for her. It wouldn't be good for Callie to miss her lessons either, so she had called and told her the same thing. Having to fight her off from coming over to her apartment was not easy, but she had succeeded at that as well.

She told her politely to head towards Enforcer Headquarters and talk to her uncle about giving the lesson, something she doubted would be a total loss. She hung up from that call as well and looked towards the bird of doom. It glinted in the mid-morning sun, remaining in near perfect condition, besides the holes she had punched into that one place near the canopy.

'I'll have to get that fixed. I'm sure that KatGuard has a few polymers to seal that up with… I sure hope so, anyways. I don't want to give this back to Pumadyne just yet.'

No… not yet. There were things she had to take care of first. Still in her battledress as The Lioness, she looked towards the Raptor and said, "Hello beautiful. Let's spend some quality time, shall we?" As she ran a hand along its surface, she observed the underside of the aircraft and smiled. Well that was clever- everything was internal. She wondered what the inside of the weapon bays looked like- they had to be stealthy as well, of course. She knocked on the right side and heard the familiar sound of… "Fox Two. Oh yes, this will be fun. There's probably one on the left as well."

She went back to the underside and knocked again. And sure enough, she was not disappointed. "Oh, my God, Fox Three. There are three of them on each side. This thing can take out a squadron from long range if it wanted."

Depending on how many there was though, she might not be able to take them all… but with this configuration, as least a good chunk of the opposing force would go down. With the rest of them, she would probably need a wingman.

The gun, an M61 A2 Vulcan, would probably take the rest of them… but at 480 rounds, even that would run out soon.

No, she needed a good pilot next to her. Or in this case, she needed to be next to a good pilot. She didn't mind playing wingman. Naturally, she wasn't about to play second fiddle- she wanted equal credit for the accomplishments. But as long as that happened, she could tag along. And thus as she took a look at the Raptor one last time, she decided that it was a good idea to ask for help.

With a mighty leap, she hopped into the cockpit and closed the canopy as she started the engines. It was relatively intuitive to do so, even for a new plane like this one. She heard the engines start up… and grinned wildly. "I knew you were a star, baby! Just never knew how big…"

Then she calmed down. Now for the fun part, but one that took a bit of focus. She knew, in part, how vectoring worked. Now she'd just have to execute it… she certainly hoped that it would work for her. She punched the throttle to full, and the engines roared to life, sending the jet forward. Three hundred feet… she pulled the nose up… four hundred… the damn thing floated off of the ground. At five hundred feet, she pulled the gears up… and she was in mid-air without the use of afterburner.

"Holy shit… this is too much."

With an ever-spreading grin, she yanked back on the control stick. Suddenly, she was pressed back into the seat as the Raptor leapt excitedly off of the runway, the nozzles tilting upwards. She was airborne, and in what appeared to be a fraction of a second. The grimace slowly turned into a normal smile… and when she started to stall at approximately twenty-thousand feet, she eased up on the controls and let the plane sit there, making small adjustments this way and that, shifting the elevators ever-so-slightly.

The Lioness laughed, half in disbelief and half in ecstasy. For all of ten seconds… the jet was in suspended animation, nose straight up.

"**This is insane!!**"

For the first time in… well, she didn't know how long it had been, she giggled like a schoolgirl.

The jet leveled out and The Lioness cranked the throttle again. The jet launched forward again, and within the next fifteen seconds a resounding explosion was heard through the desert air, making the earth below tremble.

No afterburner, no extra tricks… just plain muscle broke the sound wall.

"Oh no… they're not getting this back for a _while_."

With that, the real fight test began…

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Callie looked towards Commander Feral as he aimed towards the paper target with a UMP .45, wondering what exactly was going through his head. His niece had gotten quite angry at him for something that he was genuinely responsible for- he had lied to her. Felina was many things- reckless, rash, headstrong- but she also had integrity. She did not tolerate being lied to as much as she did not tolerate incompetence.

And true to her rash nature, she had left the force entirely. Then again, she didn't exactly blame her- she had heard about the reason she was demoted from Felina herself, and this incident combined with that one would have made anyone snap like that. She tried to say something, but couldn't exactly find the words to say. It was something that was starting to become a habit amongst the people she knew- they always tried to find the right words, when there were no right words besides what was on one's mind.

The only one who was truly frank and honest was Felina.

But she shook the thought off and aimed towards the paper target, looking through the iron sights as she did so. Callie breathed, aimed, and fired a three-round burst. All three bullets hit dead center. She aimed upwards for the head, and fired again. Gone. Another three hit one shoulder, then the other- then she aimed for the collar bones of all things. She was learning more weak points from Commander Feral, and it was helping significantly. Calmly and with an unnaturally steady hand, she targeted and fired until there was nothing left to aim at, all twenty-five rounds were spent. She hit the magazine release, loaded another clip, and aimed again.

"That's enough," Ulysses said as he lowered his piece with a smile. "I trust you have some work to do, papers to sign… I hear we're getting the F-35 instead of the F-22. I would like to know why exactly you let The Lioness get away with that jet… she's a vigilante, a menace, just like those SWAT Kats."

She turned towards him and fixed the tom with a glare. "She also did it to keep it out of the wrong hands. That jet is now officially one-of-a-kind. I explained the situation to you earlier. I let her have it because it was the right decision, and I don't want to hear another word about it. Besides, my decisions ultimately trump yours. Don't forget that, Feral."

With a huff, the Commander turned towards the paper target again, adjusting his shooting glasses.

"Fine, but thanks to you we have another crazy running around, doing our job for us. One of these days, you're going to realize that these vigilantes are up to no good, and then you'll agree with me."

Callie smirked and said, "For now, just be quiet and let it be. You handle the common thugs- let them handle the big ones."

And thus, the lesson continued, all the way up until she began training her disarms and close-quarters tactics. Oh yes, she wasn't just learning how to defend herself anymore- she was learning how to fight. Feral was teaching her everything he knew, and building on the things she had been taught by his niece. For the next two hours, she was worked harder than she had ever been worked before.

'How long has it been since I worked up a good sweat,' she asked herself. 'Has it been months? Years even?'

She had to remind Felina to work her this hard when she got well again.

As she headed towards the bathroom, a white towel around her shoulders, she wondered what exactly The Lioness was doing at that very moment. Probably, she suspected, having fun in her new jet. It wouldn't take her long to get used to it- it could practically fly by itself. With a good pilot in the cockpit, it could perform some incredible things.

'For some reason, I have no doubt she'll put it to good use. Maybe I just trust her that much?'

Perhaps she did. She often wondered why Feral was too proud to admit he needed any sort of help against the larger threats that the city had to offer. Perhaps his pride or ego or whatever drove him would not allow him to lean on others. That confused her to no end, but she didn't ask.

"See you tomorrow, Commander," she said as she headed toward the elevator. But before she could take more than three paces down the hallway, he stopped her.

"Deputy Mayor, if I could make a request of you… it's a small one, really."

Callie raised an eyebrow and, realizing that this was possibly the first time he had asked for anything besides chopper backup, replied softly, "I'm listening…"

He had a sullen look on his face, as if asking for any kind of help was painful. And yet, here he was, perhaps at the end of his rope, asking for it. "I would like you to… apologize to Felina for me. I'm a busy man, and have several things to take care of here, but I would like for her to forgive me. I hate feeling like this… like I failed her. The very fact that I demoted her would make my brother furious at me if he knew the real reason why."

Callie nodded. As well it should- it wasn't exactly fair of him. "I understand- I'll tell her as soon as I see her."

For once, Feral smiled, and it was a relieved, genuine smile. "If she would come back to the force, I'd give her what she really deserves- those promotions she earned, those rewards she's been striving for. She's the only one good enough to take my place as Commander, and even though she uses those same hothead tactics as the SWAT Kats, they are nonetheless effective."

Callie nodded and said, "Glad to hear that, Commander. I'll tell her you said that."

With that, she left. Feral sighed and said, "Sometimes I don't want this job."

Benny, who had heard the whole thing, replied, "You ain't the only one, sir. But we gotta do it."

Feral turned on his heel and said, "If you tell anyone, give the slightest hint that I asked for outside help on a matter, you're off the force. Hell, I might kick your ass while I'm writing your discharge papers."

The tom who managed the gun lockers chuckled and said, "My lips are sealed, threat or no."

With that, the Commander of the Enforcers got back to shooting practice.

* * *

Chance and Jake were busy working out, as per usual. They had no cars to work on, no calls, no visits from Callie. Not yet, anyways. The big tom was looking forward to another visit from the she-kat that had his heart in her pocket, in the hopes that he could actually ask her out somewhere for once. But with the money he had, it wouldn't be possible. Still, he did have the idea in his head, and had a few places in mind if he did indeed have the money for it one day. 

All these thoughts went by without a pause in his form or strength as his body moved on autopilot as it were, hauling seventy-pound dumbbells in either hand, pressing them upwards over his shoulders. Jake was at the bench, pulling a fifty pound weight with one hand while one leg and an arm were braced on the bench for support.

"Dude, do you really think we should have let her go? I mean, that's Pumadyne's plane she's got! And it's a stealth fighter, too- not exactly the kind of thing that a dangerous she-kat should have. Sure she's one of the good kats, but…"

Chance lowered the weights and said, "Don't worry about it, bud! She won't use it for anything dirty. Besides, it's one less jet that the Enforcers have to use against us. Besides, she didn't steal it from Pumadyne per se; she stole it from Hard Drive and is keeping it in her possession until she no longer needs it. The question of course, is how long that'll be."

Jake sighed and said, "Yeah, well I just hope she doesn't use it for anything destructive, besides taking out enemy fighters. And mind you, that doesn't include the Enforcers. If she does and it doesn't remotely look like an accident, I'm taking her in."

Chance raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't you mean _we_?"

Jake shook his head and said, "I mean what I say. I agreed with her, despite my better judgment, so if she fucks up I'm responsible. And besides, I don't think she's a bad she-kat… I just don't want to see her go on a bad path. I can tell these things, Chance- she's good, but she's doing this out of anger rather than duty."

The big tom smirked and said, "Didn't we do what we did out of anger too?"

Jake blinked, silent for a moment, then he sighed. "Just let me take her if she does something stupid. Got it?"

Chance nodded and said, "Whatever you gotta do, buddy."

Soon, break time was over, though they didn't really have cars to work on. If one didn't have cars to work on, then there was only one thing to do in a salvage yard- send the cars to the crusher, one of which they happened to have on-site. Jake usually operated the crane while Chance worked the machinery. For the next few hours or so, they picked out the parts that were usable, then used the crane to dump the cars in the compacter.

It was the most monotonous part of their job, and one of the reasons why they hated it- it was boring. Still, they had managed to fit the crane with the same communications system that the hangar had. To be perfectly honest, it had taken a good while to do, but it was worth it if they wanted to respond to emergencies. But today, there were no emergencies, no phone calls, no nothing.

It was, in short, a slow day.

Well, not as slow as they would think it to be. After they had gotten done with the day's quota, but before David Litterbin came on, there was a special news report- very special indeed. At 8:00 PM that evening, Ann Gora was on the screens of millions, sitting at her news desk and casually filing a few papers.

"Good evening, MegaKat City- the time is 8:00 PM and this is a Kat's Eye News special report. We have just recieved a transmission from the newest heroine that has hit the streets, patrolling first at night, then fighting crime by day. However, she has decided to take time out from her schedule in order to deliver a personal message to none other than the SWAT Kats."

Jake and Chance turned towards each other before staring intently towards the television as the surprisingly clear broadcast came through. She had used her own recording equipment, apparently, and it was pretty high-end.

"Thanks for your help earlier today," she said in that same sultry purr. "I wouldn't have been able to defeat Hard Drive without you. But it poses an interesting question- with all the gadgets and tools on the TurboKat, which is a fine machine by the way, can it stand up to the F-22?"

Chance grinned and said, "She's kidding, right? We'll fly circles around her."

Jake was still silent, waiting for her to finish.

Soon, she continued. "Now I would have sent this message personally, but I don't know where the hell you guys are. You do a damn good job of hiding yourselves, and I understand why you have to do it. Let's face it- this challenge here is mostly for fun. I'm not trying to run you out of town, but let's face it- you accept, and there's the chance you might get beat. You don't… and you lose credibility."

Jake grimaced and said, "Well, guess that clinches it. We gotta go, man."

Chance grinned. "I'd love to. We'll show that wannabe up once and for all."

The she-kat on the screen said casually, "You don't have to answer tonight- but you _do_ have to respond by tomorrow, noon exactly. That should give you both enough time to prepare yourselves. Rules are simple. Ammunition will be simulated and missiles will be disarmed- this isn't a live-fire exercise, it's just a competition. So remove all your ordinance before you get here, save for any electronic counter-measures, diversion options, and all the flares you can carry. There are three parts to this challenge: speed, maneuverability, and dogfighting capability. I'll explain more about them tomorrow- that is, if you show up."

She winked and said, "See you toms again."

The transmission ended. Chance got up and stretched out. "No Litterbin for us tonight, buddy. We gotta train! By the time we're done, she's not gonna have a chance in hell!"

With that, the biggest training session that the SWAT Kats had ever undergone was underway, and they even went so far as to take the TurboKat out for a test run, making sure that they had most, if not all the maneuvers right, and even a few personal ones that Chance had in store.

They had no doubt that The Lioness was doing the same thing. And frankly, that wasn't a bad thing. They wanted her at her best so that her defeat would be that much more crippling. There was no sleep, no breaks, not a pause, save for a can of milk now and then.

And thus it went, though the night and into the next day. Neither was tired, neither let up, and neither party looked like they were going down without a fight.

It all equated to one thing: However this ended, it was going to be exciting.

* * *

High in the sky, the sun rested on its zenith, marking the hour. 

The Lioness casually rested on the right wing of the Raptor, observing what few clouds there were in the sky. She had an almost serene smile on her features as the sun beamed down on her black tactical gear, the clothing absorbing the heat. Though this was a nice day to get a tan, she was actually waiting for someone.

Soon enough however, the sound of a car pulling up filled her ears. She smiled and said softly, "Finally. Did you have a meeting with the Mayor or something? It's not like he's an effective leader…"

Callie stepped out of her car and said, "Before we get started, I want to ask the point of this. Are you trying to discredit them or something? A lot of people have tried that, and they've failed." She had her hands folded across her chest, and her facial features demanded an explanation.

The vigilante leapt down from the plane and said haughtily, "You sound like you're afraid they'll lose or something, Deputy Mayor. Don't you have faith in your heroes? And I promise, there's nothing unscrupulous about what I'm doing. It's just a friendly challenge between pilots. Besides, there's a different point besides just winning or losing."

The Deputy Mayor shook her head and said, "I'm just here to make sure the rules that you yourself set are being followed by both parties. No cheating or foul play on my watch. What prize do you have to offer if you lose?"

She wanted to say when, but… well she didn't want to underestimate her new acquaintance. Besides, the Raptor was damned fast. The TurboKat was a highly modified F-14, but even with all the technological advancements it was still a legacy fighter.

The Lioness presented two bags of money, stuffed full. "This is enough to provide the TurboKat with upgrades to engines, weapons, radar and avionics, whatever they want. That is, if they can win two out of three challenges. And I can measure perfectly well whether or not they have the capacity for all of it."

Callie nodded and said, "Fair enough. I'll be spending it for them, of course. They could use a third party to get the upgrades for them- it keeps them safe from detection. And what do you get out of it if you win?"

The Lioness grinned and said, "I haven't decided yet. Maybe they should be lucky I haven't invited the press, because if they lose on television they lose big. Still, I should incur a penalty for their loss. Tell you what- I'll inform them what they have to do when they lose… _at the moment they lose_."

Callie rolled her eyes and said, "Kinda childish, isn't it? Loser does what winner says?"

The Lioness shrugged and said, "I'd rather not pick right now. There are so many things I want- flying will get me to determine an adequate prize to receive. Besides, having the loser do what the winner wants has always been a fitting end. Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything mortifying to them."

With that, her ears twitched. Oddly enough, Callie's did so at the same time. "They're here," they said in tandem, without even noticing it, and both looked towards the sky. Sure enough, the blue, red, and mostly black profile of the TurboKat blotted out the sun for a brief moment. Callie nodded and said, "And they're on time, too."

The she-kat grinned. This would be insane.

Once the F-14 reached five hundred feet, the VTOL engines activated, and the gears popped out smoothly. The canopy opened, and two very familiar toms hopped out, landing perfectly on their feet as the engines powered down. One of them had an almost fiendish grin on his features; the other was calm and reserved as always.

"Let's get this over with," T-Bone said smugly, "We got lunch to do."

The Lioness' grin turned into a smirk. "Don't be so eager to lose. My Raptor will take control of the air in less time than it takes for you two to finish a sandwich. If you're going to brag before you hit the skies, you've already lost."

T-Bone glared towards her and said, "You know what I think, I think you're a wannabe and a show off. But hey, go ahead and keep talking. You're gonna see the pros at work, right here and now."

Razor placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Don't listen to him- he's just hyped up from all the training we did. To be honest with you, that's one hell of a sweet ride. If it were me in the pilot's seat instead of riding in that weapons chair, I'd be honored to lose to such a machine. Not like we're gonna try to lose, but… y'know what I mean."

The Lioness grinned and said softly, "…You're Razor, right? You are one smooth tom, and cute too. Just for you, I'll stop the shit-talking for now."

"Glad we're getting the pissing contest over with," Callie said as she approached.

Both parties turned towards her as she cleared her throat.

"Miss, gentlemen, I'll be the official for these contests of speed and skill, which means I'll enforce the rules that have been set. Just in case you all have forgotten in your little argument back there, let me say them again. Weapons are simulated and the missiles are duds. You'll feel the impact, but you won't blow up afterwards. That said, I'll be keeping track of kills via GPS."

T-Bone and razor nodded. They both knew how that one worked. The Lioness nodded as well- she had set that rule herself. Anything goes.

Callie continued onward. "The terms of victory have been set- the SWAT Kats are to receive quite a large sum of money upon winning."

The toms in question widened their eyes in surprise. It was T-Bone who spoke first after the pause. "Wait wait, hold on. Say that again, Callie?"

The Lioness responded, "She meant what she said. I'm willing to spare no expense. Those engines back there, the avionics and radar, even the weapons systems- they all probably need a change-out, big time. I'm offering you enough money to make at least two upgrades to the jet, or one upgrade and the rest to spend on whatever else you think you need. That is, if you win two out of three, or we tie."

Razor grinned. "You'll have made my entire _year_ if we win this thing. Regardless of what happens, we'll owe you big time."

Callie raised a hand and said, "I haven't said the other half yet, so pay attention. Upon losing, the SWAT Kats will respond to one request from The Lioness, of her choosing. Just _one_- no take backs, no redoes. And she promised me, on good authority, that she won't do anything to discredit, expose, or humiliate you. Which makes me wonder what exactly she wants if you toms bite it."

The Lioness smirked and said, "Not telling."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow and said, "You must have at least one of your bases covered, or some kind of ace up your sleeve if you're not telling your terms. I'm also wondering how the hell you got enough money to buy not one or two, but_ three_ goddamn engines. Then again, it doesn't matter. We win, we're made; we lose and we might end up playing errand boy for a day, but we gotta do it. You have our honor as kats that we'll agree to the terms if we lose."

The Deputy Mayor nodded and said, "The Lioness will explain the courses and rules of engagement, since I just told you the rules."

The vigilante cleared her throat and said, "We're going to have, like I said, three challenges. The first will be the race for speed. This is as simple as it gets- we'll both execute a maximum-performance take-off with a vertical climb, straight upwards. Use any means you see fit to get off the ground, but the race will not start until we hit fifteen thousand feet. Once that happens though, level off and light up. First to break the sound wall wins."

Razor immediately calculated in his head what would happen. The Raptor was capable of upwards of 70,000 pounds of thrust- that was enough to get the bird to Mach 1 on its lonesome, and without afterburner. Immediately though, he played in his head the other side of the coin. They didn't have just two engines- they had a third. Alone, they were capable of Mach 3 without spending any more fuel. Add the afterburners, and the number hit Mach 5.

'That's not even factoring the Speed of Heat… we've got the muscle.'

The slim kat nodded, almost to himself. "Agreeable. What's the second one?"

The Lioness raised an eyebrow. He didn't even look fazed. But she continued anyway; "The second will be the maneuverability trial- a race through MegaKat Canyons. This will not only rely on the engines, but will also rely on the skill of the pilots to execute high angles of attack and sudden banks. We'll take two different routes, and the first one to come out the other side will win."

Callie cut in at that moment, her timing impeccable. "As with everything else, I'll be tracking you two via GPS- just to make sure you don't get lost. Shortcuts are allowed if you can manage them, but you can't pull out of the track. You do, and this one is forfeit."

T-Bone grinned. Well how about that? He happened to be good at maneuvering. But Razor begged to differ- The Lioness had an edge. The exhaust nozzles were able to vector- her plane was a further extension of her own body. If they wanted to win this one, his good buddy would have to push the TurboKat to the limit.

'We've got the muscle, but she's got the agility. I just hope T-Bone knows what he's doing out there.'

Razor nodded again, but this time it was slower. "Doable. Last one, I trust, is the dogfight."

The Lioness nodded and smiled. "That's impressive, you're cute _and_ intelligent. Are you seeing anyone?"

Jake grinned and said, "Not quite yet, but I have my eye on a certain she-kat."

The Lioness smiled this time. "She's lucky. In any event, the last one is indeed the dogfight. This is gonna be the tricky one- first one to confirm a kill via any feasible means wins. Note, _any_ feasible means, which means I won't hesistate to use my disarmed Sidewinders. They'll still track, and it's still going to hurt. You'd better have a damn good insurance policy."

Razor grimaced. They could use the Decoy Missile. And that was always a bad plan. They would either have to outmaneuver the damn things, or find a way to detract them. The problem was that she had two of them, and had the capacity to fire both. As she spoke, he quickly devised a plan, and at the same time found one critical advantage she had over them that would probably get them flanked.

'She's got stealth. Holy shit, we _can't hit what we can't see_!'

She could unleash a slew of missiles at them without even blinking, and probably veer off without another word. If she missed, she could re-engage at any time. She would get first look, and first shot, no matter what they did.

'But _not_ first kill,' he said as he remembered his partner's piloting. Once a missile was launched, they would be able to pick it up on radar. Depending on how many there were, they'd be able to evade and avoid most of them, and come out with nary a scratch.

'We'll have to get within visual range, and then hit her with everything we got. The cement machinegun should do the trick, but I'm not taking any chances. I'm letting lose the whole nine yards. Just as long as she doesn't have something else up her sleeve, we're good.'

The Lioness however, seemed to know what he was thinking. And if she didn't, it was a pretty good guess. "I have the advantage here- no question. With that said, we'll both climb upwards out of the canyon, bank to opposite sides at twenty-thousand feet, then re-position and engage when one gets within visual range of the other."

Callie frowned and said, "That still puts you inside my GPS, but I won't be able to see it. This sucks, really. But I will know when one of you gets knocked off- the loser will have to face the proper punishment. If anything happens that's not in the cards, I'll be calling the EMTs immediately."

The two of them nodded. Safety first, was it? Well they would be safe... but not too safe. After all, this wasn't just any game- it was a mock dogfight. There was some danger involved, though there wasn't much.

"You got it," the big tom said, "We'll try not to rough her up too much."

The Lioness smirked and said, "Yeah, sure. Let's face it, though- right now I'm competition. I'm jockeying for position, trying to best the two of you. I'd expect more than just a few bruises when this is over."

T-Bone shrugged and said, "Think what you want."

Razor had a hand on his chin and said, "You got this all laid out in a rather short time, Lioness. That's damn impressive. No matter what happens here, we're honored to share the skies. Tell you what- we'll take you out somewhere after this, our treat."

"_My_ treat," Callie cut in, "And no arguments. You're both doing the city a favor; as Deputy Mayor, lunch is the least I can do. Now then, the rules of engagement are set, the terms are laid down. Kick the tires, and light the fires. Hit the throttle on my mark."

With that, Razor stepped towards The Lioness and extended his right hand. "Look, I don't want any bad feelings after this. We're on the same side here- let's make this a good one, and try to come out relatively clean. I'm not gonna go so far as to tear a wing off, but I might rough you up a little. That's too fine of a bird to just tear up."

The Lioness smiled softly. She swore, all this sweetness from Razor was going to take her edge off. Still, she couldn't help but play along with it. Trailing a single hand along the tom's right cheek instead of shaking his hand, she purred contently.

"…You know something? I could be falling in love with you."

Razor's eyes widened. Well that was awful frank of her. Most she-kats would hesitate; wait until the moment was right. This one did not. He had to wonder who she really was. But he smiled and said, "That doesn't matter though, does it? Not now, anyways. Get your head in the game, because I'll have my sights on your jet if you don't."

She purred again and said, "Oh yes, I _am_ falling in love with you. Such focus…"

She leaned forward and said into his ear, "I would kiss you right now, but it would make me feel sorry for you when I took the TurboKat out."

Razor grinned cheekily and said, "Tell you what- if we win, I'll _take _that kiss from you, along with the money."

The Lioness licked her lips and said, "Sounds like we have a bet."

With her hand trailing from his cheek, she walked over towards the Raptor, deliberately putting a sway in her hips.

T-Bone placed himself next to Razor, his eyes widening. "Shit man, what the hell did you _do_ to make her walk like _that_? It looks like she completely flipped on us."

Razor smirked and said, "I made a bet on the side. She thinks she'll win."

T-Bone scratched the back of his head and said, "Speaking of that… gimme your honest opinion. Will we win this damn thing and go home happy?"

Razor's smirk turned into a grimace. "I dunno… that bird is fucking ridiculous. We got the sound wall beat, but she might take the canyon. If she had set the ROE on the dogfight to beyond visual range, we'd be fucked seven times over due to the stealth and her radar."

The bigger tom winced. "_Shit_. She knows what she's doing. This ain't no wannabe."

His slim partner nodded. "I told you so. We're gonna have to do some crazy-ass shit to beat her in the air."

T-Bone smiled again. "I can do crazy. Let's move our asses or we'll be late to the starting line!"

* * *

Callie had an almost clumsy headset on, a microphone hooked to the right earpiece. It was one of those things that were just plain needed for this kind of thing- she had to give them a clear radio signal if she wanted to give a proper start. 

The TurboKat was on the right side of the runway, ready for action as usual. Engines were hot and already started, but idling, waiting. They were hungry for speed and air and energy. They wanted to be alive, and it was as if the entirety of the menacing jet were alive as well, a beast straining at the chains placed upon it by those who rode it.

She could feel it, a tingle on her skin. Not uncomfortable though, and by now it was familiar. Her entire body informed her that the SWAT Kats were ready for the fight. But it wasn't just them- she could feel it from the Raptor as well. Those two F119s could eat up a lot of air in a small amount of time, and they wanted out of the closet. She almost shivered in excitement; a tangible thing that matched that of The Lioness.

'This is awesome.'

That was an understatement. Watching the two go at it would be like watching an air show- except the excitement would be multiplied by the fact that she of all people, got to kick things off, track their movements, and keep them safe and sane.

She wanted to project her excitement back at them, let them know she was having a good time. But she didn't know how… she wished she did. She could barely contain herself as it was!

'This is the closest I'll ever be to these things,' she realized with a sudden clarity. 'The closest I'll ever be, besides riding with them.'

She couldn't get that notion out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. Still, that alone made her even more excited. She shook her hair out and said, "Fly straight, fly true. Let's have a clean fight!"

Both parties answered, "Roger that."

Callie nodded and said, "On my mark… five… four…"

The engines whined.

"Three… two…"

Fingers tightened on the throttles and the control sticks. T-Bone gritted his teeth, tensing up. He was prepared to go full-out down the runway, no holding back. The Lioness was no different- she would treat this as if it were a race in itself. Her eyes narrowed as she prepared to punch the thrust to maximum.

"One… _set it off_!"

The roar was deafening as both aircraft were put to maximum output. They both leapt forward at a rate that Callie couldn't even imagine, somewhere in excess of four hundred miles an hour. She was lucky to have that radio on her ears at the moment. She couldn't help but grin as she watched them tear away.

'Oh, I have to watch this until the end.'

With that, she activated her GPS tracker, and could already see where they were.

Meanwhile, they hadn't even reached three hundred feet down the tarp, and T-Bone did something interesting. He tilted the nozzle of the middle engine downwards with a sly grin. "Check this shit out, Lioness. You ever seen a short takeoff before?"

The TurboKat lifted off of the air in less time than it took for even the Raptor, and within the next few seconds the wheels were up. The Lioness almost lost her speed as she gaped at them. Cocky bastards, but the TurboKat was definitely doing better than she was right now! Once she reached five hundred feet though, the wheels were up and she was off the ground.

With that… the two jets shot upwards almost violently, both climbing skyward at the same time. The Lioness' irritation faded immediately as she was pressed into the back of her seat, the rush of adrenaline fueling her. T-Bone was no different, and with Razor along for the ride they were both feeling it. For a while as they climbed, they forgot that they were competing altogether.

Callie could hear the cries of exuberance from where she stood, and she couldn't help but yell and cheer as well.

'When was the last time I had this much fun?'

Never, she thought to herself. Not since she was a kitten. Sometimes, she loved her job as Deputy Mayor, and this was a very, very good perk. She heard them calming down though, the laughing tapering off as they reached their competition ceiling. She shook her head and smiled.

"Don't do anything too crazy up there. Speed test is beginning in ten seconds- game faces."

And yes, they did get their game faces on. The two planes reduced to almost zero airspeed before they both leveled out. It was a surprisingly agile move for the TurboKat, but one had to consider that one of the nozzles could point downwards. And as it did, the jet corrected its flight path at the same time the Raptor did.

"Well damn, so far you guys are on par," The Lioness said with a respectful nod. "But we will see soon if you have the muscle to keep up with my F119 engines. Hope you're ready to have your canopy torn off."

T-Bone grinned and said, "Don't be so sure!"

Callie shook her head and said, "Hang on, people. You start moving into your supersonic runs on my go. Don't be so eager to fly off."

The Lioness smiled and thought to herself, 'She's got this one under control. I knew it was a good choice to involve her in this.'

Meanwhile, Razor spoke to T-Bone without using the external comm. channel. "Tie her."

The big tom raised an eyebrow and said, "Dude, we can take her. We've got the muscle for it."

Razor nodded and said, "That's just it, buddy- we can't show her our full capability. She'd damn near give up on the last two. Besides, it'll force her to win the other ones or go home without that cash. I'm telling you, it's a surefire plan. If we win _at least one_, we win the whole cake."

T-Bone smirked and said, "What would I do without you?"

The slim kat had an answer, but he didn't want to give it at the moment.

"All wings set. It's time to punch a hole in the sky," Callie said through the radio.

The Lioness added to that statement. "Anything goes, no holding back. First one to break wins. Afterburners are legal. Let's make some noise, toms."

T-Bone nodded and replied, "Roger that. Y'know, you're pretty bad-ass… for a wannabe."

Of course, he didn't think that. He wanted to egg her on even more, though. It was fun to do, and besides, the plan was already set. No matter what she did, this one would end in a draw. He was thankful that Razor was such a damn good tactician, but what he didn't know was that he had planned everything out three moves ahead of The Lioness.

If he had, he would have bragged a hell of a lot more. As it was though, he was playful.

She responded in kind with, "Yeah, keep talking. We'll see who gets what."

Callie shook her head and began counting down. "Three… two… one… punch it!"

The Raptor rocketed forward, increasing its engine output to maximum. The jet flew as if it were on rails, guided towards an invisible bulls-eye. The vigilante looked behind her… and her eyes widened as she saw the TurboKat, right _beside_ her. They were at Mach .5 already, and still at even keel! She figured that with an old fighter like theirs, they wouldn't be able to reach half her airspeed, but she had assumed too much.

'_Crap_! This calls for some desperate measures. I can't super cruise with these guys… time to crank it!'

"Eat my exhaust, bitches," she said as she hit the afterburners. But what she didn't notice was that T-Bone didn't have to do much cranking. In fact, all he had to do was tweak the throttle forward a bit, and they… well, kept up. She could hear their jet beside her. She could tell they weren't even trying hard.

'If they light up now, I'm toast…'

She began to realize that she was in big trouble as both jets tore through the sound wall at the same time. The explosion afterward would have leveled most of downtown MegaKat City with the sonic shockwave. She took off her oxygen mask and looked towards the canopy of the TurboKat, and saw Razor… give her a thumbs-up. Her eyes widened as her head cleared, one thought echoing in her mind.

'What the hell is this!? They were holding back _on purpose_!'

She realized what he was planning now, and realized that it was fair and square. They had tied. She had to win both, or go home empty handed. Quickly, she revised her strategy. She wasn't about to go away without _something_…

* * *

"All wings, you are approaching MegaKat Canyons at high speed. You're both making good time here, but be careful in there. This is the part where it could potentially get ugly." 

Calico Briggs did not sound worried about the dogfight. They knew what they were doing on that part, but there was that and racing at near three hundred miles an hour through treacherous passes and making high-g banks along walls of stone that could easily crush a plane at that speed. This wouldn't be pretty if they ran into each other, especially flying damn near blind and ignorant of one another.

'I'll just have to trust them.'

T-Bone however, had his usual confidence. "I might let you go in first, just to pull off a little magic trick."

The Lioness raised an eyebrow and said, "And what trick would that be?"

Razor responded this time. "You go in first… and come out _last_! By now you've figured us out- so you know what we're aiming for this time. There's only gonna be one winner today!"

The she-kat shook her head and said, "It sure as hell isn't going to be you clowns. I won't be duped!"

Callie, back on the ground, shook her head. "All wings, you are now entering the canyons. Enter and leave in _one piece_, would you?"

Both parties responded with, "Roger that," before the second part of the challenge began.

Meanwhile back at the airstrip, Callie heard a quite familiar sound and turned around to stare at the Kat's Eye News helicopter. She knew perfectly well who was in that helo, and sure enough, Ann Gora hopped out, turning towards Johnny K. after doing so. Toying with her hair for a moment before her camera kat gave the thumbs up, she began speaking into the microphone.

"We are live from the site of the most monumental challenge ever faced by the SWAT Kats- a competition of aviation skill and aerial technology. It's a test of old against new- tried and true against revolutionary and groundbreaking. The F-22 Raptor against the TurboKat, which is a modified F-14 Tomcat, as you all know from the last report that was broadcast. And there," she said as she walked towards Callie, "Is Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs."

The blonde shook her head, as if to get her hair out of her face. They weren't invited. But then again, when were they ever invited? Ann Gora did things her own way, and she could sniff out a good story. Not that this wasn't a good one, but… oh, never mind. This would be turned to her advantage anyway.

"Nice to see you again, Ann. As you can see though, the jets have already taken off. But if you want, I could answer a few questions about their position and location, as well as the status of the competition."

Ann smiled and said, "That is exactly why we're here, Deputy Mayor."

Back in the canyons, the SWAT Kats and The Lioness had long since split up from the main path. Winding and diving through the twists and turns, each jet was making good time. Indeed, they had let their opposition in first, true to their word, but now they had to take into account her thrust vectoring.

"T-Bone, we gotta haul ass! She's probably making those turns a hell of a lot faster than we are!"

The big kat grimaced as he punched the throttle. "I read ya, buddy. I'm already on it!"

The turns suddenly turned into a maze, and the only thing that could save them now was their radar. At this speed, it would take only one mistake to crash, but they had to get moving if they wanted to clear this one. Sure enough, they were pulling ahead… but soon came an intersection.

Razor realized that their adversary was probably headed in the same direction, and he gritted his teeth. This could get very tight, very quickly.

"We gotta make it there first! _Hit the afterburners_!"

T-Bone smirked and said, "No shit. Hang on!"

Sure enough, they got there first, but apparently The Lioness had the same plan. Time seemed to slow down as the two planes nearly met at the crossroads, and they could see her eyes widen as they passed each other. Within the space of one second, they passed each other. T-Bone hollered and laughed as they shot around the next bend.

"Damn, she's as crazy as we are! Remind me _never_ to call her a wannabe again!"

Razor wiped the sweat from his brow as he said, "I'll remind you if you promise to get us outta here! That was too close, even for me!"

Callie would have to agree- she nearly had a heart attack from that all-too-close pass. And yet her adrenaline pumped just from watching the readouts on the GPS tracker. "She's ahead," The Deputy Mayor said excitedly, "But only barely! They're putting up one damn good fight, that's for sure, but the Raptor just plain has more maneuverability. The only way they can win this one is at the end, where engine power will count for more."

Ann couldn't help but get caught up in the action. Then again, that was why she was so good at her job. "As you heard viewers, they are practically neck-and-neck, fighting for position in this second challenge. The Lioness is gaining ground, but it could only be a matter of time before the SWAT Kats approach at equal speed. The race is about to come to a close- who will triumph?"

That question was about to be found out soon, because they were exiting the canyon, the final stretch in sight. "We're good now, buddy- she might be first now, but we'll be on top in the end!" As if that were a signal for something, T-Bone pulled up slightly, just enough to clear the canopy, and punched the afterburners one more time. With that, they hopped right over the head of the Raptor, and The Lioness gritted her teeth.

'Shit! They got me good… but at least I had them cornered!'

Even Razor admitted it as they leapt out of the canyon first, with the she-kat only a fraction of a second behind. "Damn, you're hot! That one almost nailed us. I said it before, and I'll say it again; that's one sweet ride!"

The Lioness couldn't help but smile. How was it that he could make her feel better in the space of a few words? She didn't know, and she didn't care either. All she knew was that she loved it, and wanted to hear more. She purred softly and said, "It's not over yet, you cute thing. We got the dogfight left. And I'll win this one for sure!"

Sure it didn't matter… but damn it, she had a reputation to protect. With that, the third trial was underway!

* * *

Callie cheered the SWAT Kats on as she saw them climb towards the skies, where the battle would take place beyond a cloud bank or some such. She didn't care- she was having the time of her life. Now that the truly dangerous part had passed, all that was left was the wrap-up. And what a wrap-up it would be as they began climbing to twenty thousand feet, their combat elevation. The air was a lot thinner up there, even at five thousand feet higher than their competition altitude. 

Even as she spoke, explaining what was going on now; the citizens of MegaKat City were watching eagerly, some of them treating this as just another sporting event. One however, that they were willing to pay tickets for. They knew that it was non-lethal; they knew that no one would go down in flames per se, but they also knew there would be one winner.

"Tied in the first and with one win as of the second round, the SWAT Kats may have secured a victory. But even if they do not, they will still leave this airfield with a significant amount of money for tying in the Mach 1 round. Now comes the dogfight, the event that many on our online polls have described to be the highlight of the competition. While we cannot show you everything that is going on, Calico Briggs has us up-to-date on the situation."

Callie was having too much fun right now- she felt like a sports announcer right now if nothing else. And she certainly sounded like one as she replied, "Thanks, Ann. For those who are just turning their sets on, we've got some serious competition going on. Now the two jets we have here are state-of-the-art, first class machines, and one of them has managed to maneuver its way into first place after a very close tie. Before this dogfight begins, let me give you a quick tale of the tape, just so you know what we're looking at."

What was interesting enough was that they already had a few sets ready for this. The information displayed on all those televisions that were currently turned on as she spoke about statistics. "Let's start, first of all, with the challenger- the F-22A Raptor. This is Pumadyne's new jet, and the first air-to-air fighter of its kind that features stealth technology. After the incident with Hard Drive, The Lioness decided to take this jet that had the entirety of its test data removed from it and decided to perform a more comprehensive test of her own, so to speak.

"It's armed currently with six active-guidance medium range air-to-air missiles, designated AIM-120. They allow the pilot to open fire from beyond the visual range of sight, and once one is fired it does the work, without requiring the pilot to remain locked. The kat can fire and break, enabling a long-distance shot without further detection. Another part of its payload is a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinders, which most of you know as heat seekers. Mostly short range due to the infrared tracking, one has to get directly behind the opposing aircraft to fire one of these."

Ann smiled. She could have been a news anchor, really. She let Callie continue onward, enjoying how excited she was.

And indeed, Callie did continue. "The two engines are F119 turbofans, capable of upwards of seventy thousand pounds of thrust. With that much power behind it, the Raptor is capable of breaking the sound barrier without the use of afterburners. Not only that, but it's capable of a high thrust-to-weight ratio, meaning that the turns, climbs, and acceleration will be off the charts. I'm not even going to get into the thrust vectoring aspect, which makes it even easier to perform even crazier maneuvers, but suffice it to say this bird can turn in just about any which way it wants to fire."

Ann raised an eyebrow and said, "If only it were possible to see such feats of agility."

Callie shrugged and stopped there, since she didn't have much time to spare, only about a minute. "Well the only thing that can possibly stand up to it is the TurboKat, a modified F-14 Tomcat. Now, I can't tell you what kind of engines it has, or how they managed to get a third engine with a somewhat vectored nozzle on it that makes it capable of taking off vertically, but I _can_ tell you what it can do. With all three engines working together, the cruising speed of the TurboKat is Mach 3- usually it moves at approximately three to four hundred miles an hour on city chases and patrols. Add afterburner, and it climbs to Mach 5. Tack on the turbine upgrade that we've seen the SWAT Kats use before, and we have an aircraft that can't just go supersonic- it can go _hyper_sonic. That means upwards of Mach 8."

Ann's eyes widened and said, "It's no wonder they tied with the Raptor in the speed trial- they weren't even using a _fraction_ of their total capacity!"

Callie nodded. "And it was a smart plan- it forced The Lioness to win two or go home. Seeing as she's lost one, we might as well be looking at an air show. But still, this is what we came here to see, and they're going to give it all they've got. I'm not even going to go into how many weapons the TurboKat carries, but most if not all of them have some kind of use. I don't know how they're going to pull this dogfight off though- most of their weaponry is designed to disable or distract, while all the Lioness needs is one good hit with her disarmed missiles ."

Ann nodded, highly interested. "The viewers and this reporter certainly wish to see the action from in the air, but they are unfortunately too far out and too high up."

The Deputy Mayor shrugged and said, "Personally, I'm sad that we have to see such incredible birds get torn to pieces, but I'm more concerned about the lives of the pilots. In any event, this will be one for the history books, that's for sure!"

The news anchor smiled and said, "Thank you for your time Deputy Mayor, as always it is a pleasure. We will be reporting with updates to the situation as it progresses. For the time being, this is Ann Gora, returning you to your broadcast day."

* * *

At twenty-thousand feet in the air, no one could see the two jets re-position themselves for their initial attack run. One black, one grey, they both prepared themselves for one hell of a dogfight. However, the SWAT Kats had done something rather interesting with the cement machinegun before they had even arrived- they had modified it, changed it so that cement wouldn't be firing out of it. 

T-Bone grinned and said, "Isn't she gonna be surprised when we paint her with… well, _paint_ instead of cement. You sure did a good job of switching the rounds out- I don't want to see this damn fine bird go down either. But if you got any other ideas to avoid those heat seekers of hers…"

Razor smiled and said, "I got that angle covered too. And no, we're not using Plan Z. Here's the strategy- we deplete her of missiles first, so she has to resort to her gun. When she does that, we give her the run around, evasive maneuvers. Make her waste her shots. Then we flip on her and give her our own dose of pain!"

T-Bone nodded and said, "One problem- it'll have her on our six almost the whole time. Crazy plan, Razor."

Razor grinned and said, "Crazy like a fox. By the time she realizes we're rope-a-doping her, it'll be too late!"

The bigger tom said, "Yeah, thing is we won't be able to see her until she's within a few thousand meters of us. We gotta be quick on our toes here if we don't want to lose."

"Well said," a voice echoed on their radio. "This is The Lioness- I have you painted as a target. Don't worry- I'll follow the rules, but you two had better be on the ball when I reach you. Ground Control, I'm making my attack run, weapons free on your go."

"TurboKat to Ground, we're going hot," Razor responded in kind, "Ready to fire on your mark!"

Callie replied, loud and clear. "Roger that. This thing is practically over with, but I still want a clean fight. Make sure the three of you are alive enough to shake hands after, and no hard feelings."

They were entirely silent. Neither side responded, both with their heads in the zone. Soon, both planes were in visual range, and they were practically on top of one another before the other knew it. They damn near met in the middle of the air before they passed each other, the bottom of each jet two inches from the other.

"All wings, engage!"

T-Bone smirked as he banked right immediately, his nose beginning to point straight at the Raptor. He was going to try and punch through, and soon. The Lioness saw the suddenly incoming jet and pulled up, the nozzles curving upwards. _Zip_ the jet went, and she avoided the incoming ramming maneuver by a hairsbreadth. Cursing softly to herself, she pulled a loop and curved downwards, aiming for the TurboKat's six.

'Nice try… but I'm not taking any chances.'

The side weapons bay opened- both of them- and the Sidewinders were revealed. The lock alarms on the TurboKat sounded off big-time, and Razor grimaced. "We got Fox Twos locked on us- as expected, of course."

T-Bone grimaced and said, "Planning on taking us out early, huh? Not today! Just hope your little trick works."

And sure enough, "Hope you kats are quick on the stick. Fox Two, away! _Both of 'em_!"

T-Bone pulled ahead, hitting his afterburners. "Sorry, I ain't playing along!"

Razor smirked and said, "Wait for it… come a little closer, you runts."

The pilot's eyes widened and said, "Razor, are you nuts!? They're gonna punch a hole right through our engines!"

The slimmer tom said nothing, simply waited. They were pretty much within range now… and that's when it happened. "These things want heat to follow? Then how about this- I'm initiating a fuel dump! Let's see how these things like a taste of fire in the sky!"

The dump was executed… and since the afterburners were already on, the resulting effect was impressive. An orange streak of flames shot off from approximately four inches behind the nozzles, acting as a flamethrower for the missiles. Sure enough, they exploded in the midst of the sheer destructive force.

"_Bingo_! Step one complete, T-Bone. Both of her biggest weapons are history!"

The bigger tom looked behind him and said, "Well damn, I never thought that'd work! Thanks for the save, partner!"

In the Raptor, The Lioness was wide-eyed. They had beaten her heat seekers. Sure they spent fuel to do so, but they did it. She grinned… then laughed. "You two are something else! Looks like I'll have to do this the old fashioned way."

And with that, she suddenly banked upwards. T-Bone looked above him and said, "She's going high. Was that all she had? Kinda lame if you ask me."

Razor however, was quiet. She was still not showing up on radar… so if she was banking high…

"_Shit_! T-Bone, prepare for evasive maneuvers- she's gonna be coming in hot!"

The alarms sounded off yet again. Four blips showed up on radar from high in, and they were coming fast! T-Bone's eyes widened and he said, "Oh _fuck me_!" He performed a reverse-g drop, causing the missiles to follow… before Razor said, "Keep moving, T-Bone! I got these… activating decoy flares!"

From the sides of the TurboKat, four flares shot outwards while T-Bone leveled off, rocketing forwards. Sure enough, the missiles took the bait and swerved off into nothingness. But soon enough, The Lioness was back on their tails from above.

"You can't run forever," she said in that same sultry purr.

T-Bone grimaced as he heard a beeping alarm, warning them that she was trying to lock onto them with her guns, and swerved out of the way. In flight exercises, a three-second lock with a gun was considered a definite kill, and he assumed that they were playing by those rules. This was no longer fun. "Any ideas, buddy? She's not letting up- Her turning radius is too tight! Those engines of hers are sticking to us like white on rice!"

Razor nodded and said, "I expected as much. We have to keep her guessing. Don't put the throttle to max just yet- have her follow us for a while longer. She'll shoot those last two sooner or later."

The alarms sounded off again as the she-kat zeroed in again, and Chance banked to the left. It was getting awful close... and she was a better pilot than he expected.

"I don't think she means to shoot 'em just yet… Got any other bright ideas?"

Razor smirked and said, "Glad you asked. Flashbulb missiles set to fire. But check this out…"

The missile bay doors opened, and out of the ship's underside came a Chaff Missile. It wasn't meant to blow up a craft, but it _was_ meant to blow up near one. The Lioness banked a bit too late, because the missile went off, and her radars were scrambled. In addition, multiple flares were released from the TurboKat, further mucking things up.

'Shit- too much interference!'

By the time she looked up from her radar screens… the TurboKat had done a ninja-style vanish. She looked around frantically, and they were nowhere above, in front, to the side, or even behind her. She widened her eyes and said, "Damn you… where?"

They were however, closer than she thought. In fact, they were right underneath the Raptor. Razor tried not to laugh, he honestly did. T-Bone grinned and said, "Should we fire 'em now or later?"

Razor's own smile widened. "Wait until she can see us. It'll happen sooner or later."

And sure enough, her radar systems cleared… and she saw them. "Holy shit… I'm dead, aren't I?"

T-Bone smirked and said, "Not yet. If this were not a mock battle though, you'd be shot down. I'll give you this, though: You're damn good."

She realized that there was no possible way she could beat them. Her stubborn nature however, refused to go down without one last blaze. She tilted the nose up and climbed again, and the TurboKat just hovered there, waiting. She looked down, eyes widening.

'They can't be serious… they're just sitting there?'

She saw a chance. At the top of her climb, she pulled a J-turn and set her sights. "Bad move, SWAT Kats."

Razor grinned and said, "You sure about that?"

The upper missile launchers popped out, tilted straight up… and fired.

"Hope you're wearing a glare shield."

The Lioness widened her eyes, thinking that the missiles were going to impact, dead on… and then something happened. The warheads popped open and a pair of actual flashbulbs turned on immediately. She didn't have a glare shield, and thus she was blinded. The TurboKat peeled off, brought the nose up and over in a tight vertical reverse, and righted itself.

From there, all T-Bone had to do was aim and fire the machinegun.

Red blotches of paint splattered onto the cockpit, and her sight was gone.

"Lioness, I'm registering a critical hit to the cockpit," Callie said through the radio. "You're dead."

The Lioness opened her eyes, spots dancing. Why was it colored red everywhere? It was too dark in here, besides the lit panels. Then she realized her radar was still working… but without the ability to actually see her opponents, her kill capabilities had been cut in half.

"Yeah," she said with a chuckle, "I'm dead."

* * *

By the time they had gotten back to ground, the sun was setting. It had been an eventful day, to be sure. Ann walked over to the winners, wanting to have a word. "SWAT Kats, a monumental victory today. Once again, you have proven that you are undisputed in the air. Are there any comments on today's events?" 

Razor decided to speak first. "Well first of all, we had a good start, the tie at the beginning was important. If she had actually taken that first one, we'd have been _much _worse for wear. The canyon run was a close one- that Raptor can haul ass even at low speed, and it had a pretty tight turning radius. There at the middle of the course, I thought we were gonna collide, but it was a near miss. That jet is amazing- hell,_ I_ would fly it just for kicks!"

Ann pointed the mic towards T-Bone. "Any words on your behalf?"

The bigger tom cleared his throat and said, "Well that dogfight was a hell of a battle. The Lioness has the moves, that's for sure. Had our six about seventy-five percent of the time and stuck with us pretty well. But we got her in the end- pulled out the chaff, shot out flares, and got her radar mucked up. It's kind of a cheap stealth trick, but it worked."

The Lioness approached from behind and said, "A bit too well, I'm afraid. I almost had you in the second round, but you guys blew me out of the air. I'd almost swear you had me chase you around on purpose, just to have me exhaust my weapons. And that dump-and-burn was clever- you took out both of my Sidewinders handily. It's only right that the money go to the better pilot, to use on the better plane."

T-Bone scratched the back of his head, but Razor stepped forward and placed a hand on The Lioness' right shoulder. "Hey… you did well today. You keep flying, y'hear? And don't worry about that, uh, little bet we made. It's off. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to."

Callie shook her head and said, "You guys are too much, you know that? I know I promised you lunch, but it's pretty much gone, huh? We'll have dinner, then."

Ann began signing off and wrapping up at that moment as The Lioness watched Razor walk back towards his partner. She clinched her fists in frustration. What was that all about? They have a steamy close encounter before the contest, and it's _forgotten_ after? No, she wouldn't stand for it. She would have what she came for.

With brisk steps, she walked up to Razor, forcefully grabbed his left shoulder to turn him around, and kissed him almost wildly. T-Bone's eyes widened. That came from nowhere, blindsiding him. She certainly was impulsive, wasn't she? But perhaps that was a good thing.

The slim kat, in the most secretive place in his mind, smirked. That had worked _perfectly_.

The Lioness pulled away slowly, reluctantly, licking her lips. "Don't you dare think that I'm letting you go that easily, handsome. We're going to be seeing each other for quite some time, you hear me? Once I want something, I go to any lengths necessary to get it. Including, but not limited, to toms that I happen to like."

T-Bone cleared his throat and said, "Sorry to break up the sweet moment, but we have to get back to base now. Sorry Ms. Briggs, dinner will have to wait. We have to get a new fight suit ready, and a helmet…"

The she-kats raised their eyebrows. "You need new ones? Why?" Callie asked.

Razor said slyly, "We need new gear for our new wing kat. The SWAT Kats won today, but The Lioness proved herself. Besides, going it alone sucks- trust me, I know."

The she-kat in question grinned widely. "You have no idea how much-"

T-Bone smiled and said, "I think we do. Sorry for calling you a wannabe- you're anything but. Now then… let's get that jet somewhere that the Enforcers won't notice it… we got just the place for it."

* * *

**Chapter 15: StealthKat (Part 4) - **_**It's My Turn to Fly**_

And there you have it! A combat of epic proportions- unlike anything you have ever seen! This chapter is a monster- 12,000 words of power, inch by inch! My feats of finger dexterity are far from over- we have one more chapter to go. Stay tuned for the conclusion of _StealthKat_!

And now, reviews. Oh, and one dedication.

**Raiden Snake**! I know you wanted to see it. Here is your dogfight! I tried to keep it as busy as I could, switch it back and forth so that everyone would have a piece. You gotta love the way that Callie gets into it- I know you will. But you're here for the planes and so is **RaidenSilversword**! Thanks for telling me those little facts there… but to be perfectly honest, I already knew. Still, glad you enjoyed the last one, hope you enjoyed this one.

This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers, and the man who gave me the inspiration for this massive, sprawling combat scenario, **Master Nemesis**! He is my beta, my bud, my compatriot. _Arigatou_.

Now, I leave you all with a call to the reviewers that have seemingly lost interest and not been leaving comments. I understand you guys are busy; you have lives, jobs, families. I respect that. But an author thrives on his comments, especially a fic author! So come on back, catch up if you need to, and tell me if I'm fucking up or not!

EDIT: Thanks go out to Master Nemesis (yet again) for noticing the flaws in this chapter. Sure the first revision was cool, but it wasn't all that realistic. I know you guys aren't up for me changing it all that much, but I promise that it'll be believable this time.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	16. StealthKat Finale

Sleep. The Lioness would be damned if she didn't need it right now, but the word was a foreign thing at the moment. The night was still young, and there was a lot to be done. Thus, an F-14 Tomcat and an F-22A Raptor flew over the city at near five hundred miles an hour, both pilots very much awake at the moment. Below, a green sedan that had been highly tuned rolled through the streets, with a blonde she-kat that was somewhat miffed at having been turned down for dinner.

'Damn them and their stupid jets! I had somewhere nice planned, too…'

But she couldn't be completely angry at them. They had a new member of their team, or rather were about to. Sure The Lioness would have to take orders for a while; maybe they would even have a leader now. But the criminals were getting more persistent these days. The battle was changing. Thus, the SWAT Kats had to change too.

It made her think about how she herself was changing. She was learning how to defend herself. If she knew that, then she could defend Mayor Manx the next time someone came in to snatch him. Maybe she wouldn't have to call the SWAT Kats so much, besides for things that were bigger than her. But for some reason that she could not define, she felt… odd about that. She would probably end up calling them anyway, because she was so used to it.

'Still, I do feel a lot better about my chances these days,' she thought as she drove home instead of to the restaurant she had planned out. Maybe there was something that she could have for dinner at the apartment instead…

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

T-Bone and Razor kept at a minor airspeed, making sure that both the Raptor was able to keep up and that they didn't cause excessive noise and break a few glass panes in their wake. Razor already had something in mind for The Lioness, but they'd have to make another g-suit and retrofit another helmet. For all that it was worth, it'd take a few days to get all that done- they were after all, custom-made.

'Fortunately,' he mused to himself, 'we have more than enough Glovetrixes to get her one of her own. We'll be taking care of the jet's paint job _tonight_, that's for sure. She won't be able to fly it until we get called in, but at least she'll be able to see how it looks.'

The Lioness however, was busy looking down at the city. She was trying to figure out where exactly they were going. But for now, she couldn't harbor a guess. Of course, she would keep their location a secret, even if it cost her life to do so. But then she realized something… 'I have work tomorrow. I can't be a SWAT Kat full time- I'd get busted quick, fast, and in a hurry.'

She groaned then as she realized just what she was getting into. But then again, would it be worth it? Yes. Would she be able to show the Enforcers how things were supposed to be done? _Hell_ yes. She didn't know whether T-Bone and Razor had been forced into their situation or not, but she was doing this willingly, of her own time and energy.

'Plenty of energy, but not enough time,' she thought with a sigh. 'But it's worth it.'

Soon, they were approaching their destination. The place didn't have the lights on, but the silhouette of the scrap piles was all too familiar. Her eyes widened, her jaw damn near came unhinged. This was MegaKat Salvage Yard… and all at once, she knew.

Her mind flashed back immediately to the day she had talked to Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson while she was still an enforcer- while she was still Felina Feral and not The Lioness. Everything seemed to stop for a brief moment as she processed the information, let it tumble around in her head. With amazement, she looked at the TurboKat.

'They were right there, sitting on either side of me, and I never even knew…'

She knew who the SWAT Kats were.

'It makes sense,' she thought after a while. 'They use Enforcer tactics and techniques: insane piloting skills, infiltration and clandestine insertion, special weapons and vehicles that they themselves customized… and this place is _perfect_ for making such things.'

She grinned. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade! Not only did they effectively get back at Feral, who had put them there in the first place, but they went back to doing the only thing they knew how- protecting and serving MegaKat City. At that very moment, she understood why they didn't want to go back to the Enforcers.

'Despite how bad they've had it… they like it here.'

She smiled and figured that she would like it here too. But the question was where they would…

"Stand by;" T-Bone said over her radio, "We're coming in!"

To the right of the garage, the ground opened up, revealing what looked like the entrance to a hangar. Her eyes widened again, and she swore that they'd pop out of her head if she did that too much. But there were just so many surprises today, she didn't know if she could stop or not. The TurboKat slid in quite easily, and a few seconds after, so did the Raptor.

As soon as they touched down, Razor spoke through the comm. link. "Welcome to our humble abode, Lioness. It ain't much, but-"

She cut in smoothly. "Skip the humility- this is fuckin' awesome. Show me around handsome, I want to see everything."

Without anywhere to park the damn thing from upstairs though, it presented them with a unique challenge… where could they park the Raptor? The TurboKat was easy enough to place, but another jet… that was new. Razor shrugged and said, "We'll have to improvise. Lioness, there's plenty of room down here still, so taxi in and power down."

T-Bone looked behind him towards the slim SWAT Kat and said, "You sure about that? I don't want to have to give her a tight squeeze…"

Razor nodded and said, "It's big enough for two jets already. Besides, we'll expand it later. Sure it'll take a while to do, but we're good for it."

With that, they parked their rides, and The Lioness headed over towards the lift for the TurboKat. It wasn't such a tight squeeze, considering that the SWAT Kats' jet was on an entirely different floor. And they were right- it was big enough down here for two. She could see where they would have to expand it, but it wouldn't be all that hard.

As the lift stopped, she looked around at their base of operations. As far as she could tell, it was one of the most… downright impressive places she had ever seen. How long had it taken for them to set all this up? Had they just found it, or did they have to expand whatever building this was? Her guess was that, since they had set everything up in a somewhat brief time, they had found it and used it to their advantage.

'Just like everything else,' she thought to herself.

T-Bone hopped out of the TurboKat first and began walking towards her, taking off his Glovetrix. "We're not gonna beat around the bush here, Lioness. We ain't here for just a tour, though you can take a look around. There are only a few places you need to know about for now. Razor, give her a spare Glovetrix and let's get this party underway."

The Lioness blinked, slightly confused. Well they were starting this one early, weren't they? T-Bone could be all business when he wanted to be, that was for sure. He was crazy in the air, but while he was on the ground he wasn't joking around. Or at least, that was her first impression of him. Razor on the other hand, looked at her with a bit of sympathy.

"Try to relax," he whispered at he fit one of the wrist-mounted weapons on her left hand. "It's not so bad, really. You make it, and I'll show you something awesome."

She smiled and said, "Depending on what that is, I won't have a problem with it. Hell, I'm going to make it through whatever the big lug throws at me anyway, so you might as well warm whatever it is up. So where are we going, anyways," she asked as they began walking. T-Bone was already gone by now.

She noticed then that there were hallways down here- other parts of the building besides just the staging area for the TurboKat. The door they had opened led into three different hallways- one to the left, one to the right, and one that went straight forward. They all appeared to end up at a room guarded by heavy, slide-open doors.

Razor turned right. Upon reaching the doors, they opened automatically, and inside was a complex that was just about as big as a training area in Enforcer Headquarters, which was pretty big, to be honest. At the end of the room, opposite of where they stood, there was yet another door marked with the designation "area b".

The Lioness looked at it all with wonder.

"The Reflex Room," Razor said as they entered. "It's my own little invention. Everything in this particular section of the course could potentially injure you. It simulates an actual battlefield condition, where anything could happen. Your job is to make it to the other door in as little time as possible, while avoiding the traps that are set and the gun fire coming your way."

She nodded and said, "And where's T-Bone?"

Razor smirked. "Well unless I miss my guess, probably on the other side. He has the record for this part of the course- three minutes, fifteen seconds. Beat it, even by one second, and he'll probably be impressed."

The Lioness raised an eyebrow. "And if I don't?"

Razor shrugged and said, "Don't ask me. I'm just leading you on the tour here. You wanna give it a shot?"

The Lioness nodded and the slim SWAT Kat led her towards the starting gate. He got behind a shielded control panel, bullet resistant glass covering the sides, front, and top. He nodded to himself and said, "On my mark!"

She got herself ready. It looked entirely quiet. She knew it wouldn't be that way for long, but she could almost imagine herself running straight through without any problems.

"Three… two… one… mark!"

The gates opened near-instantaneously, and she sprinted through. Almost seconds before she left, a trap door opened beneath her feet. The Lioness managed to leap away before she fell into what appeared to be just a hole, something to detract and distract her. She didn't look back, she simply kept going, adrenaline fueling her.

Then the 7.62mm machine guns, mounted on either side of the entrance to the far end of the room, began to fire from high up. She continued moving as rubber bullets came raining down on the floor. They wouldn't kill her, but they'd pack a punch all the same. She rolled, ducked, flipped out of the way, but the guns tracked.

'Shit… sentries!'

She wouldn't let that stop her, though. Pushing her way through while avoiding the hail of gunfire that seemed to follow her just about everywhere, she headed towards the next area. A series of laser lines from the ceiling to the floor and from several pairs of positioned columns moved from left to right and up and down, at alternating speeds and frequencies. She didn't know what would happen if she got caught in one, and she wasn't about to find out.

The lasers were not a real problem as long as she could keep herself where they were not. It was as simple as avoiding the Pastmaster's magic- she simply slipped through any opening she could find, sometimes leaping from one pillar to the other in order to do so.

It ate up her time, but not too much. So far she was one minute and thirty seconds in.

The next one was a bit more complicated, and yet it was simple, really. She saw another pair of walls ahead of her, and nothing visible to stop her. She figured she would barge on through, and proceeded to do so, but on the moment she entered into the vicinity of the fifty foot stretch, she felt something whizz by in front of her. It was small, it was shiny, and it was most likely going to hurt if it hit her.

'Damn… needles!'

She hauled ass at that moment, her mind assuming that they were laced with some sedative or poison. They whizzed through her hair, narrowly missed her skin. Just a whisper behind her, they shot from both sides of the wall, attempting to turn the she-kat into a pin cushion.

Razor nodded and thought to himself, 'She's unbelievably fast. If she were a fraction slower, she'd be pinned by now.'

The end was in sight. Two minutes had passed.

Just when she thought she would make it, she noticed that the floor beneath her opened up yet again. This time though, there were places to walk across… places that were roughly five inches wide. She grimaced and thought that she wouldn't hear the end of this if she fell into whatever was down there, and thus she made her way across- quickly, but carefully.

For a brief moment, one foot slipped.

"**Shit!!**"

She placed her hands forward as she fell, and they both landed exactly on the balance beam. With that, she pushed upwards… and started flipping head over heels, turning handsprings on the all-too-narrow balance beam. Performing a somersault after her last upwards push with her hands, she landed neatly and simply sprinted towards the goal.

Razor grinned and shook his head. 'That was nuts. She almost bit it there!'

The gates at the end of the course opened for The Lioness, seconds before she made her way through. The timer, just above the door to the second area, stopped at three minutes and _thirteen_ seconds.

'Holy shit,' she said as she looked at the digital readout, 'That slip almost took me out of it!'

Razor spoke through the microphone located in the control room, "T-Bone, you get that? 3:13- she pegged you."

The doors opened, revealing T-Bone, arms folded across his chest. "So I see… only by two seconds though. What stopped you?"

She didn't want to say. Instead, she replied, "Doesn't matter, does it? I got you."

T-Bone smirked. "..Yeah, I guess you did. Let's get moving- it's not over yet."

* * *

Callie arrived home that night, tired and drained. Sure the day was exciting, but it certainly was taxing as well. It wasn't all that much of a surprise then when she almost passed out upon heading through her apartment door. But still, she did have a promise to keep, and far be it from her not to keep them. With that in mind, she headed for the telephone in her bedroom, picked up the receiver, and dialed in. 

"Hello, you've reached the voice mailbox for Felina Feral. I'm not in at the moment, but if you would…"

She sighed. Of course, she was probably asleep at this time. Not surprising. Attempting to gather her thoughts, she wondered how she should put the Commander's words in a way that his niece would understand. After all, she was probably still angry. Sure it had been weeks since she had walked out, but something like that couldn't be easily rectified.

She realized that there was no way to do so, at least as far as she could think of. But she had to anyway, because she promised. So as soon as the recording was ended. She took a deep breath and waited for the beep.

"Hey Felina," she said in a cheery voice that sounded fake, even to her. "I'm just calling to check up on you. I'm almost sorry that you weren't in today so I could kick your butt again, but such is life. Still, Commander Feral was a good teacher. You think I could take lessons from him too?"

She chuckled and said, "Just kidding. Anyways! The Commander says that… well, he says he is sorry for what happened. He doesn't exactly know why you left, but he'd like for you to come back." She bit her bottom lip, trying to think of something to add to it.

Nothing came.

'Why am I so bad at this?'

The Deputy Mayor shook her head and said, "I hope you get better soon, Felina. I miss you, even if it's just for a day."

With that, she hung up and sighed. "Dammit. That didn't go well. I should have gone over and told her myself. I'm no good at being a messenger girl. But whatever- I have it out of my head now."

As she got ready for bed, she wondered why exactly The Lioness had suddenly kissed Razor like that. She apparently liked him, but the way she had gone about telling him was awful impetuous. If it were her, she would have been a bit more subtle- read his mood, his expressions, see what he was thinking, then make her move. But Razor certainly knew now, that was for sure.

'She didn't beat around the bush about it. I wish I could be so direct…'

But then she shook her head. What would be the point of that, besides potentially getting herself into trouble? No- no, she would carry on like she usually did. From that kiss on the cheek that Chance gave her the night before, it was certainly working. She smiled to herself as she thought of the big tom who looked more like someone she could hug forever than a rough, tough ex-Enforcer.

'What is it about me and hugs?'

Perhaps it was because a good hug made her feel secure. She liked clinging to someone when things were bad, and for a long while she hadn't had that. Work had gotten in the way of friends, of a tom, of having any sort of life. Well, that was before she got friends; the SWAT Kats who rescued her, Jake and Chance who fixed her car and occasionally went out to eat with her, Felina who taught her how to fight.

She had an idea of how fortunate she was.

"Now though, I need bed, not friends." She giggled to herself at the notion. Friends would come tomorrow. With that, she turned in.

* * *

The head of a wooden target, shaped as a common street thug, was shot clean through as The Lioness painted her next one. The score blipped on her training Glovetrix- 358. A few more and she would beat Razor at his own game. Just as long as she didn't hit anything else that wasn't hostile, she would have a good run. She still didn't see the point of all this, but she figured she would soon enough. 

Soon, most of the hostile targets were destroyed. And hell, the night wasn't even over yet.

"Well damn," Razor said, "That's fucking impressive. You beat my score by a mile." He turned to T-Bone and said, "You think she's ready for the big one? She's done the Reflex Room pretty well; I don't see why that isn't enough."

She raised an eyebrow. "If you guys are testing me, I can handle anything you throw at me, cook it, put it on a plate and give it right back. Don't you hold anything back from me just because-"

T-Bone cut in swiftly. "-You're a she-kat? You've gotta be kidding me. Some of the best pilots we've gone up against are female. That's not what I'm worried about- what I'm worried about is the possibility that you won't be able to handle the kind of work we do. I mean we're in the thick of it, kicking so much ass that the kats we fight taste shoe leather for months. Trust me though; we don't always make it without a scratch. That's why I gotta make sure you're ready for _anything_."

The Lioness was silent for a moment before she nodded to herself. "Good, just checking. Since you seem to have all your bases covered, what's next?"

T-Bone smirked and said, "So you've got the physical and mental aspects down, good. Let's see how many Gs you can handle. We're heading to the centrifuge- you'll be up against me. You're about to know exactly what it feels like to fly in the TurboKat at full speed."

The Lioness grinned and said, "Bring it on."

They left the Reflex Room and headed straight down the hallway, towards the area where the centrifuge was located. She looked upon the quite impressive ride and said, "I'm starting to wonder how you guys got all this, but I'm guessing that I don't want to know. Shall we start?"

T-Bone raised a hand and said, "Hang on, I haven't told you the rules. We're going up to 10 Gs. Conditions for victory are simple- the one who can tolerate the most wins. If you go all the way to the limit, you win by default, regardless of whether you're knocked out afterwards or not. Each G factor will be held at ten seconds. Depending on how you do… well, you got my respect, that's for sure."

The Lioness raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask when she would actually be _accepted_ as a SWAT Kat. That'd be rude of course, and besides- she wanted to see if T-Bone's respect was worth anything. With that, she strapped in, seeing that the big tom was locked into his own seat.

'This one could be for all the marbles. I have to win!'

"Game faces, people," Razor said, "This ain't gonna be easy, no matter how much time you've spent in a jet. I'm hitting the engines- good luck in there, and try not to fall asleep."

The Centrifuge revved up, starting off slowly. It was not going to be pretty, but they would have to see how she handled it. They quickly began advancing through the profiles… one, two, three… and she handled them quite well, until eight. It was what she was used to, sure, but it was still difficult. T-Bone however almost had a grin on his features.

With the speeds he usually flew at, this was nothing.

"Punching it to 9- ain't no 8.5 in this building," Razor said over their radios. The Lioness suddenly felt the increase in speed. She counted in her head… the seconds seemed to pass much faster if she counted them. Meanwhile, she was trying to counter the loss of blood to her head- tightening her abs, legs, even her _feet_ in order to keep it from going anywhere.

'_Five… six… seven…'_

"You give up yet?"

It was T-Bone. The cocky bastard could still TALK during all this. The Lioness was pissed, and rightly so, but she was also focused. She wasn't angry at him, per se, but irritated that she couldn't take much more. She knew it. But she kept on anyway.

"Ten seconds," Razor shouted. "Get ready for the big one!"

The speed increased again. This was not going to be fun. She tightened up, braced herself. She breathed.

Three… four… five…

It almost seemed as if there was nothing but silence in her ears. Had the world stopped turning, or was she moving too fast for it? She wasn't sure. She had lost track of the counting in her head as well. How long had it been? Seven seconds? Or was it nine? Or had only one second passed in such a long time? There were only two things she knew- keep the pressure up, and keep breathing.

"Well shit," Razor said to himself. "Twelve seconds at 10 Gs. Thirteen now… I think we've seen enough."

T-Bone of course, was still well and hale. The centrifuge slowed down and he unstrapped, hopping out of his seat and heading over toward The Lioness. He wanted to see if she was passed out or not… but his eyes widened in surprise to see that hers were still _open_. He turned from surprise to an impressed nod.

"You didn't even notice that we hadn't turned the damn thing off. Talk about being in the zone," he said with a smile.

The Lioness unclenched her teeth, let out a sigh of sheer relief, and blinked a few times to see if she was still awake. When it was confirmed that she was, the she-kat looked towards the big tom and said, "Well?"

He placed a hand on her left shoulder and said, "Well, nothing. I don't have much to say, besides damn good job. No one's really maxed out at ten before besides me. I doubt that anyone in the Enforcers can withstand that kind of pressure without getting G-LOC. Not damn bad at all."

The Lioness grinned. She was in… she could feel it.

"Unfortunately," Razor said as he exited the control station, "We're just about done here. Can't exactly have your cover blown- I bet it lasted only for today. You got work or something tomorrow, probably. We can't rightfully keep you here, although I bet you wanna stay."

She sighed and said, "True, especially since you haven't shown me that cool thing yet."

Razor smiled and said, "Later. Right now, get on home. You got a way back?"

The Lioness nodded and said, "That I do, though it might take a while to get here. My ride is all the way back at the base. But hey- I've got a way to reach it." After she unstrapped herself, she withdrew the signal emitter and hit the button. "Thing is, I have to be outside for it to work."

They looked at each other, wondering what they would do now. Razor was the first one to come up with something though, as always. "Come with me- we can take the Cyclotron. T-Bone will go and pick up your ride. Give him that remote- he'll track it and leave it at the garage. Probably needs work anyway."

She nodded, scratching the back of her head. "Right… Situation's a bit awkward, but it can't be helped. You guys probably live here- I don't. So that means that I either tell you who I am now, wait for my ride, or have Razor here drop me off a few blocks from where I'm holed up at. Third one sounds about right."

T-Bone shrugged and said, "Do what you gotta. We're not going to force you to tell us anything."

The she-kat smiled softly and said, "You're sweet, you know that?" She kissed him on the cheek before giving him the remote. "Come on Razor, let's go. I'll give you directions to the drop-off point."

* * *

Within her apartment, Felina Feral lay on her bed, tired yet unable to sleep. She had quite the eventful day (and night), but she was glad it was over. The adrenaline did not keep her from being tired- it just pushed her onward past her limits. Now that it was wearing off, her limits were coming back to haunt her. 

"Shit," she hissed as she lay in her loose-fitting nightwear, "This is going to hurt tomorrow. And I have to get to Mr. Young's office… And my car…"

She placed her hands against her eyes and groaned. What had she gotten into? But then she remembered… It was the weekend, starting tomorrow. The frown turned into a grin. She had gotten lucky. The contract stated that she would have two days' option to rest out of the week and she had chosen the weekend quite early on. She'd already spent one of those days today, though.

'I'll probably get another one tomorrow and maybe on Sunday if the offices are closed. They probably are.'

She hoped so. She didn't want to have to explain to everyone how she had gotten sick. Sure she'd have to sooner or later, but she was not good at making excuses. Hell, she didn't make any for herself- why should she have to for others? And yet here, she had done so. Still, she had tomorrow off- someone would be taking her place.

They were closed by now though, so she would have to report her recovery tomorrow.

Regardless of her current situation, she got up, stretched out, and checked her messages. Of course, there was one from Callie, and it wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear. She almost stopped it in the middle, but she needed to hear her voice. It didn't stop her from being angry, though.

'Damn you, Uncle. Using others as messengers now? Why couldn't you have told me yourself?'

She sighed and called back; leaving a message that they would be seeing each other tomorrow- she was feeling better, she said, and would probably be well enough to provide her with defense lessons again. Felina would have added what had happened at the hidden compound of the SWAT Kats, but she figured she would save the surprise for later.

'Three days,' she thought to herself, 'Razor had said to wait three days… he didn't tell me what would happen other than to check my mail or listen for the door. I don't know what they'd send me, but whatever it is it had better be worth all the time I spent.'

She was half excited, half anxious. If it was nothing… well, she'd be heartbroken, sure, but she would still be The Lioness instead of a SWAT Kat. But if it was… well, that would be great, wouldn't it? She'd have what she wanted, and know who they really were at the same time. It'd be everything she could ask for.

It made her giddy and afraid at the same time.

'Giddy? Hell, I _do_ need sleep.'

And with that, she tucked herself in and went straight to bed, without another word.

Of course, the three days that she waited were full of anxiety. She couldn't focus during the lesson that she gave Callie, she couldn't sit still while she was in the house- she had too much energy and not enough ways to use it. While she was in the Enforcers, there was always something to do, but now? Now there were not that many issues to take care of. She actually had a few days off- and Sunday was one of them.

'It's just one more day with nothing to do.'

She thought about checking on her car, but disregarded it immediately. Knowing perfectly well that they would figure out whose it was the moment they saw it, she figured she would leave it alone for now. If she knew who they were, then by now they knew who she was as well. It couldn't be helped.

'I just hope they haven't done anything too bad to it.'

But she trusted them with that. She immediately began forgetting about it and checked her mail that day, hoping that something had come in. Well, something had- it was the payment for services rendered. A bank statement that stated her bank account had been increased by a substantial amount arrived that day, and she saw that she could easily recoup a good chunk of what she had lost in the competition by the end of the month.

'Well that's good news,' she mused to herself, 'but nothing bigger than that.'

It was Monday, early in the morning and before she had gone to work that she heard a knock on the door. Groggily, she got up, checking the peep hole. There was no one there… she raised an eyebrow as she unlatched all three of her locks, and opened up.

There were two packages and a letter.

Her heart raced. She was entirely awake now… looking around to see if anyone else saw, she took the boxes in and closed it. Locking the door again hastily, Felina took a moment to breathe. It could be nothing… nothing at all, and she would have to wait for one more day. She was afraid and eager at the same time, but mostly afraid.

Usually, she had no fear at all, but this… this would change everything.

'Don't freak out… just open the damn thing.'

She decided to take the letter first.

_To "The Lioness"-_

_First of all, that is a very inventive name. Your style of combat is wild and entirely unpredictable- it's definitely ferocious. It made me wonder who exactly would think of such a thing- and then I knew as soon as I looked down from the TurboKat. You might have guessed by now, but your car gave it away. I'd ask why you were kicked out of the Enforcers, but I don't want to know. Besides, that might not even be the case- it could be that you left entirely instead of being discharged. Once again, I don't even want to know._

_If you're reading this letter, it means that yes, you passed. But don't get too excited- we got rules. They aren't much, but they're what separate us from the bad kats._

_Rule number one- any call that needs our attention, we answer. Doesn't matter what time, what place- drop what you are doing and respond. Rendezvous point is the hangar- you know where it is by now. If you're seconds later than you should be, innocent kats could suffer the consequences. This is the only strict rule we have, and it's the only one you'll really have to follow._

_Rule number two- anything goes. You know this one by now- use any tactic you see fit to get the job done. We don't run to give up- we run to regroup and re-arm, then strike again. You've seen it before- now you're going to practice it. We don't have any leadership really- but we __are__ a team, so it's best that you work with us instead of on your own._

_Rule number three- use your best judgment. You got a gut instinct that says something's not a good idea? Follow it! If that same instinct tells you to go all out, follow it! But whatever happens, don't put innocents in danger. That's the last thing we want to do. Sure it might hold you back, but it's going to keep us all legit._

_Right, other than that, you're all good. Hope you like your presents._

_Sincerely,_

_Chance "T-Bone" Furlong_

Felina didn't really like crying, but she couldn't help seeing everything blur. She was in… she was _in_!

Before she could say anything else though, there was yet another surprise waiting for her. Yet another letter stuffed inside the same envelope, from Jake.

_I'm not going to say anything inspirational- T-Bone is better at that than I am. Still, I do have a few words. Let me be the first to say that I'm excited to fly with you, especially since I know who you are. That makes it easier by the way- no secrets means complete trust. You can't be any good at this job without that, but you already know._

_On the back of this specific letter is the surprise I was going to show you later. Took longer than I thought to draw it up, but it's worth it. Check it out when you're done. As for the prize money that we got, I had a call from Callie on Saturday that she was negotiating a few undercover upgrades to our jet- we got them handily. The Enforcers think they're getting new engines for the F-16s before their new toys come in- and they will later. It'll just be from the treasury instead of our own pockets._

_Anyway, you know those F-119 vectoring engines? We have 'em in the TurboKat now. Not to mention a nice F-135 for our third engine. That'll help our VTOL capabilities by a huge margin._

_Hell, we have enough money left over for our own personal use! Don't worry though; we won't use it for anything unscrupulous. Well, what are you still reading this for? Turn it over and check out your new jet! One last thing, though… I figured that Raptor wasn't a cool enough name for the damn thing. It's intimidating as all hell, but it's not exactly what I would have called it. If you want to see what I mean, turn it over._

_Congratulations-_

_Jake "Razor" Clawson_

She turned it over… and gasped.

They had given it a new paint job. Instead of that dull grey all over, it was now black, with three red slashes on the top of the wings, heading downwards until they stopped halfway. The rudders and ailerons were now a dark blue, and so was the nose. Elevators stayed black, which she was grateful for- it would have ruined it if they were blue. Looking at the underside of the jet, she saw that Jake had thought about this quite a bit- except for the nose, the underside had its same clean profile. With this color, it'd be even harder to see the weapons bays now.

She grinned as she took a look at the new name, and decided that yes- it was fitting. Given Jake's naming convention for things, it was a fine moniker.

The new name for her F-22 Raptor was the _StealthKat_.

* * *

**Chapter 16: StealthKat (Finale) - **_**The Initiate**_

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! Another exciting chapter in the life of the SWAT Kats complete! I'd like to thank all the people who reviewed, who stuck by me, who supported me. You could have been anywhere in the world, but you're here with me. I appreciate that.

With that said, _Happy New Year_! I was writing this all through the entrance into 2008, and I have to say there's no better way to spend an evening like that than writing. When you get into your characters like that, it doesn't matter what time it is- every day is a good day for a fic writer!

Anyways, time for the reviewer's appreciation!

**Raiden Snake**, thank you so much for your comment. It's when a person has nothing to say that I know I'm doing my job well. **GeekGirl2**, here's hoping that this chapter is the culmination of all your predictions. I meant for Felina to be a SWAT Kat since the beginning of this crazy idea, and here's how she gets in. As for Callie… well, we'll just have to see, won't we? And who could forget **RaidenSilversword**? Seriously guy, you're crazy. In a good way, though. Glad you enjoyed the dogfight.

And now, if you have the track, please rise for the anthem for this story arc. I had a hard time picking this one, but something finally stood out and made me see the tale as a whole. Therefore, it's best that you take a listen to the theme of _Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction_, composed by **Michael Giacchino**.

Now then, I'm going to take a break. Honestly, this calls for a victory drink or something. I promise it'll be short though.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	17. Determination and Drive

"Good. Do it again!"

Felina was almost pushed backward as Callie's knee rammed into the kick shield with a visceral, crushing force. The bag gave yet again, caving inwards. Someone would be having a hard time getting up with enough of those. Felina nodded and said, "I think that's enough of that. You certainly are getting more proficient at this. It's only been… what, two weeks, a month tops?"

The Deputy Mayor mopped the sweat from her forehead with a towel and said, "I guess I'm just lucky."

Felina hung the bag up, saying nothing in response. As soon as she did so however, she turned and lunged toward Callie, her left fist extending towards the Deputy Mayor's face. Callie slipped, grabbed the wrist, turned, and was in position to take out her elbow with a palm strike. Then as soon as she realized what she was doing, she stopped.

"There is no such thing," Felina said slyly, "As luck. I've realized that recently from watching you. You do something- I don't know what it is, but you do _something_ to anticipate a move before it reaches you. Your face suddenly goes calm, almost blank… as if you know exactly what you are doing."

Callie was silent as Felina spoke. This conversation echoed yet another one she had.

"All I have to do is teach you the moves," the former Enforcer intoned, "and just like you did then, you'll do them without regards to what the other kat is doing. I could be talking to you just like this, slowly and without malice, and suddenly attack- and you either wouldn't flinch, or would react immediately. This is because you can tell when I'm playing around, and when I actually mean to hit you."

Callie was still silent, but only for a brief while. "I can't explain what happens, not that well, anyway. It's like… like some kind of current runs through me, and everything falls into place. Everything goes quiet, and the only thing I can hear is…" She shook her head. "It's silly, never mind."

Felina placed a hand on the blonde she-kat's shoulder and said, "Come with me. We need to get outside. There's something else I want to teach you."

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "What could you possibly have to teach me this time? I mean, you said I was doing all right with what I had now… so what's with the sudden change of pace?"

Felina nodded. "You are. But I want to see just how far this little trick of yours can go. Now come on- we have work to do."

The Deputy Mayor followed, wondering what exactly Felina had in mind for her this time. Soon, they were out in the parking lot, and while she was busy wondering what the hell would be happening, the former Enforcer stretched out and said, "It's not going to be easy, especially since you're starting out, but it's going to be beneficial if you can get it right."

Callie folded her arms and said, "You still haven't told me what exactly we're _doing_ yet."

The brunette looked behind her and smirked. "I'm going to teach you that obstacles do not exist. That you can go anywhere you want when you're either running from or chasing down someone. A few of my friends here got me into it, and I figured you could use a bit of instruction too."

As soon as she was finished, Felina headed towards a nearby wall and leapt upwards, planting her right foot first, then left… then right… and Callie soon saw her good friend and trainer run along the wall for a good ten steps before leaping off with her right foot, landing on the balls of both feet, and rolling on her left shoulder to transfer her weight.

The ex-Enforcer stood, turned, and grinned. "And that's just the easy one!"

Callie's eyes were wide in amazement. Oh, this was going to be awesome.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

They had worked on how to land first.

It was simple enough, really. They stood on the railing of the ramp that led towards the delivery entrance and simply jumped off, a good two feet from the ground. Toes went first before hands touched the ground, albeit lightly. Considering that it was simple enough to do, they began moving further up the ramp, the top of which was six feet up.

"Okay, this one's for real," Felina said before they got started. "Next time we won't use the ramp anymore, but the rail. I'll tell you about that later- for the moment, I want you to do as I do. From anywhere higher than you are, you're going to want to roll in order to break your fall."

The Deputy Mayor nodded, though she wanted to skip the later part with the rail, whatever that meant. "I understand," she said in a serene voice.

Felina smirked and said, "You do? Then jump. I'll be right behind you…"

Callie looked towards the former Enforcer with a raised eyebrow. "Well sorry… if you'd just show me how instead of being a smart-ass…"

The mercenary smiled and jumped, landing as she had earlier before smoothly transitioning into a roll onto her right shoulder, effectively breaking the fall. She ended up in a position where she could keep running if she wanted to. She looked behind her and said, "Well? Does that look easy to you?"

Callie looked down for a brief moment, wondering whether or not she should answer that. Then she shrugged to herself and jumped. The landing was solid, but she rolled off of her left shoulder instead. It still worked, regardless of which side she used. The Deputy Mayor stood and said, "Are we going higher?"

Felina shook her head and said, "Not quite yet. We might do that when you're ready for it. But for the moment though, let me teach you the next step here. Now that you know how to land, let's learn how to run against the wall. This is used mostly for getting past objects that are otherwise in your way, or to get to a higher point without the annoying use of a ladder. Climbing is too slow- what I'm teaching you are mobility and efficiency."

Callie nodded and said softly, "I don't understand, but I'm sure I will soon."

Her teacher nodded and said, "Good girl. Let's start with a wall jump. There are a lot of uses for it, and therefore it's easy to do. Watch me carefully."

The wall she headed for was toward her left side, and so Felina ran towards the wall in question, leaped at an angle, briefly planted her left foot against it, and pushed off. She landed in a roll since she was so high up, and dusted herself off. "Right, think you can do that?"

Callie nodded. Unfortunately, she wasn't all that sure, but she would try. Before she moved however, the itch between her shoulder blades started up, making her halt before the first step was finished. Whenever that happened, it was never, ever good.

"I… I don't think I'm ready for this. I mean, what if I slip?"

Felina smiled. "That always happens when you're trying this for your first time. I've got you if you do."

Callie looked towards Felina with uncertainty. "All right, whatever you say."

She breathed, and sprinted toward the wall. Jumping off of her right foot, she planted her left foot on the wall… and felt it give. Her body reacted on sheer instinct and pushed off before disaster struck. Sure it meant that the takeoff wouldn't be as high, but she still remembered to land and roll.

Felina raised an eyebrow and said, "Not bad for a start. Your footwork needs to be faster, though. You need to push off the moment that foot hits the wall. Run at the wall from where you are now- try using your right foot."

She did. And this time, it was better. Either she was right-footed, or her timing was getting better. But Felina had to make sure… "Okay, now left."

Callie moved yet again, but this time her confidence had been bolstered by success. She planted her left foot and immediately pushed off. As she landed in a roll, Callie quickly rose up and jogged to a halt. She dusted herself off and said, "Well then, do we move on?"

Felina shook her head. "Nope, keep practicing. If you have to keep asking whether to move on or not, then that means you're nowhere near ready. What you need to do is try and make each jump off of the wall higher and farther for yourself. It's not going to happen today though, so we're going to practice now. Do enough of them, and I'll show you a new move."

Callie sighed. She just wouldn't get a break, would she? And so she continued practicing, some jumps higher, some farther, but not all were consistent. Still, she had the basic movement down. Soon, they began with two feet- from the left, it was with the right foot first, then the left for the jump. It was odd, but Callie had a somewhat easier time with it the more she did it.

By the time their little session was over, Callie managed to go up to four steps, right foot first, with a takeoff at the end and a proper landing followed by a roll. Felina found that she didn't need to teach her much else. "Okay, that's enough for now- we both have some _actual_ work to do. Tell you what- keep practicing anywhere you can, build up your strength, and we'll see what you can come up with next time."

The Deputy Mayor raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean by anywhere?"

Felina smirked. "Anywhere that's _outside in an open space_. It wouldn't be right to do it indoors. But other than that, if you can get enough of these techniques down, there's nowhere that's inaccessible to you. Just don't use 'em for anything bad, or I'll have to come after you myself."

Callie smiled and nodded. "It's a done deal!"

As if Callie hadn't worked out already, for the next few days she started picking up the pace as Felina began demanding more of her. It wasn't like she minded- the she-kat was a tough individual, but so was the Deputy Mayor. By the time four days had passed, Felina soon had her trainee doing seven and eight-step wall runs, taught her how to run up a wall instead of along it in order to get to higher access points faster, and how to leap from one point to another with precision. They worked on her balance, two feet and all fours, vaulting over obstacles, and whatever else they could manage in the space of a parking lot.

By the end of the week… the parking lot wasn't enough. It was fortunate then that Felina had the whole weekend off and didn't have to call in sick, because they would go on their first run. At first, Callie had assumed that it would be just a jog, but it wasn't that way for long.

It turned from a jog… to a chase.

Starting from one of the alleyways near KatGuard headquarters, Felina began going into a mad sprint, running up the side of the right brick wall and hopping from one side of the alley to the other. Their little Saturday run was starting to go _up_ instead of forward. Following her atop the roofs, Callie didn't think twice about running after her, leaping from one building to another.

They ended up balancing precariously on top of a wall roughly four inches wide before turning and leaping onto a nearby building, one foot on the edge while the other barely caught the wall. Was it intentional? Of course it was. Before they managed to reach the next roof however, Callie began taking a different route, climbing upwards further wherever she could reach before she finally descended onto her opponent, tackling her from above.

The good news was that it didn't hurt all that much. The bad news was…

"You're it," Callie said with a grin.

Felina grinned. "Better run, then!"

And thus, the chase was on again.

* * *

Chance and Jake were not always busy on the weekends, but today they were. Not with cars or piles of junk, or even working out. No, today they were the SWAT Kats, and today they were out flying high above MegaKat Bay. Those that were near the area watched as the TurboKat performed feats that they had never seen executed before, at least from that jet. The twin vectoring nozzles of the F-119s performed just as they should as the TurboKat leapt upwards at an extreme angle and with an almost impossible speed.

"**Whooooo**! Damn, this is hot!"

T-Bone was certainly having fun, that was for sure. The new onboard flight systems moved the nozzles whenever the big tom moved the stick, and thus the TurboKat was now one of the most damned agile things in the skies. Not to mention the added thrust from the new third engine… he _had_ to test it out, and the weekend was the perfect time to do it.

"Holy shit," Razor said just as excitedly. "These new engines are insane! You know what, I bet we could go to the _moon_ with these damn things; the Speed of Heat turbines would get us there in no time flat."

T-Bone grinned and said, "Don't tempt me like that buddy! You just might have me try it! But let's find out what our service ceiling is now…"

And upward they climbed, ever higher into the stratosphere. Upwards of 80,000 feet, they were pretty much defying more than gravity at that point. Their engines were not stalling yet… but then again, they've been this high before. With the nose pointing straight up, they continued punching a hole in the sky, heading further above the clouds.

"T-Bone," Razor said warily, "Don't do what I think you're gonna do…"

He was lucky that Razor couldn't see his grin. "I don't hear an alarm yet. Hell, we might not even need the Speed of Heat… I'm giving it everything we got! Put your mask on just in case, Razor… It might get intense real quick!"

The throttle was punched to full, and the engines happily roared to life. No afterburner, no extra juice, just pure, full on muscle. And they climbed higher, at a much faster rate. The maximum altitude and stall alarms were silent. T-Bone grinned fiercely. Oh, this was sick.

Razor caught on quickly as they reached the limits of the stratosphere. "Hell with it," he said into the radio built into his mask, "Let's tear it up!"

Three buttons were pressed in rapid succession in the pilot's seat, and soon four extra rockets emerged. The heat shield quickly covered the glass, and although it did pretty well on its own, the extra protection helped. The final touch was the whine of the turbines… the Speed of Heat.

They barely felt the air pass by as the TurboKat went sub-orbital…. And then went higher, farther, faster.

"Damn, we might as well hang out here for a while, Razor," T-Bone said in amazement. "We still have plenty of fuel left. Unless I miss my guess, we're in low earth orbit, right? I think that's enough of a test for now. How about we shut the engines down?"

And they did. It was entirely quiet in the cockpit, and the glass was completely still. No cracks, no breaks, just pristine clarity. Razor was impressed. "I think the Aquians did a hell of a job with the upgrades to the TurboKat. This glass is pretty damn impressive. Also, normally we'd be pretty much without air at this point, but the pressure systems are working a hell of a lot better than I figured they would. Not to mention the jet can handle re-entry without a problem. At least, I think so."

T-Bone intoned, "How about we settle that dispute later? I'm busy taking in the sights…"

Razor was soon silent as well, and the cockpit was pretty much serene. The stars winked silently at them, as if there were some secret message to speak of out there in the void. The two of them could never guess, and they wouldn't try to either.

It was all of five minutes later that T-Bone said, "Know what? I wish Callie were here right now. I want to show her this… Not just because I owe her a ride in the TurboKat, but just to show her that I'd do anything for her. Know what I mean, buddy?"

Razor nodded and said, "Yeah… we both have she-kats down there that are waiting for us. I gotta tell you, I thought you were crazy at first, taking us all the way up here, but it really puts things in perspective. If we can do all this with just the TurboKat… we can do _anything_ we damn well want."

T-Bone nodded and said, "Took me a while to get the balls for this, but I'm gonna ask her out tomorrow. If it doesn't work, then hell- it doesn't work. But if it does…"

The slim kat reached over and grabbed his big buddy's shoulder reassuringly. "It will, dude. I'm betting she was just waiting for a response from you in the first place. Don't know what you were so slow about, but I'm glad you decided to get a move on. I mean, we deserve lives too, right?"

His big buddy shook his head. "I dunno, man… I was just waiting for the right time. I'm not about to go rushing into this, y'know? Callie is kind of like me in that way. She doesn't do things without really thinking about it hard first. Still… I gotta do _something_ about her, or she's gonna drive me crazy."

Razor nodded and said, "Roger that. Let's get back to the garage- the game's probably on!"

T-Bone grinned and said, "Hell yeah! I sure hope Felina can come over- she's probably gonna owe me twenty bucks!"

The engines roared to life once again, and the TurboKat headed back towards terra firma.

* * *

"Wow," Felina said as she took another bite of the meal set before her, "I didn't know you were such a good cook, Callie! I swear, I could eat here every day and be the happiest kat alive!"

The Deputy Mayor grinned and said, "I'd have to make you pay room and board for that. Besides, you've got your own place- don't go eyeing mine just because I'm good at making lunch!"

The Deputy Mayor's apartment was more of a loft than anything else- a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment that was quite spacious- a total of 1,046 square feet. A high ceiling and a balcony made the place quite expansive, and as befitting her station she was decked out with all the latest accommodations. Yet and still, she saved enough money for a rainy day, and by now that had piled up considerably.

It was how she had gotten to where she was now- or at least, one of the many steps she had taken in her life. And how here was Felina Feral, who had asked to come inside after a hard day's work.

'I have never,' she realized, 'had anyone come over before, have I? It's kinda nice.'

"So," Felina said as she sat back, relaxing for a brief moment from her meal, "what do you want to do next? I mean, you've pretty much got it down, except for the more advanced stuff. And even that is based on the basics, so you could find out yourself."

Callie placed a finger on her chin. That was an interesting question- what did they do now? She shrugged after a few moments and said, "To be perfectly honest, I want to spend the day inside, doing nothing but lounging outside on the balcony and watching TV. The reason is simple: there's nothing else to do today. No work, no meetings, no hassles- the Mayor has his own little things to take care of for once, so he doesn't need me. That new building project and the reconstruction of the warehouses are well underway, so that's clear… all I really have to do is hang out with _you_ all day," she said with a warm smile.

Felina raised an eyebrow and said, "You mean, me and Chance and Jake."

Callie blushed slightly. "No, I don't."

Felina poked her good friend in the shoulder and said, "Yes, you _do_. You might as well admit it- they're both incredibly handsome. Sure, Chance is a bit too big for my tastes, but he's still hot. Besides, we have their number- why not go for it? And don't give me that waiting for the right time thing- there is no right time, and you know it."

The Deputy Mayor sighed and said, "Hell, we might as well. It's better than being bored all day, right?"

But something didn't feel right… there was a part of her that thought things were simply out of place. It would be too convenient for them to be there at this time, right? _Nothing_ was that easy, or that perfect. She sat right back down and shook her head. "Sorry, I can't. Not now, anyway. Besides, they might not even _be_ there! Look, let's just watch movies, okay?"

Felina shrugged and said, "Whatever you say, Callie-kat. Just remember- he's patient, but he's not that patient. A tom like that doesn't come around too often."

She _knew_ that, dammit! She just… didn't think it was the right time.

'Wait a minute… the right time?'

Her eyes widened as if a sudden jolt ran through her. A sudden realization hit her, one that she hadn't thought of before. Was _he_ waiting as well? It would make sense, certainly- he seemed to be the type of tom that would wait for most things to come his way, and when he acted it always seemed to be at the right time.

She knew because it was how she thought as well. She wouldn't be surprised if all that money he had left over from the upgrades to the TurboKat was sitting somewhere calmly right now, waiting to be piled on top of.

'Then _I'll_ have to do something about it,' she mused to herself. Still, she would stick with her decision about not calling them today. No, that would be bad timing. Tomorrow- tomorrow, she would ask Chance Furlong out to dinner, and they would talk about everything and nothing. More than likely he would just stare at her, as she sometimes caught him doing, and she would be just fine with that- his eyes were beautiful.

Callie made a few notes in her head about reservations, how much it would cost in general, and where they would go after. She didn't know much about him, but now was a chance to find out. Besides, Felina had a point. This wouldn't last forever unless she took a step forward.

'She doesn't have to know now, though,' she thought to herself. 'I'll let her find out, play-by-play, after the night is over.'

The Deputy Mayor stifled a giggle. This would be fun.

* * *

The next morning, Chance woke up in his bed, same as every day, and made sure he was prepared for what lay ahead of him. To be honest, he was somewhat nervous, still afraid that it wouldn't fly, that he would not be able to get the words out right. But then again, he thought he was pretty good at getting the point across when he wanted to.

Oh, how he wanted to.

There was just one problem. As he reached for the phone, he remembered that he didn't have Callie's number. Just about smacking himself on the forehead, he started pulling his hand back before the damn thing rang. Raising an eyebrow, he picked up and gave his usual greeting.

"MegaKat Auto and Body Shop, this is Chance speaking…"

A familiar giggle was heard on the other end of the line. "Wow, how formal of you! You certainly do know how to operate a business don't you?"

Chance blinked. "Callie? Hey! I was just about to call you- but why are you up this early?"

The she-kat replied, "If I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me. Anyways, I was calling to ask you if you wanted to spend a bit of time away from that claustrophobic garage for a while. You know, get some fresh air. I've got some reservations tonight at the Moonlight Café- I was wondering if you wanted to come along. You don't have to call it a date, but…"

Chance cut in with a chuckle. "You wanna know something funny? I was about to ask _you_ to go with _me_, only I didn't have anywhere planned and I didn't have your number."

There was a pause on the other line. Callie was lucky that he couldn't see her blush! "…Oh."

He shook his head and said, "What time do you want me to pick you up?"

The Deputy Mayor seemed to get her bearings again and said, "First of all, you are not picking anyone up because you don't have the means to do so. I'll pick you up myself. Second, be ready by 6:00 in the evening. And third…"

She paused again. What else was she going to say?

Chance filled in the blank for her. "…It's a _date_ then, Callie. See you later."

He hung up and let the information sink in for a moment before grinning widely. He hadn't even had to do anything. Were things really that simple?

"Buddy," he yelled as he made his way back towards his room, "Wake your ass up! You won't believe what I have to tell you…"

Jake however, was already awake. He had heard the phone ringing, but Chance had gotten it before he could, so he was busy in the training room, warming up on the metal plate next to the entrance. There were no dents in the damn thing yet, because Jake was starting out light, but by the end of the month there probably would be, probably due to the bigger tom being too rough on it.

As he was called from his light pounding, Jake raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm back here! What is it?"

The door opened and Jake beheld the widest grin he had ever seen on his partner. Jake grinned as well. "It worked, didn't it?"

Chance laughed, "The weird part is that I didn't have to do anything- she called _me_ and asked me out! I was gonna do it first, but I found out that I didn't have her number, but man did I ever get lucky! Can you believe that we've been all this time without having her damn number? I sure as hell can't…"

Jake nodded and said, "Well you're gonna have to find something else to wear, because you ain't wearin' _that_ to a date."

What, with the clothes he had on now, it wouldn't make a good show. Chance laughed and said, "Yeah, you got a point. I'm getting my _good_ clothes- then we'll see what's up."

By the time he was done picking what he would wear, the morning had already started out in proper fashion. Today they had more cars than usual to work on, but the time seemed to slip by as Chance was busying himself with what he would say, what he'd talk about, and everything else in between. Whenever he talked to Jake about it though, the slim kat would just shake his head and say, "Look, just be yourself, all right? She's not here for anyone else, right?"

It was ironic that Jake couldn't find enough words to say most of the time, yet he didn't offer any advice besides a few key words that were entirely fitting.

Pretty soon though, it was just about time to call it in. They got done just in time as Chance looked at the clock above the door to the lounge. "Half an hour left. Shit! I gotta get ready…"

He rushed toward the back and put on what he would wear- a pair of somewhat formal black jeans, with a dark brown shirt and a soft leather coat that had the hem at mid-thigh. A pair of black gloves was worn as well, and a pair of shades adorned his eyes, thin-framed and stylish. The boots were a deep brown as well, and had a slight sheen to them in the available light.

With that, he walked outside. Jake's eyes widened as he beheld his best bud all decked out and ready for an evening on the town. "_Holy shit_- who are you and what have you done with Chance?"

The big tom grinned and said, "Chance isn't here right now- he's in la-la land dreaming about his girl. I'm here as his replacement for his date."

The two toms touched their fists together as he walked by. "Sweep her off her feet, big guy," Jake said as his friend left for the night of his life. But Chance Furlong didn't have a clue about what he was about to face as Calico Briggs pulled up and stepped out of her sedan fifteen minutes later, wearing a dress that was almost literally the color of the moon itself- a pale silver that was a stark contrast to her creamy fur.

'Oh my God… she's _beautiful_.'

She had the same thought- blacks and browns complimented him, suited his frame and his personality. She wanted to hug him, to hide her face in that jacket of his and share his warmth. Some sort of instinct within her cried out for it. But for now, she said the only words she could.

"Shall we?"

Chance nodded. "You bet, Miss. Let's go."

* * *

**Chapter 17: **_**Determination and Drive**_

I swear, I've been watching too many parkour videos and playing too much Assassin's Creed. The opening to this chapter was based mostly on those. For those who wanted to see an advance on the Chance & Callie pairing, here is your opening! The next two chapters will attempt to solidify their relationship even further.

As for the attraction between them, here's what I think. The producers and animators and all that may not have noticed it, but there are specific traits that each one of the main characters displays. See, I'm kind of an amateur astrologer. I find that I'm good at it. And I see certain things in the characters that most do not. Here is my attempt to explain, without too much fuss.

**Chance Furlong (**_**Taurus) - **_Let's face it, the guy is a ladies' man, and he would rather wait for things to come to him than actively get at them. When he does go for something, he will more than likely stick to it through whatever; rain, sleet, snow, hurricanes and earthquakes. He's a big, well-built guy, and not much moves him once he's set.

**Calico Briggs (**_**Cancer) - **_Hell yes, she is the motherly type. She has to clean up after Mayor Manx after all, and she certainly takes care of the city more than he does. Her determination and will are offset by her moments when she's tender and caring, especially to the SWAT Kats. As stated earlier, she's a direct descendant of Callista, which means she's got a quite powerful intuition, which is most of the time right. She also knows how to make and save money. Chance's equal as far as sheer grit and sentimentality.

**Jake Clawson (**_**Gemini) - **_Dude moves and talks at a mile a minute, and not aimlessly; he does get his point across and knows how to turn a phrase or two. His impressive manual dexterity combined with his sharp mind makes him a genius inventor, and they're also the reason why he's called "sure shot" by Chance. He's also a charmer- almost more so than his bigger buddy.

**Felina Feral (**_**Aries) - **_She has no lack of will or drive, and plenty of eagerness to lead. Sure she's impulsive; yes, she's fiery; but she's also the best, and she knows it. Refusing to be denied in anything, she strides forward with enterprise and boldness. Jake's equal in her desire to go in new directions, as well as having an equally sharp mind (when she's not too excited or angry).

I'd name the others, but I have space to fill with appreciation for my reviewers.

**Raiden Snake**, once again you have demonstrated the ability to write a good review, both in positive and negative connotations. I have already sent my response to you earlier, but let me say it again- thank you for sticking with this! It is unfortunate that you don't like the baddies dying, but let me say this yet again- this is called _Endgame_ for a reason. **RaidenSilversword**, this one does indeed go out to you, and I'll be sure to read that new chapter. As for my style, I try to make it as detailed as I can. That way, everyone can sit themselves in a character's boots. **GeekGirl2**, thank you for standing by your ficwriter! Don't worry too much about Callie- I'll get into it with her later.

And on that note… THIRTY REVIEWS! Holy… fucking… shit. When did _that_ happen? Seriously, thank you!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	18. I'm Alive

The place was filled with all sorts of characters. Everyone was dressed in their finest, and while it wasn't exactly a black-tie affair, it was close. However, Chance Furlong definitely blended in well enough, and he looked presentable at the very least. The other kats didn't even know he was there, except when they saw him with the Deputy Mayor.

None of them however, scoffed at his clothing. In fact, it wasn't bad at all- it suited him, some of them said. He simply acknowledged with a nod or a short thank you. He wasn't here for them- he was here for her, the she-kat in the silver dress who seemed to catch more eyes than he wanted on her. Still, he wasn't a jealous tom. She wasn't even his- not yet, anyway. Oh, how he wished she were, though.

They sat at the table reserved for them and she sighed in contentment. "I love this place," Callie said after looking around briefly. "It's nice and comfortable, without being pretentious or snooty. It's a nice place for conversation, too…"

Chance nodded and said, "Yup. Too bad I don't have much to talk about…"

She leaned forward, resting her chin against the backs of her hands. "I'm sure you have plenty to say- you just have to get relaxed enough to bring it out. It's okay if you don't want to say anything now, though. Silence can speak louder than any conversation sometimes."

Chance chuckled and said, "You wouldn't be that interested. There are only three things I'd talk about- cars, jets, and comic books. And I've been all about those since I was a kid."

The Deputy Mayor smiled and replied smoothly, "Try me. You'd be surprised."

After raising an eyebrow suspiciously, he shrugged and said, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

"So like I was saying, we were right in the thick of it, about to bust open their whole operation, when Feral says to hold our position and wait for backup! Seriously, you think he's a glory hog much? Not like I was doing it for glory. The stuff they were pushing was high-grade; we had to get it off the streets."

Callie nodded and said, "I understand, Chance. Sometimes you have to disregard orders in order to do the right thing. So you moved in anyway?"

Chance grimaced and said, "Unfortunately, no. We had to wait for proper backup, so we waited. Pissed me off to no end, though- they got away as soon as they heard the sirens. See, this was back in the day when Mac and Molly Mange were on the Most Wanted list, and kats don't get there for any ol' reason. They were smart as hell- had an escape route planned and blew the warehouse sky high."

The Deputy Mayor hissed sympathetically and said, "Was anyone hurt?"

Chance sighed and said, "No. Everyone got out all right, but Feral had a field day with it. We were lucky that he didn't blame _us_ for it- he had told us to wait for backup, but backup wasn't there fast enough." He shook his head and said, "That was the problem with being a hero in the Enforcers- you couldn't because there were too many rules and orders to follow."

She nodded and said, "Not to mention you lost all that evidence."

The big tom nodded and said, "We'd have put them away for good if Feral hadn't told me to wait. And you wanna know what the real pain in the ass was? Feral was the one who caught them anyway. I suppose I should have been proud- they were gone, their drugs were gone, and their mob was disbanded. Turned back into common crooks that were easily caught. But I wasn't, because I could have snagged them at that time and place."

Callie placed a hand on Chance's and rubbed the back of his knuckles consolingly. He smiled, and it was all she wanted to see.

"So many things went wrong back then," she said softly, "And all you wanted to be was one of the good kats, just like in those comic books. But when you finally decided to do so, you paid for it… I know it wasn't exactly as per the rules, but you guys did the right thing."

The big tom still looked so down, though as he replied, "Yeah… a lot of good the right thing did us. But hey, doesn't mean that the system's wrong or anything- I still believe in it. It's just that the Enforcers could use a bit more manpower and a bit less ego."

Callie giggled. He did have a point. That was usually the problem- Feral's pride usually got in the way of asking for any feasible help- too much ego and not enough cunning tactics. Still, he did ask when it suited him, and relied on them when he knew perfectly well he couldn't handle something. Those times were rare, of course.

"He's not all that bad," she said as she still stroked the back of his hand, almost in a lazy fashion. It was as if her hand was quite comfortable there, and didn't want to move unless it memorized every inch of the skin and fur it touched. "He's a lot bolder than you think. Most of the normal situations, he can take care of. It's just the big problems that he has a hard time with. But you have to give it to him for trying anyway."

Chance shrugged. "I guess so. I don't see how you can put up with him…"

She shook her head and said, "I _don't_ most of the time. But I see where he's coming from."

The big tom smiled and said, "You try to understand so many people… I wonder if you even understand yourself sometimes. No offense, or anything, just-"

She was silent, eerily so. Chance raised an eyebrow and said, "Hey, I didn't mean anything bad, Callie."

She shook her head and said, "I know. You just… said something I didn't expect. I guess…" she looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled coyly. "I guess I don't entirely understand myself. I'm starting to, though. It's harder than it looks, but I have people helping me. You're one of them, you know, even if you don't realize it."

Chance chuckled and said, "Thanks for the reassurances, but I don't do much besides hang out with you. Sure I might say a clever thing now and then, but I don't really help all that much."

She was silent, simply staring at him for the longest time through her eyelashes. Chance stared back, partly confused, yet partly entranced. Her green eyes seemed to darken as they peered at him through the makeshift veils. That wasn't to say they didn't do the trick, though- they were just handy to have around.

"Quit looking at me like that," the big tom intoned.

"Why?" Callie said, just as softly.

He shook his head, collecting his thoughts for a moment. "When you look at me that way, I don't know what to talk about. The only thing I can do is just stare back, and all the words are gone."

She did not break away, the second hand joining the first so that both of them were lightly holding on. "Then maybe," she said with yet another shy, yet all-too-knowing smile, "You shouldn't say anything at all. I said before… silence can say more than any piece of conversation."

He wanted to kiss her like nothing else at the moment, but all he could do was raise her hand to his lips and touch them briefly to it. Callie was, for lack of a better term, moved. Who knew that such a gentleman was right under her nose all this time? She blinked back her tears and said in what was almost a purr, "I would have you say that again, but later. Our food's coming."

Chance Furlong grinned and said, "That's fine. This isn't the place to have that kind of… conversation anyway."

With that, dinner was served.

* * *

Callie laughed as Chance recalled, in near-perfect detail, a particular episode of Scaredy Kat in which our quite clumsy hero just about literally crawled out of his skin because his own shadow had poked him on his right shoulder. "You should have seen the look on his face! It was classic- one of the best moments ever!" 

She shook her head and said, "Too much! Why does Jake not like all this?"

The big tom wiped a tear from his right eye and said, "'Cause he's a party pooper at times. I mean he's a good kat, but seriously, he needs to lighten up sometimes. He watches too much _David Litterbin_, if you ask me. Not that I don't like that show too, but there's more on TV than that."

Callie rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, well…"

Then she looked up and observed the stars that winked at them in the sky, eternally distant, and was speechless. Chance looked up with her and sighed contently. He remembered the night before when he saw all those stars from a closer vantage point- it was what gave him the idea to ask her out in the first place. But now, her he was with her hosting him.

The silence was broken with, "Hey, you wanna go somewhere else? I know a place where we could see all this better," from Callie.

Chance raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, sure thing."

They drove off and headed for what could be considered the most secluded location in the city at the moment, MegaKat Memorial Graveyard. There, upon the highest hill they could find, they lay on the grass and observed the heavens in all their vast glory.

Silence reigned for all of five minutes. A cool breeze washed over them, and while Chance seemed unaffected, Callie took the opportunity to snuggle into his leather jacket. She realized that it truly was warm, and he really was cozy. The Deputy Mayor did not hesitate to wrap her arms around the big tom, and just the simple action of her cuddling up to him made Chance Furlong purr.

"You know," he said softly as he ran his fingers through the she-kat's blonde locks, "I saw these same stars last night. Looking at them all, I couldn't help but think about you. I didn't know why they made me think of you, but they did. I think if I could, I'd try and show them to you from a better angle than this."

She smiled and said, "Now I know what I saw in you… you're too sweet for words."

He smirked and said, "Only for you, Callie. I'd cuss anyone else out."

She began to crawl up his well-built frame, as if she couldn't get enough contact. Her pulse raced beneath her skin and her green eyes took on the oddest shine. She didn't notice, and if she did, she would not care any time soon.

"Promise me," she whispered.

Chance smiled and said, "I promise. I'll even seal that deal, if you want."

The Deputy Mayor- no, that wasn't right. She was not the Deputy Mayor tonight, no one special or important. The moon was full, the stars were out in their full force, and she was feeling like… herself. She was Calico Briggs, a she-kat with too many worries and not enough people to take them from her shoulders. And now, here was a tom that was giving himself to her, free of charge or obligation.

"Allow me," she said with a purr before she kissed him.

_From underneath the trees, we watch the sky  
__Confusing stars for satellites  
__I never dreamed that you'd be mine  
__But here we are; we're here tonight_

Chance wasn't surprised this time. Twice, they had kissed. Twice, Callie had done this to him, entirely upset him and sent his senses spinning. The third time, he wasn't just ready for it- he was expecting it. Thus with a slow, almost practiced ease, his hands wrapped around the she-kat's lower back, running along the fabric of the dress as they moved up her sides.

The part about his senses spinning was a natural side effect, and one that he could get used to. Hell, it was one that he _wanted_ to get used to, and he'd take all the time he needed to do so.

_Singing Amen, I, I'm alive  
__Singing Amen, I, I'm alive!_

Callie's tail swung back and forth lazily as she aimed to get as much as she could out of this tom, this treasure that she had found buried in the rubble of a scrap yard. She sought to comfort, to hold him until he couldn't take it anymore, and to kiss him out of his mind. And yet at the same time, her efforts were being thwarted by his hands as they trailed between her breasts and hips, stroking her sides with a patience that was maddening.

Suddenly, the cold didn't matter as she purred yet again, the content murmur seen as a sign of things to come. Their tongues dueled; fought for control and position, yet neither cared who won.

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
__If everyone loved and nobody lied  
__If everyone shared and swallowed their pride,  
__Then we'd see the day… when nobody died, and I'm singing_

_Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive  
__Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive_

Chance wanted to break the kiss, the contact that sent shocks up and down his skin and shivers along his spine. But he couldn't seem to do so, only gaining a breath of air every now and then. The single drop of water that had fallen so long ago was turning into a wave now, and there was little he could do to stave it off, much less stop it.

'Hell, I don't know if I _want_ to,' he mused in his pleasurable haze.

One hand managed to reach towards her hips, stroking softly, guided only by instinct and nothing more. The instinct was nothing so base as wanting to take her outright- it was more an instinct of wanting to explore, and at the same time to hold her and comfort her as best he could. Soon, that same hand reached for her tail, interested in how it felt under his fingertips, and thus he ran it along its length.

Callie shivered and the purr turned into a moan. She seemed to press further into him, as if she weren't close enough. No, it was never close enough for her.

_And in the air the fireflies  
__Our only light in paradise  
__We'll show the world they were wrong  
__And teach them all to sing along_

The soft touch of his hands soon caused her to break the kiss momentarily, taking in as much air as she could. Her cheeks were flushed, her body was nice and warm at the moment, and everything seemed to be alive in the night. The silver dress winked and shone in the moonlight, making her seem as if she herself belonged in the sky instead of in his arms.

It was too much, all of it. But she couldn't get enough- not nearly. Her emotions seemed to boil free from her usual calm surface, and she simply stared at him for a brief moment. Her eyes shone oddly, a pair of emeralds in the night. They had a decidedly… hungry look to them.

"I want you so bad right now," she said softly, "But I would rather hold you than tear you apart."

Chance chuckled and said, "With the way you're looking at me right now, you already are."

How could a simple sentence like that have her come undone entirely? She leaned down to kiss him again, but decided to deviate from her path and nibble on his right ear. Chance groaned softly, his left hand playing with her tail again while his right stroked along her back. This was getting to be a desperate situation.

_Singing Amen, I, I'm alive  
__Singing Amen, I, I'm alive!_

Once again, the big tom was burned within, liquid fire running through his veins. Every kiss was skillfully executed, another strike against his heart. He had no way to strike back besides his hands, saying more than his lips could at the moment. But with her purrs and soft sighs echoing in his ears, he knew he was on the right track.

He continued playing with her tail, making her shiver deliciously. "That is driving me _up the wall_, Chance," she sighed into his ear. "A she-kat could get used to this. Just… slow down, please."

The big tom raised an eyebrow and said, "This _is_ slow for me."

Callie gasped as his left hand reached for her soft ass and squeezed softly. Any other time, she would kick his ass for it- but right now, she didn't much care. It felt so _right_ for him to do that. In this case, she moaned instead and relaxed entirely, her tail stiffening before it seemed to limp back into a relaxed position.

"You have no idea," Chance said in a low purr, "What you do to me every day. I figure I'd show you…"

Her breathing was shallow, barely controlled. She was starting to come apart, and she didn't think she would mind when she did. Chance's skilled hands played a symphony of sensations along her skin, playing havoc on her nerves. She kissed him again, and this time as if she meant to eat him whole. Something had come loose… not entirely snapped yet, but her grip on her sense of self was starting to slacken.

The dress was no obstacle; it didn't even need to come off for her to get excited. "Oh, God…"

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
__If everyone loved and nobody lied  
__If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
__Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

Chance raised a hand towards Callie's right ear, scratching just at the base of her skull. A quite noticeable shiver runs through her- an immediate sweet spot. She purred, long and loud, as her ears and tail lowered in sheer bliss. She settled onto his chest softly, a light pressure on his frame. Her hips managed to press against his, grinding gently as she attempted to get more comfortable. They both moaned softly, but her moan was quickly turned to a purr again as the scratching continued.

'I swear, I'm going to go to sleep soon,' she mused lazily.

Chance chuckled and said, "You wanna get somewhere a little more comfortable? It's too late for me to get back to the garage- if Jake did what I asked him to, he closed up shop."

Callie nodded lazily, though she was entirely too comfortable to move at the moment. She could see his point though. The she-kat didn't want him to have to sleep outside. "Mmmmmm, I'll drive," she said with an all-too-lazy smile. She sounded drunk, but Chance could smell nothing on her- she was entirely sober, drunk only by her own emotions and the pleasure that he had given her.

Hopefully, there was more to follow. They had all night.

_And as we lie beneath the stars  
__We realize how small we are  
__If they could love like you and me  
__Imagine what the world could be_

They got into the car and Callie started the engines, looking towards Chance with those same green eyes, shining faintly. They were nowhere near done with this; not by a long shot. With that, she drove towards her apartment, hoping to get there before this buzz of hers wore off.

Chance chuckled and said, "Hey, slow down. We got the whole night ahead of us."

Callie looked towards him for a brief moment and said, "Usually, I would agree. But right now, I'm entirely too hot and bothered to care about how much of the night we have left. Do me a favor and stop talking for a moment- I need to focus." She licked her lips as she crossed another intersection, heading deeper into the city. The orange haze of the street lights returned, but she couldn't see them, in a sense.

'I want to take him _home_,' a part of her mind marveled, 'And after the first date too. Am I entirely insane?'

She was. But not in the way she figured she was.

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
__If everyone loved and nobody lied  
__If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
__Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

Within an hour, they were at the apartment. Callie did indeed take a moment to slow down, but just to slide into her parking space. With that, she gently led Chance to the elevators inside, waving to the doorman for a moment before she did so.

The elevator closed, and just before it did she could be seen backing him up against the back wall, hands threading into his jacket and sliding it off. Once they were headed upstairs, she started kissing him yet again, hands hooking under his arms and latching behind his shoulders. Her teeth gently bit and tugged at Chance's bottom lip, trying to coax him to action.

And he was coaxed, all right. Slightly lifting her left leg, he pulled her closer, giving her the invitation she was looking for. Waiting was now officially over. She twined that left leg behind his right and held him fast, bending his head down slightly to deepen the kiss. She was burning up in this dress- it needed to come off soon.

The elevator bell sounded off just as Chance twined his fingers in Callie's hair, forcing them to reluctantly part ways again. "The next time we do that," he said with a chuckle, "We're going to stay that way, you hear me? No more on and off."

She laughed and said, "You read my mind there, Chance. We're almost there…"

_We'd see the day, we'd see the day  
__When nobody died  
__We'd see the day, we'd see the day  
__When nobody died  
__We'd see the day when nobody died!_

And with that, they entered the loft, key unlatching the lock in one swift movement. Said key went right back into her purse as she headed into the foyer, Chance trailing her. "Damn, this is one hell of a place… mind if I take a look around?"

Callie nodded as she headed up the stairs just to her left, toward the Master Bedroom. "Go ahead. I need to take this dress off anyway.

And with that, they parted ways for the moment, Chance taking his jacket off and hooking it onto his right elbow. As he walked past the foyer, he happened upon the kitchen, just to his left. It looked like a rather high-tech place, and he liked high-tech. Sure he could work low-tech just as easily, but this was quite a setup.

Continuing onward, he found himself in the dining room- if one could call it that. It was just more space that was being used to greatest efficiency. A table was near the kitchen, close to the wall but not close enough for any chairs to bump into it. It was round and seated at least six, perfect for a decent-sized meal.

To the left of the dining table was another set of stairs which led towards the second bedroom and bathroom, as well as a linen closet. He couldn't help but notice that all the good stuff was to the left… very interesting. Still, he moved on and found what he was really looking for.

"…Damn, she doesn't waste time with small stuff, does she?"

To the left of the balcony doors was a 32 inch, flat-screen high definition television that was mounted on the wall of all places. The couch rested against the back wall, big enough to seat at least four people. The entertainment system was just below it, entirely decked out with all the latest features. _This_ was what he was talking about right here.

Overall, Callie's loft was expansive, to say the least- a fine place to hang one's hat, with a lot of space. It was the kind of big, wide open area that he figured he would live in one day. Of course, he wanted his own- he wouldn't dare inconvenience the love of his life.

Speaking of Callie…

"Done with the tour?"

Chance turned and simply stopped dead in his tracks. Callie was decked out in a black, sheer, lace-trimmed negligee that stopped at mid-calf, with iridescent, pearl-colored silk lingerie underneath. Her body was a thing of wonder- someone definitely had fun when they planned Calico Briggs out. But what made it quite interesting, what made her stand out… was that she no longer had her glasses on.

She was already pretty with her glasses, but without them she was an entirely different she-kat. Without being obstructed by the frames, her emerald eyes stood out even more. She was strikingly beautiful.

"Oh, I'm _all_ the way done, Ms. Briggs," he said in a relaxed purr of a voice. "Damn… you look good enough to eat, to be perfectly honest."

She smiled softly and replied, "Quit flattering me like that- I might get used to it. Now come on- let's get to know each other a little better."

Gently, she led him by the hand towards the Master Bedroom, and soon enough he matched her in stride. Their tails crossed paths a few seconds later, and then as if on some kind of instinct, twined together as if they meant to stay that way for a while.

Oh, this was going to be one hell of an evening.

* * *

**Chapter 18- **_**I'm Alive**_

Nickelback for the win. Seriously, the lyrics to _If Everyone Cared_ had to be put in here! This was the perfect song for this pairing, and I had to just wait for the right time to strike. I tried to match it as best I could as the mood and scene changed, so bear with me here. I've only done this in one other fic, and it was successful thus far.

But the action is not over yet by a long shot. I have one more chapter of fluffy goodness to go. For those who are under the legal age to view these texts, _**get to gone**_. The next chapter will prove why this fic is rated M. You stick around and get caught by your folks, I'm not responsible.

And with that, it's time for… reviewer appreciation.

**GeekGirl2**! Yes, this is the date! Yes, that is the (third) kiss, and next chapter it _will _be on. I've been told I'm rather good at this… that's for you to judge, though. As for **RaidenSilversword**, sorry this one was so lightweight. I just couldn't get enough of it in one sitting- I had to break this one up. If you're wondering about the impromptu-seeming scene, read back a few chapters- this has been building up for a while now.

That goes for the rest of ya!

Right, well I'm off to bed now. I must save energy for next chapter. It's going to take all of my reserves to write it!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	19. Midnight in the Perfumed Garden

The morning sunrise painted the skyline of MegaKat City with all sorts of interesting colors. Shades of pink and rose and orange colored the sky, making it one quite elaborate painting. Green eyes were transfixed, observing the colors as they changed one after another. From the serene look on his face, one wouldn't think that he was a dangerous tom, but he was.

He wore the clothing that he had worn last night, seeing as he hadn't brought a change. There wasn't much to change into, really- he didn't have too many nice clothes except for the brown and black ensemble that he had on at the moment. But it seemed to be good enough for the moment.

Suddenly, the view of the sunrise was blocked out, and he saw nothing but darkness for a brief moment. And yet, he simply stood there, not moving, not flinching. The reason why became evident soon as a sultry, feminine feline purr rang sweetly in his left ear. He felt soft hair on his left cheek, and all at once he smiled.

"Good morning, Chance," the she-kat said in that same purr. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Chance Furlong placed his hands on the wrists of the blonde, sexy feline behind him and gently pried her hands away from his eyes. "Yeah," he said in a similar tone of voice, "There's just one thing that makes it pale and dull in comparison." He turned and kissed her softly, pulling the she-kat with the lavender silk robe closer to him.

She purred as their tongues competed and wrestled playfully, her tail swaying back and forth teasingly. Not surprisingly, his began to do the same. Before anything else happens, Chance pulled away and said calmly, "I have to go soon, Callie. You know that, right?"

She nodded and said, "I know. You have work, and so do I. But I'm betting the rest of that money is stored away somewhere safe, just in case. In fact, I'm counting on it."

Chance smiled slowly and replied, "You know it. I ain't stupid enough to spend all that cash in one go- the rest of it is in a secure, private account. Just in case I ever get out of this mess, I'll start building on it. Then when the pile's big enough… well…"

The Deputy Mayor shook her head. "Until that happens, take it easy. We don't _have_ to do anything big yet- just take our time. I don't like to think that things have changed other than we're seeing each other now. And what is that, exactly? We already see each other enough!"

They both laughed, and Chance pulled Callie in for another hug. She nuzzled against his broad chest and purred for what had to be the twentieth time. She was doing that a lot lately, wasn't she? Well it was a good thing.

Good for both of them.

With their eyes closed, standing on the balcony of the loft in the glow of the early morning, they remembered the night before- the night that changed everything and nothing at all.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

The time was 10:35 PM. The night before, somewhere within the Master Bedroom, Calico Briggs was pouring two glasses of milk, one for herself and the other for the tom that had ended up in here, either by luck or by charm, or by simply being himself. She was a good judge of people however, and could tell that it was the third option. She wondered how many other she-kats he had courted before her, with his confidence and his slow, easy smile.

'None, I hope,' she thought to herself, 'But if there were a few I can't help that. He has me now, and I'm going to make sure it stays that way.'

She gave him his glass and raised hers in a toast. "Here's to the night, then."

Chance nodded and raised his. "Here's to a _good_ night. I certainly hope it gets better, but I'd be all right if it stopped right here- I couldn't ask for more." The glasses touched and they drank, just a sip. Chance sighed and said, "Wow, you do have the good stuff here… of everything. I used to have all this years ago… the house, the car, the life. Not like I care much for it now- things turned out all right, really."

The Deputy Mayor sighed and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't have anyone to share it with, Chance. I haven't gone out on a date since college; did you know that? Not one. I was entirely focused on my studies and my work, hoping that I would save up enough money and have enough of a reputation to feel secure."

Chance was silent, his features placid.

Callie continued onward, as if she hadn't noticed that he had not responded. "I didn't have time for another tom after the first one had decided that I was too much of a busybody to even bother with me for longer than he had to. The problem was," she said with a sad smile, "I really liked him. When he told me it wouldn't work out, I wanted to cry for the longest time. No one could get me to talk to them, not even my friends- I was behind my own personal wall."

Chance wanted to say something, but found that he could not. His time in college was a lot different- the parties were crazy, the grades were high marks, and he had a spot on the football team. But he had always wanted to be a hero, so when the Enforcers needed able-bodied kats, he signed up on the spot. It wasn't much to speak of, compared to this.

So he listened, his glass of milk forgotten.

Callie however, had taken another drink- a big one. The glass was only half full now.

"It went on that way for years on end, and I never, not once, had another tom go out with me again. And then… then I met you," she said with a smile, "And I didn't know what to think. You seemed to catch me at the right times, especially these past few weeks. I almost thought you'd planned it out, but now that I think about it… everything just kind of fell into place, didn't it?"

Chance nodded. Things tended to do that when one waited for them. "Now here we are, in your bedroom, and with nothing else to talk about."

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, is that so? Aren't you going to tell me anything about you?"

Chance shrugged and said, "There's not much to tell, really, except for what I have already. My story was a lot different from yours though, that's for sure."

She smiled and said, "Everyone's is different. And I guess you're right- this isn't the time for conversation." Callie placed her glass on the dresser and said softly, "Um… would you like anything else to drink? Something stronger, perhaps?"

The big tom smirked and said, "Yeah… you."

Callie blushed. He certainly didn't fool around, did he? She turned around and immediately bumped into him- how had he come up behind her so quietly? Never mind that- she was becoming increasingly warm from his mere proximity. His green eyes burned into hers, promised a thousand things in the space of an instant.

Her stomach was tied in knots, and not in the bad way, either. Her hands trembled for sheer want- the need to touch him. Once again, everything within her cried out to wrap her arms around him, press her body into his, and give in. It was an instinct, a need, something intrinsic and unconscious. She _belonged_ with him- It was never clearer than it was now. The pull between them was irresistible.

'I don't give a damn what you do for a living or who you used to be,' she thought with a wild sort of abandon, 'We belong together.'

He was too close, and yet not enough for her tastes. Chance leaned forward and simply said into her right ear, "So what now? I can only look at you so much before I'm forced to do something. Should I just stand here like this and wait for you to burn up?"

She moaned, the purr in his voice entirely too suggestive. Right now, she didn't want to fight it, nor did she have to. Even through the walls, she could sense it; almost hear it- the moon was full. There was something about a full moon that unleashed her, set her free. It was strange and heady, and she wished she had more of it.

Her eyes closed as she said softly, "I can't put a name to what I want Chance, but I want it now."

He kissed her again. Sparks flew along her nerves and a shiver ran along her spine. The temperature of the room seemed much, much higher now. It didn't matter- the feel of his hands on her fur, burning her through the negligee, was all that mattered. She needed it more than ever now, and by the odd rumble in Chance's chest that she could hear and feel, he needed it as well.

She didn't know what she was so anxious for; this was something that should be done slowly. And yet her blood boiled and coursed, demanding to be cooled or to burst into flame, whichever one came first. She couldn't ignore it, and she didn't know how he could ignore his own needs. But he did, for her sake, and it made her heart soar.

The kiss broke, but his hands did not stop. It was only a moment before he actually started doing something towards the end of driving her insane: untying the satin ribbon that held the sheer nightgown together, letting it open. With the garment off of her shoulders and already falling gently to the carpet, he began nibbling gently at the pulse in her neck.

Callie couldn't help but grin, her hands running along his back. The purring began again, and she felt that this time it most likely wouldn't stop for anything. Well, almost anything… He bit harder, only slightly, testing her. The purr turned into a slight moan, the gentle pressure sending an emotion that she could not name through her senses.

The pleasure seemed to mount and build as Chance's hands rested on her silk-clothed breasts, caressing them with an unspoken reverence. She seemed to be drawn to those hands and lips, an invisible string threading through her skin as he continue his deliberate exploration of her. Callie pressed against him as if she meant to vanish entirely. "Ooooooh, Chance…"

He either did not hear her, or pretended that she hadn't said anything as his mouth continued ever southward, kissing along her collar bones and down towards one of her breasts. Soon, his hands moved from her hips, releasing her treasures from their soft silk prison. As the bra fell to the floor and his lips finally reached the nipple, latching on as if they were stuck there, the burn erupted into an all-consuming fire. Callie breathed in through her teeth, hissing as if it felt so good it was painful.

She rose up on her toes and arched her back, giving him more, demanding more. She hadn't even realized that his clothes were still on as she placed her hands on his broad shoulders and gripped hard. At the moment, his clothing was the farthest thing from her mind- her senses were overloaded, filled with him. 'Damn it… he's too…'

Too what? Was he being too methodical; too precise? Gentle? Or was he being just plain goddamn _slow_?

She tried to say something, anything to convey what she was thinking, but both thought and speech escaped her. No, he wasn't being too slow. His tenacity was paying off in spades as he continued his gentle perusal. She urged him on with her body then, trying to beg him to complete her without words.

His hands rested on her hips then, just to get her to pay attention. She shivered at his sudden assumption of control, a gentle kind of force, a prelude to what was to come. She could sense it behind his careful actions- his need was barely restrained.

"You keep doing that," he whispered over her skin, "And I won't be responsible for what happens. I'm trying _not_ to tear you apart. Not yet."

She whimpered as he began his teasing again. When? When was not yet going to be _right now_? Her impatience couldn't be helped- she burned; ached in places that she never even knew she could. The waiting alone was bad enough, but the fact that it felt good was… torture.

She hadn't noticed when what remained of her lingerie fell to the floor. She hadn't noticed when Chance had stopped his gentle licks and nips. She hadn't even noticed that the _room_ was there, not until she felt a sweet pressure between her legs. With a gasp, she looked down and saw him sliding a finger inside of her.

Her legs trembled as something seemed to be pulled out from under her. Her joints couldn't hold her up anymore- everything was water instead of bone. "Bed," she managed to rasp out, "Now."

Chance chuckled and carried the now gloriously nude figure of Calico Briggs towards her soft, inviting bed. "Sure thing, ma'am."

She felt like going to sleep just then, sheltered in his powerful arms. This was the kind of security she was looking for. She wanted someone to come back to, a rock to weather against the storms she faced and the shit she had to shovel. Personally, she couldn't deal with Mayor Manx every day, and she couldn't do ten things at once all the time.

There were only three things she truly looked forward to- her self-defense lessons, her early morning runs along the rooftops, and the time she spent with Chance and Jake. Along with Felina Feral, they were starting to become more than friends- they were starting to become important, as if they were a second family. They were the only constant in her hectic, ever-changing life, where she had to make or break deals and was constantly kidnapped by homicidal lunatics.

The idyllic thoughts were interrupted as Chance set her on the bed ever so gently, his eyes locking onto her lidded ones. He couldn't keep this patient façade up forever- the strain in his pants was starting to become a bit uncomfortable. How he had gotten such a beautiful creature in such a state of disrobement, he would never be able to comprehend, but at the moment he didn't care.

"Tell me what you want, Callie."

She sighed softly and placed her hands on his chest as he lay next to her. "I want the impossible. I want to touch the moon and hold the stars in a jar. I want to sleep on a cloud in the sky and never wake up again. Not the sleep of the dead, but the sleep of a dreamer. But what I _really_ want… I want to be _free_, Chance… from everything and everyone but you."

He was moved by her words- words that he didn't think she could say. He could do nothing but kiss her yet again, but before he could, Callie placed a finger on her lips and grinned cheekily. "Oh no, we're not starting that again. This time, it's my turn."

With that, she rolled over until she was on top of him and slid her hands underneath his shirt, mapping him out with her fingers and thumbs. She explored along the abs that seemed more a wall of stone than muscle; the broad and expansive chest; the powerful shoulders. She purred as she took her time, and Chance rumbled contently once again. Oh, that felt nice.

It was odd, but his sense of smell was keener this evening than most. Her perfume, combined with something else that was entirely her, invaded his senses. "Your scent is driving me up the wall, Callie. I don't know how much more I can take of you touching me like that, either."

She blushed, and yet it was no longer from bashfulness.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you rather I touched down here, then?" her hips shifted and pressed, and Chance groaned. Well, that was a big wakeup call, wasn't it? Without waiting for another word, she moved to take off the belt and unbutton the jeans. For the moment, there was only one point of interest she was looking for.

And pretty soon as she slid the pants and underwear down until they were at mid-thigh, she found what she was looking for. Taking him in one of her hands, she ran it along the length, smiling softly as she squeezed and pumped slowly. Chance groaned as his hips seemed to want to jerk in response, but once again he held himself in check. Not yet… no, not yet.

But she could tell anyway, and chuckled softly. "You've reached your limit, haven't you?"

This time, it was her turn to be deliberate. Her lips ran along the heated skin, from the base to the tip, and back again. The big tom's breathing caught in his throat- this was too good to be true. He figured she'd get right down to business, but apparently it was time for revenge. Not like he minded. Who would?

"Nnnnnn… Good. That's incredible, Callie…"

She chuckled and said after running her tongue along the underside of her prize, "Isn't it, though? I hate to be redundant, but you smell wonderful as well. I bet you taste as good as your scent suggests…" She licked her lips almost hungrily and said, "There's only one way to find out."

She pressed her lips along the head of Chance's length and sucked softly.

His world spun. This was crazy… but it wasn't like he wanted her to stop. Yet another groan and a shiver along his spine later, he replied, "Go ahead, have all you want."

And she did. Finding his taste more than acceptable, she took more of him into her mouth. If it were at all possible, Chance swelled- he was bigger, harder, and longer with every stroke of those lips. It wasn't that long before she had gotten a good rhythm, and soon she had him halfway down her throat. She wasn't kidding about liking her first love- this _wasn't_ her first time.

He hissed again- he hadn't even _dreamed_ of this. He figured it would only be kissing and touching and light fondling. But here she was, attending to his pleasure, and he couldn't get it around his head to say anything. She purred with his member still in her mouth, and he tightened up, hissing through his teeth.

"S-stop," he managed to get out before another moan escaped him.

She stopped, but only to lift her lips from the pole and slide her tongue along the underside again. Taking this time to rid him of his pants and underwear entirely, she asked coyly, "Mmmmm… is there something wrong?"

That was a rhetorical question, right? She had to be joking. Chance was not in the mood for jokes anymore. He reached for her, pulled her into his lap, and kissed her in almost cruel fashion. No, he was not playing around. Then again, that's what she wanted in the first place.

Callie chuckled and said, "Shirt off?"

Chance groaned and said, "Hell with that, I want you _now_."

She shivered and said, "I know. It'd just be a shame if you ruined all these nice clothes… or rather, if _I_ ruined them."

Chance blinked as he understood what she meant. The wild look in those green eyes of hers suggested that she was perfectly willing to tear through that form-fitting shirt that he wore in order to get herself some skin. He took off the shirt slowly, with her help. With that, she molded herself to him and said huskily, "Make me scream, Chance."

He proceeded to do just that, sliding inside of her with a bit more force than was required. She didn't care- she cried out anyway as she was assaulted with sensation, every part of her body bursting into flames. She twisted and coiled within, feeling something else come loose besides her last traces of her restraint.

He bit his lip, trying to focus, not to go too fast or too hard just yet. He wanted her to get used to him first. But the shallow breathing, the sighs and moans, the sudden gasp when he had hit something sensitive… it was too much. Not to mention that she currently had her hips pressed against his, grinding against him and tightening her inner walls as she did so.

"Fuck," Chance groaned as he threw his head back. "You're so tight!"

She chuckled and replied in a sultry, desire laced purr, "So sorry. Do you need me to slow down a bit?"

He growled dangerously, and it only made her respond with a deeper purr. Callie laughed as he turned her over and pinned her to the bed, taking her wrists in his hands. The laugh turned into a gasp, the gasp turned into a moan, and one moan quickly followed another. "God yes… don't stop!"

Once again, Chance tried to focus, but found that it was not possible. The call of her body was too strong now, and too insistent. 'To hell with this gentle crap,' he finally thought to himself as he pushed into her harder, deeper, faster. Neither of them noticed the passage of time- how could they when they were so lost in each other?

Callie's sentences were incoherent, half finished and punctuated by moans and cries of bliss. The coil within her, that building sensation that wouldn't let up, was becoming too much to handle. She wished to end it, to receive her release, but her body was an agent of its own now. It would give when it wanted to, and not when she wanted it to.

'I'm going to go insane,' she mused to herself while her voice and body urged him on- screaming in his ears and undulating underneath him. She wanted free of him, and yet she wanted more of him. This contradiction began to make her pleasantly dizzy, and she wanted to laugh. Were it not for the forceful, demanding way in which he ravished her, she would have done so.

There were no stars in the bedroom, no open sky to be seen, but he saw that same sky in her eyes that he had seen just hours earlier. It made him want to cherish and comfort her, to make it clear that he wasn't going anywhere. It wasn't long before he pulled out briefly and said, "Bend over."

She shivered at his voice, her body compelled by something besides her own will. She loved it… and just to demonstrate how much she did, her soft, furry tail wiggled teasingly in his face, tickling underneath his chin. He permitted it with a smile before holding onto that same tail and pressing into her from behind.

She cried out again and readily pushed back against him, as if she wanted everything he had to offer and wanted to give back in return. And he did give her more upon her insistence, not holding back for anything. Her world slipped away, melted into his. When his hands grabbed her wrists and pulled her back against him, it only felt more sublime due to the fact that control was taken entirely away from her.

She gasped and shuddered, the rest of her mind finally leaving her. She shuddered at the very thought of finding her release, and her lips found his own in short order as he pulled her back against his chest. The cries and groans turned into happy sighs and moans. Their teeth nibbled playfully against each other's lips, and when she finally pulled back she had the biggest smile on her face.

"Finish it," she purred.

He groaned as he started bouncing her in his lap, and she began crying out again. Her already sensitive body was about to come undone, and her world began going white. For a brief moment before the only sound in her ears was blissful silence, she could swear he heard him say her name before she was overwhelmed.

She didn't notice that he had slid out of her as she erupted, and just as soon his fingers replaced his member. She shivered and trembled, her high extended by his affections. His breathing was harsh in her left ear as he was forced to recollect himself. She was too tight, too hot, too wet, and too sweet.

"I love you," he purred after catching a good portion of the air he had spent.

She cried out the same as her body shivered yet again, put under the sweetest stress it had ever undergone in quite some time. Her sentences turned incoherent again as Chance continued toying with her, one hand on a breast while the other was between her legs. He held her, sheltered her, kept her heated and excited. He made her toes curl and her head roll back onto her shoulders.

He made her feel _alive_.

Soon, she realized that he wasn't moving inside of her anymore and looked down at his length. He hadn't spent himself yet, and he was still at full mast to boot. With a lick of her lips and a purr, she said, "Again. Give me another ride, lover."

He grinned and said, "Whatever you say."

And thus, the dance continued…

* * *

They opened their eyes to observe the sun as it rose over the skyline. Not just twice, but three times she had come before Chance finally gave up the ghost, carefully bringing her to satisfaction before he had his own. The shower that she had taken after was due to him painting her with his essence, and there was a lot of it by the time he had finally popped.

She giggled at that thought and said, "You are the most amazing tom I have ever met. Did I already tell you that?"

He nodded and said, "You did… but it's nice to hear it again."

She sighed and cuddled up to him, clinging for dear life. "I don't want you to leave, but you have to. At least we'll see each other again."

Chance nodded, though he did not respond. If she knew just what his other job was, she wouldn't be so confident. The time he had spent with her here and last night was precious to him- doubly so because he could either end up in jail or dead on any mission. He wasn't just Chance Furlong- he was T-Bone, a SWAT Kat. It was better for the moment that she didn't know the two toms she loved were one and the same.

'I'll tell you someday, Callie,' he asserted to himself. 'You'll know everything, just like you should. For now though, just think of me as Chance and of that other kat as someone else.'

Half an hour later, it was time to head out. Callie drove him back towards the scrap yard and began planning their next night out. It would happen sooner or later. She just had to wait for the right time. Felina would think differently, she knew- but for now, it was how she would operate. If it worked once, it would work again.

As they pulled up to the garage, Burke and Murray were already there, ready to dump yet another pile on their front door. Callie had heard about these two earlier, and her eyes narrowed. She was not pleased. As she strode over to them to give her a piece of her mind, Chance took the time to make his way inside.

Jake, as far as he could tell, had opened up early, because the door was unlocked. "Buddy, I'm back!"

The slim kat was sitting on the couch, watching the news. "Oh, hey Chance! How'd it go?"

He looked around, hoping that Callie was not close enough to hear, and then grinned. "It was _amazing_, dude! That was the best night of my life! Granted, I won't be able to tell you everything, but let's just say we both went away from this one happy. What about you?"

Jake shrugged and said, "Nothing much- Felina called, asked where you were. I told her you were out on the town. She went nuts when I said just that, but apparently I didn't have to tell her anything else."

Chance smirked and said, "She's probably excited for Callie, knowing her. Anyways, did you close up like I asked?"

His slim-framed partner smirked. "I ain't stupid, Chance. I always lock up, even when you forget. Anyways, glad to see you're in one piece from all this, and glad that you two are finally together! I swear if I watched you two make eyes at each other anymore, I would have gone fucking crazy!"

The big tom laughed.

Just then, Callie walked into the room and dusted off her hands. "Good morning, Jake. You two won't have to worry about your bosses dumping all that junk on your doorstep anymore- it's taken care of. And if they complain to Feral, Feral _still_ has to answer to me. I hope I did the right thing…"

Jake grinned and said, "Hell yes you _did_! I'm starting to wonder what we'd do without you!"

Chance said in a deadpan tone, "We'd have to dig ourselves out of rubble for months." Then he smiled and said, "Thanks, Callie."

She smiled and said, "Consider it a response for last night. I'll see you guys later, all right?"

She waved behind her, her tail of honeyed gold swaying in farewell as well. Chance was mesmerized by it, and Jake had to shake him out of his trance before he asked. "Looks like more than just a date happened. Care to tell me the whole story now?"

He grinned again and said, "You're not gonna believe this…"

The two headed inside, both ready for yet another day at work.

* * *

**Chapter 19- **_**Midnight in the Perfumed Garden**_

YES! Yes, yes, YES! That's what I'm talkin' about, right there. What you see before you promises to be quality writing; not tasteless, not overdone, but just right. I had to take a page from one of my favorite scene writers for this one, but sure enough I made it. It took me a few days to get this chapter out of the grinder. So read well.

No reviewer appreciation- I'm too sleepy for it, to be honest. But thanks for everyone who stuck by me, who supported this pairing, and who wants more of it! Trust me; there will be more before this is over.

Okay, I'm going to sleep now.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.

**EDIT:** I can't believe that mistake was still in there... I thought I had gotten rid of the damn thing. Thanks a lot, Trigger.


	20. Welcome to the Jungle Part 1

_Welcome to the jungle  
__We've got fun and games  
__We got anything you want  
__Honey, we know the names_

-Guns n' Roses

Tuesday, 3:30 PM. Floor 5, MegaKat Biochemical Labs.

The workers in white coats and rubber gloves were busy mixing and testing various substances, as per their various specialties. There were both regenerative and corrosive chemicals, all of which could be used for several purposes. One resembled a diamond coating, and could replace the real thing for a cheaper price. Another could eat through five inches of high-strength, low-alloy steel with one drop.

One however, was special. Used to recover wooded areas and rainforests destroyed by processes of either natural or kat-made disasters, it was known as Katalyst Zero. Not only did it show promise for regenerating plant life without the previous side effects of mutation, but it also presented a rapid rate of growth for undamaged plant life, giving it a potential use as a fertilizer.

The benefit to katkind would be enormous. Of course, it had to pass its final test run before it could go through Marketing, and that's what was happening now. Toms and she-kats in white lab coats broke twigs and destroyed saplings, introducing them to the chemicals. Small drops in minute amounts were placed onto seeds in fertile soil for approximately seven days. It took three to produce results, which was faster than expected.

Today, the tests were being wrapped up, the results recorded, and the vials of Katalyst Zero being sealed and placed in cold storage.

For a government-funded research facility however, this place had very little security. Only a few hired hands were on call at the moment, and though they were well-trained... they couldn't possibly stand up to what they were about to face now. Right underneath their feet, something stirred. Stalking, almost crawling through the sewers underneath, as if he were at home there, was a kat covered in green scale and with eyes that were completely yellowed over.

He could smell what lay above him- sense the heat of the kats working within the laboratories.

The kat, mutated beyond recognition of his former self, was not looking for a cure- he was beyond saving. Nor was he looking for vengeance. The mind of a madman did not look for retaliation. No, he sought only one thing and one thing only: his own survival.

He could no longer survive in this habitat, this city of stone and steel and concrete. The sewers were no place for him, either. No... He needed a proper living space. Of course, if he wanted it, he would have to make it. MegaKat Swamp was no longer big enough for him.

'And now, it'ssss time that I got what I came for.'

The manhole underneath the streets opened up, revealing the black hair and pale yellow eyes of Dr. Viper. And underneath his lab coat, he was packing more than just vials of chemicals.

No one saw the movement until it was too late, when several vials were broken underneath their feet from the cover of the manhole. This meant that they breathed in the fumes... and the chemical reaction within the toms set off a mutation. They were hulking, mindless brutes now, their clothing barely fitting. Kats screamed and fled as the change happened before their eyes, and the mad scientist decided to show himself.

"You belong to _me_ now. There is only one thing I require of you, and that is to kindly open the front doorssss for me."

Seconds later, glass and steel were everywhere as they did just that. They broke something... and they liked it. Thus, they started breaking some more objects, even going so far as to start breaking _kats_. And all the while, Dr. Viper moved towards the elevators, his distraction set.

Destination: Top floor. Target: Katalyst Zero.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Commander Feral and his team arrived on the scene one hour later, just after they received the silent alarm. By that time, the lobby was shattered beyond repair, the four mutated toms causing all sorts of havoc. Kat's Eye News had arrived as well, and was on the scene, taping the destruction from a safe position in the air. The Commander was not at all pleased at the moment- this had happened on his lunch break.

"All squads move in now! Take those kats down!"

They did move in, shock sticks at the ready. There were two officers to every crazed security guard. In this way, every angle was covered. Unfortunately as the shock sticks zapped and prodded, they seemed to have little effect as the big toms swung at their smaller counterparts like annoying insects. One of the Enforcers got clipped hard, his helmet flying off and blood spraying from his mouth.

Another did not fare so well, and was knocked back into the doors of one of the elevators. He would not be getting up for some time. In fact, he would not be getting up at all as blood began to leak onto the tiled floor.

Commander Feral and several more Enforcers rushed in, seeing as the fight was not exactly going their way, and attempted to launch their nets at the four attackers. Their bazookas unleashed the rockets, which then split off and caught the beasts before the gas grenades were fired on instinct. It didn't knock them out entirely, but it slowed them down enough for the stun sticks to be used to greater effect.

And yet they refused to go down, struggling until the end, tearing at the nets. Their pain tolerance was astounding, but eventually they were taken apart. The chemist was on the scene and said, "Dammit Commander, don't kill them outright! We gotta know who these toms are... and who did this to them, as well as whether it can be reversed or not."

He sighed harshly and said, "Get up that elevator, grunts! Whoever is responsible for this could still be here! Move it, kats!"

With that, he turned towards the chemist and said, "Make it quick. I have to be up there as well, just in case some shit hits the fan. Besides, those SWAT Kats could come at any minute and try to break open the operation."

Fortunately for him, it would only take a brief moment to take a blood sample, and then all of two minutes to finish the test. After the analysis was done, he had the Commander brought over. "All right... here's what we've found. They have traces of a mutagen in their blood. A familiar one at that: Katalyst X-63. It was used in trace amounts, but apparently it was enough to change these four with one vial. I'm betting you can guess who's up there from that."

Feral grimaced. "Dr. Viper."

The chemist nodded. "Bingo. And unless I miss my guess, he's after that new experimental compound. He gets his hands on it, and we're looking at some serious havoc."

Could this day get any worse?

Then his radio squawked. Perhaps that was a bad question to ask, from what he had heard. "All units hold tight! We've got this bastard cornered! Wait, what the- oh SHIT!"

Feral growled and responded in his communicator, "What the hell is going on up there, Unit 12? Respond!"

He could hear the menacing voice of Dr. Viper over the frequency.

"I will not be deterred thisss time. This city will become my ideal breeding ground, and none of you can sssstop me! I can survive the harsh conditions that will befall this place- but can _you_?"

The Commander grimaced and looked around for something, anything... then he saw it. From the corner of his left eye, he noticed a small flashing light. His eyes widened as his mind registered what that red light meant- it was a signal receiver, and it was hooked onto a good-sized block of C-4.

'A trap... and we stepped right into it.'

"Dr. Conway, evacuate the premises with the rest of the Enforcers, now. Do it slowly... any sudden movements and this building could go up like a candle."

The chemist grimaced and said, "And you, Sir?"

Feral looked behind his left shoulder, saying nothing. With that, he headed towards the elevator that was still operational. This was going to get very ugly, very quickly. Conway simply did what he had asked, but what was about to happen next would not exactly be his idea of a good plan.

As feral headed up the elevator shaft, he made the call. "All units surrounding the MegaKat Labs disengage immediately. Put ten miles distance between yourselves and the immediate vicinity, ASAP. I want as many units as possible on standby, just in case something happens. And trust me, something _will_ happen. Feral out."

Unfortunately, twenty minutes after the call had been sent in, the windows and doors of MegaKat Biochemical Labs shattered as a chain of explosions rocked the halls. Along with the cloud of dust and debris, a massive cloud of chemical smoke expanded rapidly, filling the streets. Whoever was inside of that could not have survived...

And yet a series of helicopters flew overhead, carrying Feral and everyone else with them. Looking down at the ruins and the expanding chemical cloud, he gritted his teeth. "The news will have a field day with this." The Commander sighed and said distastefully, "On top of that, as far as I can tell, there's only one group of kats that can stop this before it gets worse. Sadly enough... I need the help of the SWAT Kats."

* * *

Earlier that day, Chance and Jake were once again busy at the garage, working on various vehicles, including that of Calico Briggs, the Deputy Mayor. Apparently, they were not exactly going to be going anywhere for the next few hours. But as usual, their break time came soon. As they waited for their lunch to arrive, they figured that it would be a relatively quiet day filled with Scaredy Kat and lifting weights, and ramming their fists and feet into the bag. There were a few arcade machines here as well, but for the most part it would be rather quiet. 

That was, until Felina Feral showed up at approximately 1:35 PM to say hello.

"Hey, look who's come over," Chance said with a grin. "Glad you could join us- we were about to get some lunch and a few cans of milk. You want something to munch on?"

Felina smiled warmly and said, "Hey, you two. Working hard, or hardly working?"

Jake walked up to meet her first and replied, "The second one- that's only because we're on break, though. What about you- how's your job going?"

Felina stretched out and said, "It's in a lull, actually. The contract with Mr. Young closed last week. I got paid for full services after I put his security teams through the final test. I'll have you know that I got paid a good thousand dollars an hour for all of that. So if you're wondering how I got those engines..."

Chance shrugged and said, "Actually, I was- but that makes sense. Working for a PMC is pretty handy, huh? Wish we got paid that much for doing the crap we do every day. Hell, when this is all over, we might get signed up with whoever you're working for."

Felina shook her head and chuckled. "You guys are too much, you know that? So then, what's for lunch?"

For the rest of the break, they had mega-sub sandwiches, which came about half an hour after they had called, which meant approximately fifteen minutes after Felina had arrived. Jake had to split his into two, but he didn't mind, and Felina apparently enjoyed the Italian Chicken and Bacon on toasted rye. But of course, during all this, Scaredy Kat was suddenly interrupted by a news flash.

"This is Ann Gora, high in the skies with a breaking Kat's Eye News story. Here at MegaKat Biochemical Labs, a conflict was swiftly ended by the Enforcers when four security guards went berserk. According to reports from the ground, it is clear that the perpetrator behind this terrible incident is none other than Dr. Viper. The Enforcers are inside the building as we speak, prepared to make the arrest of this mad biochemist."

Chance scoffed and said, "Yeah, sure... as if they could pull something like that off. Who knows what Viper could be up to now? Hell, I would keep watching just to see him fuck up, but there has to be better things on TV."

Jake agreed and reached for the remote when a sudden explosion rocked the speakers. All three kats whipped their heads toward the screen, Felina's eyes wide with shock and horror. Then, she saw the Enforcer choppers fleeing from the scene and sighed in relief.

"Holy shit," Jake cursed softly, "Where the hell did Viper get the ordinance to _blow something up_?"

Chance grimaced and said, "We ain't got time to think about that one. Check it out!"

The cloud of chemicals was spreading through the city, covering the streets and skies within a good twenty mile radius. Knowing what was in there, it was no surprise that most if not all of that was volatile, and could either kill or mutate anyone inside that building, much less inside the now deadly area.

"Let's move our asses," Chance said, "Before they set up quarantine!"

They both agreed. Once they did that, Viper would be entirely inaccessible. They scrambled to their fighters, Jake and Chance heading in first. The process of suiting up went quickly, except for the fact that Felina had to put her combat boots on, tucking the legs of her g-suit into the metal-plated footwear. Her gloves however were the same fingerless ones as the others, and the red and blue helmet was part of the ensemble as well.

She couldn't help but grin. This was too awesome.

She had discovered another elevator in the Ready Room, one that led directly down to the hangar. She entered this elevator after snatching up her Glovetrix without putting it on, and hit the button that had the lift go down.

What she saw... took her breath away.

'There she is... my StealthKat!'

It looked all the more impressive in person than it did on paper, and the more she looked at it the more she wanted to fly it. She could sense it- this wasn't just a new paint job. This was an entirely different beast now. She didn't know how just yet, but she would find out soon enough.

But what was even more impressive was the TurboKat. Her eyes widened as the lift lowered. The F-119 engines and the F-135 in the center... they _really were_ installed! The jet was probably one monster of a powerhouse when it came to speed now- probably much more than hers by a mile. But they would see soon enough.

Soon, she leapt into the cockpit as the TurboKat's engines lit up, and she began starting her own systems. Within no more than 25 seconds, she was ready to taxi. Soon she heard loud and clear on her radio, "TurboKat is clear of the sky." It was Jake. How did she know it was going to be him? "You're clear for launch at any time."

Felina said with the sultry purr that was part of her alter ego, "Understood, Razor. I just got finished taxiing. I'm initiating full throttle in three seconds."

She licked her lips and her left hand comfortably wrapped around the throttle. Damn, but that felt nice... had Jake changed the grip out? She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "This is my first mission as a SWAT Kat. It's time to make a good impression!"

She punched the throttle. The engines happily whined to life, and the StealthKat rammed forward with breakneck speed. Holding her steady, Felina lifted the landing gears up at five hundred feet, seeing the open door at the other end. With an expert touch, she gently led the jet out of the hangar, and looked behind her as the false floor automatically slid closed.

The she-kat grinned. "StealthKat is in the air, and ready for ass kick. I'll rendezvous at your position in three minutes."

She was no longer Felina Feral

She was Lioness. She was a SWAT Kat.

And right now, it felt good to be alive.

* * *

As soon as the two planes were in position, T-Bone began to relay the situation. "All right, listen up. We got about twenty miles of this stuff covering a good portion of the city. Any kind of weapons fire will result in the whole thing going up in flames like an FAE strike. I don't need to tell you what that'll do to the rest of the city. With that on the table, we need to do two things here. First of all, we use less-lethal tactics. I doubt that whatever's in there is immune to a good old fashioned ass kicking." 

The Lioness nodded. "Understood. What's the second?"

Razor responded this time. "We keep the Commander and his tanks out of that shit. He'll want to solve this problem by putting a HEAT round in there, and that'll fuck _everything_ up!"

The Lioness grimaced and said, "Point taken. I'll keep the Enforcers at bay- you guys take care of Viper."

But lo and behold, they received a message from Commander Feral. Speak of the devil and you rouse him from his rest every damn time.

"This is Feral," he said in his usual tone of voice. "I'm sure by now, you know the situation. Let it be known that I am _not_ sending any more of my kats into that muck. Only you three would be crazy enough to wade in there. Unfortunately, someone has to do it."

The TurboKat immediately began to hover, just five kliks outside of the contaminated area.

"So nice to hear you, Commander Feral," T-Bone said with a condescending air. "What can we do for you today?"

Feral could almost be heard growling on the other end. "You can _start_ by not being such a smart ass and reporting to Enforcer Headquarters, immediately. Believe it or not, I am asking for your assistance. For the moment, you all and I have a cease fire."

T-Bone and Razor looked at each other, not entirely believing what they had heard. Lioness however, nodded her head. "Understood- we're en route now. Just take note- you try anything stupid and you can forget asking for our help again."

As they headed for the massive paramilitary headquarters, T-Bone grimaced and said, "I don't like this. He's still got a personal grudge against us, and if we end up doing him too many favors..."

Razor nodded and said, "Agreed. We should keep an eye on him, just in case he tries something funny."

With that, they landed at the air strip and made their way inside, straight to the Commander's office. There were several looks of various meanings sent their way, but they ignored them all and headed straight for the top. There was business to take care of, and it had to be done immediately. As they strode through the doors, T-Bone first, they never thought they would ever show up in here again.

Fate was a funny thing when seen in action.

The Commander was busy looking out of the window towards MegaKat Labs. The smoke and debris of the explosion was still there, as well as the menacing chemical cloud that could not seem to break- it simply hung there like a malevolent spirit, waiting to consume anyone that dared come close enough.

Silence reigned for a full sixty seconds before Feral turned around and glared towards them. "Do not think, for any reason, that I enjoy relying on you vigilantes. You're a menace, taking the law into your own hands. But when a situation like this turns up, well... I don't have a choice, do I?"

T-Bone couldn't help but smirk. "If you'd get the stick outta your ass, you'd realize that our methods are better than yours are. Remember the Pastmaster?"

Feral gritted his teeth. How could he _forget_? It hurt like hell, and there was still a twinge when he moved the wrong way. But their tactics, albeit ruthless, were the proper way to go about things at the time. He just couldn't help but wonder whether T-Bone liked doing all that or not. But this was not the time to ask questions like that.

"Don't push your luck," the big tom said with sheer indignation, "And listen up. I'm short on personnel at the moment, as you no doubt can guess. I got my team out, but they still got hit with the chemical explosion. They're in stasis, and for all I know they could be dead even as we speak. I'd love to put that psychotic bastard away myself, but I am not sending any more of my forces in there. Hence... it's up to you."

Razor nodded and said, "Anything we should know about exactly what's in that toxic soup?"

Feral nodded and said, "I don't know, or necessarily care, but I do have someone who does." He gestured towards a tom sitting to his right and said, "Go ahead, Dr. Conway."

The middle-aged kat nodded and cleared his throat. "We have reason to believe that an experimental chemical compound known as Katalyst Zero is mixed into that cloud, along with Katalyst X-63 and several others that are unknown at this time. The main thing you all need to worry about is Zero- it's a biochemical that produces plant life with a rapid growth rate. At first, it was meant to restore deforested areas and as an alternative to household fertilizers. But with how it's been extended over such an area..."

The Lioness effectively finished his sentence for him. "We're looking at mixture of jungle, swamp, and chemical nightmare. Any kat stuck in that will have turned into _anything_, and they won't be thinking clearly. Either that, or they'll be long dead before anyone gets there."

T-Bone repeated what he had said earlier. "Not to mention that if anyone opens fire in that shit storm, it'll be like a _bomb_ went off. And the blast radius will be enough to destroy a couple of _city blocks_."

Feral nodded grimly. "Now you see the problem. I can't move, and even if I had enough personnel, there would be all sorts of hell to pay if I _did_. What we have on our hands is a stalemate. You can break stalemate for me. As for Dr. Viper, I want him alive."

T-Bone was about to say something in response, but Razor said something first. "You don't think that he got those explosives by himself either, do you?"

Feral raised an eyebrow. "No... I don't. I want to know who supplied him with the means to take out the labs."

T-Bone decided to say his piece this time, whether anyone interrupted him or not. "You think you can hold Viper in one of those lockups down there? Or even in _Alkatraz_? Let's face it- he's turned into a mutated half-snake. Dude can probably chew through those steel bars, if not bend them entirely."

The Commander's eyes narrowed. "And what do you suggest?"

The SWAT Kat grinned and said, "Let us have a crack at him, on-site. We're not gonna kill the bastard, but we _will_ make him talk. Even a snake has a pain threshold. Once we get the info, we'll drop him off at Enforcer Headquarters. You'll know what to do with him from there, I assume."

He nodded and said, "Of course. He won't be going anywhere for a long time. I'll have a special, reinforced cell, just for him."

The SWAT Kats looked at each other and shrugged. What did they have to lose?

Razor said casually, "Well get us some coveralls and masks. We're going Viper hunting!"

* * *

The TurboKat and StealthKat touched down just outside of the contaminated zone. One was atop a nearby rooftop, having landed via its VTOL mode, while the other was in the abandoned streets. With the surrounding area having been evacuated long beforehand, they didn't have to worry about collateral damage or civilian casualties. 

At least, they hoped not.

Leaping out of their respective jets, the SWAT Kats had black NBC suits with gas masks on, their faces entirely visible through the bullet-resistant, wide-angle lens. With the coveralls tucked into the boots and Glovetrixes on their right hands, they were ready for action. The left hand was covered with a black NOMEX glove, which was perfectly fine as a defense against the chemical cloud.

They still didn't take off their masks, though. You never, ever take off your mask when you're a vigilante.

"You don't think that he'll talk, do you," Lioness asked through her voice amplifier, hooked onto the mask just in front of the nose cup. She was entirely suspicious of this plan of T-Bone's...

"_Hell_ no," he scoffed. "He's too far gone. No, what we're gonna do is beat his ass to within an inch of that scaly motherfucker's life, then turn him in to the Enforcers for questioning. I'm sure they'll have a field day. We'll just tell him that he wasn't being cooperative, that's all."

Razor rolled his eyes and said, "Weapons hot kats, we're entering the combat zone."

All three lifted their Glovetrixes and stepped into the poisonous cloud. It was odd though... they were expecting something, anything after the first few minutes... but there was nothing. No sound, no movement, not even the wind. There was a statement about it being too quiet... and this statement came in handy at the moment.

"This is some fucking strange shit, you guys..." That was Lioness, and right now she was not having a good feeling about this. T-Bone's expression did not change, as if his very features were carved in stone. He was used to bad days like this one, and it wasn't like this was the first time something like this incident had happened.

They almost didn't notice when Jake had tripped over something until he planted a hand on the pavement and flipped forward, landing on the balls of his feet.

"Razor, buddy, this isn't time for doing tricks," T-Bone scolded.

The slim SWAT Kat grimaced and said, "That wasn't just fancy footwork bud- I tripped over something. And I think that there's more of that something ahead..."

That was when they realized just how serious the situation was. All three looked at the ground... and saw vines as thick as a tank gun running along the streets. Then they looked up... and they seemed to get thicker, and bigger, and longer as they trailed up skyscrapers, sticking out of broken windows and out of the sides of skyscrapers. They didn't look like buildings anymore... more like trees that one could climb.

"I _hate_ being right," Lioness said with a sigh of remorse.

But of course as soon as she said something, a howl sounded from deeper in the urban jungle. All three couldn't help but wince at the sound. Whatever the hell that was... it promised not to be good.

"Let's move SWAT Kats," T-Bone said as a look of resolve settled on his face, "Before this gets worse."

* * *

**Chapter 20: Welcome to the Jungle (Part 1) - **_**Here Comes the Boom**_

And here we go again! What you have just witnessed is yet another bombastic chapter from your friendly neighborhood Mercenary. This is the first deployment of the new SWAT Kat roster, and it's certain to be a wake-up call for Dr. Viper. He won't be expecting three of 'em on his tail! Hope you guys like.

As for the reviewer's appreciation segment, I decided to skip it this time. Not many people are actually... y'know, reviewing. Truthfully, only one posted anything, and that's **RaidenSilversword**. Big thanks man- you're holding out for this one. I'm not even going to ask for support or reviews- they'll come sooner or later. For now, keep in mind that like all other story arcs, this will last five chapters.

But they'll be the most action-crammed five chapters you've ever read! Guaranteed.

All right, writing the next one.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	21. Welcome to the Jungle Part 2

Stepping over vines and foliage, watching their footing, the SWAT Kats advanced through the newly-sprung rain forest that used to be a large portion of Downtown MegaKat City. Greenery as far as they eye could see was lost in a sea of thick, purple smog; a deadly mixture that had been unleashed upon a violent explosion. It would not dissipate or fade- it simply hung there, denying even the sunlight above access. They could see nothing but the chemical smoke before them.

"Fuck," T-Bone said as he cleared yet another branch out of his way, "Can't see an inch in front of me with all this crap! And I don't even wanna know what that was earlier…"

Razor shook his head and said, "Well we'd better get moving if we don't want to find out. Too bad we can't drive through here- it's not exactly safe to do so. And our jets would blow this whole mixture to hell, as well as half of the city. We gotta hoof it."

Lioness was simply checking for threats, not bothering to respond to anything they were saying. Talking was not in the cards right now for her. Right now she was wishing for some kind of light as well, but it didn't matter- they would get to where they needed to go, sooner or later.

But of course, all of this was silenced when she heard something from the alley to her right. "Check right, check right!"

They turned their Glovetrixes towards the source of noise, and for a while they heard only a slight rumble. Then, something… or rather, someone came leaping out at them. Two of the three vigilantes were able to move out of the way, but T-Bone decided to forego evasion altogether. Mid-air was not a good place to be for someone, seeing as they could easily catch a punch to the face.

With explosive force, the big tom set out to break the mutated kat's face. Better a broken face than a loss of life, truthfully. The kat flew backwards as if a car had exploded a few inches away from him, but managed to roll back on his right shoulder. With a snarl, it extended claws that were most certainly poisonous.

"You want some, ugly?!" T-Bone asked with a savage grin behind the nose cup of his mask. "Come and get it!"

Suddenly, they heard more growls and snarls around them.

"Why the _hell_ did you have to go and say that, T-Bone?" Razor asked with a groan as his radar pinged multiple hostile targets closing in on their position. "This was going so well, too."

Lioness however, simply smiled and said, "I don't mind. If this is what you guys get into every time you go out, then I'm glad I signed up for the job! _Let's kick some ass_!"

As if that were some kind of signal, five other identical kats… well not exactly identical, but they certainly were just as ugly, came stomping out of the mists towards the SWAT Kats. But of course, they weren't exactly unprepared for it- they assumed fighting positions and opened fire with their Glovetrixes. Within seconds, .68 caliber, less-lethal grenades flew forward, ramming into their targets.

The little things packed a punch though, especially this close. And while they were staggering backwards, the SWAT Kats moved into action.

Things were about to get very ugly, very quickly.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

T-Bone was currently in a wrestling match with an oversized toadie of a kat, holding him… or rather, it… in a guillotine choke with his right arm while he delivered one knee strike after another. He'd see how this crazed beastie have its insides turned to mush.

"You guys doin' all right over there?" he asked into his radio before ramming his opponent's head into a nearby wall.

Razor responded, sounding a bit haggard, "Not really, but we'll manage!" He was currently striking into three kat-monsters that managed to surround him. Fists and feet went flying, ramming into anyone he could. All the while, he dodged and turned, evading claw swipes and tackle attempts. He managed to shove one kat into another before he was finally beset upon by the third…

And then, with what sounded more like a roar than anything else, Lioness came in with a flying side kick, knocking the airborne mutant out of the air and into the two that were trying to recover. They ended up in a neat pile, down for the count.

Razor looked towards her for a moment, smiling as he did so. "Damn, not bad!"

Suddenly, they saw another kat flying towards them from the alley, and their eyes widened as they ducked underneath. Behind them, they heard the sound of the other two kats getting slammed into by the living projectile- well, half alive anyway- and looked towards T-Bone as he dusted his hands off.

"Make out later," he joked, "We got a mad scientist to beat the shit out of."

But then, they heard more howls. Their eyes widened as they looked around, entirely stupefied. How the hell had so many snuck up on them? Razor checked his radar and said, "Holy shit, they're everywhere! I can't count 'em all… but we got a few of 'em coming our way, and fast!"

T-Bone aimed his Glovetrix towards the nearby skyscraper and said, "Then let's get above this crap, now!"

The others followed suit, and three grappling cables fired upwards, latching into the side of the building. They reeled themselves upwards just before three mutated kats leapt out at them from the mists, one of them almost snagging Lioness's right boot. Unfortunately, they began climbing up after them when they were finished hauling themselves upward.

"Aww, fuck. Scale the building, now! _Go, go, go_!" Lioness shouted as she began to do just that, expertly hopping upwards from one window to another. T-Bone and Razor followed suit as they scrambled up the building, hoping to lose their pursuers. Vines trailed upwards for miles, and the mutants used those for passage… which made them faster.

"Damn, not working," T-Bone said as he fired yet another grenade downwards. It impacted cleanly in a kat-beastie's face, forcing it to fall back down again. With how high up they were, it was not going to be pretty when the ground floor was reached. "Got any other ideas before we're lunch?"

Lioness gritted her teeth and said, "We've gotta get above this cloud! That's the only way! We'll take the roofs to reach the labs from now on!"

It was a crazy plan, but it would more than likely work. Or rather, it would work if they weren't dead before they got up there. Speaking of almost being dead, Razor suddenly had one of them on his right leg. "Crap, they're attempting to climb on US!" The slim SWAT Kat fired his Glovetrix yet again, and a less-lethal grenade hit the mutated freak-kat square in the face. Down it went, up they went.

The smog cloud began to break at around thirty stories. "Almost there…"

And then, the worst case scenario happened. One of them leapt upwards, right out of the cloud. How high had it had to jump for that? Was someone actually smart enough to toss it? No matter, it was coming, and as all three SWAT Kats aimed and tried to fire, they heard clicks.

"Oh, hell," T-Bone groaned.

Razor did something crazy just then… he launched himself at an upwards angle from the wall, turned in mid-air, and executed a flying back kick. It meant that he had to turn a full 360 degrees, but it also meant that he had more stopping power with the kick. And stop the creature it did, making it fly right back down to earth again. The bad news was that once the kick was completed, Razor was just about in free fall.

"No, **Razor**!" T-Bone shouted with sheer dread behind his voice.

It was then that the Lioness's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I don't fucking think so."

She fired her grappling line with an almost foolhardy confidence, but really it was a desperate effort. She had to do something, anything. The thought of losing him… it felt like someone had twisted something inside her to the point of breaking. The line extended to its maximum reach… and then went taut. She reeled the line back in, and sure enough…

"Well look what I caught! And I didn't even need bait," she said in a half-haughty, half-relieved voice.

Razor was hanging on with his left hand, the right aimed towards the same spot that he had leapt from. He grinned towards Lioness and said, "I was hoping you'd catch on," once he finally got back onto the wall. "I don't do crazy shit without a plan behind it, and I was counting on you to pull me back in."

T-Bone's eyes widened as he gaped at his slim partner. "You mean you planned that shit on the fly?"

Razor shrugged and said, "Well, the first part. I didn't know if anyone would go for the second one."

Lioness suddenly felt the urge to make out with him, combined with the fierce desire to break every bone in his body. He had saved their lives, without thinking about what would happen after or who gave a damn. And it was the most reckless, hotshot, impulsive thing she had ever seen.

'My God, what a tom,' she mused to herself. 'I don't know if I want to kiss him or kill him; or both!'

When one was so ambiguous about their feelings, it meant something important. But there was no time to think about it now. "Let's get the hell out of here, before more of those ugly bastards show up!"

The others agreed and finally broke the cloud cover five minutes later. Hauling themselves up atop the roof, they saw open sky for the first time since… well, since they had started all this. For a moment, they took a rest from all their efforts, basking in the sunlight as they took their masks off and the parts of the suit that covered their heads. "Hoo, boy… that was some seriously fucked up shit," T-Bone said as he lay out on the rooftop. "We need to get this done ASAP. Let's take a break though, huh? We deserve that much after all that."

They heard the growls increasing in volume and wearily stood up again. "Come _on_ guys," Razor said, "We ain't your best friends here!"

One of them broke the surface of the clouds, one arm first, then the other… and finally, when the head surfaced, the mutated kat's eyes widened in shock. It gasped for air like a fish out of water, and as one hand held on to its neck, the other scrambled for any sort of purchase. It found none.

Screaming in a guttural tone, it fell from its position. They were all lucky they couldn't hear the noise when that damn thing fell. "Lioness, you're a _goddamn mad genius_. These things can't breathe normal air anymore!" Razor said ecstatically. "How did you know?"

She was lucky that no one could see her blush. "You wanna know the truth? I didn't."

T-Bone and Razor looked at each other for a brief moment before they said in tandem, "A fuckin' mad genius." The big tom turned towards her and said, "That right there is thinking like a SWAT Kat."

* * *

Within the MegaKat Biochemical Labs, or rather, what used to be the labs, Dr. Viper heard the roars and howls. He laughed madly and said, "Ssseems like those SWAT Katsss have finally arrived. Shame that they won't see this city turned into my own personal playground. I think it'sss time to solidify my victory. I must admit, those explosivesss came in handy," he said as he began using his personal growth formula, this time combined with a dose of Katalyst Zero, to transform the plant life into his special breed of plant beasts. 

They were, unfortunately, stronger, faster, even more resilient to weed killer, and most of all, resistant to Enforcer gun fire.

'Not like they would come into thisss area anyway- it's a bomb waiting to happen,' he thought maliciously. With all of the cards in play and a few pawns in position, he began making his exit. If there were reinforcements placed here, no one would suspect that he was elsewhere. And with the mutated kats in the area, it would take a while to completely infiltrate the building.

"Thisss is the point where I make my exit, and begin plansss for my swamp city. And this time, there will be nothing standing in my way!"

With a mad cackle, he made his way out of the general vicinity, opening a manhole that was still hidden beneath the mists. Soon, the plantimals began to patrol the area, those with wings taking to the skies. Sooner or later, they would find someone to snack on… and with any luck, the mists would start spreading again, aided by a good wind. By the time the second part of his plan was executed, the first part will have gotten entirely too big for anyone to handle.

Too big even for the SWAT Kats.

* * *

They were on the move again. 

Leaping from one roof to the next wasn't a problem for them- they'd learned to handle just about anything. Still, it would be a while before they reached MegaKat Biochemical. If they could keep it up however, they would more than likely make good time. For the moment, they were having a hell of a time, launching from one building to another with almost effortless ease.

"So is this how you get around, then? A damn fine way to get moving," Razor said as he flipped from one roof to another, landing on the balls of his feet before taking off. T-Bone was having no trouble either, but his opinion still stood. "I'd rather take the sky, but there's that thing about everything being blown to hell if we did that."

After launching from one particular roof to another, grabbing the adjacent edge with their hands and their feet resting against the wall below, they kicked off of said wall and made their way up. Lioness however, managed to get one foot onto the roof and grip along the wall with the other, requiring less time to recover.

'She's been doing this for a while,' Razor thought to himself as he took note.

T-Bone suddenly skidded to a halt as he looked up and saw a horrifyingly familiar sight. "Awww, _damn it all_. We got a squadron of sap spitters headed our way, and they look hungry! You got any plans, Razor?"

The wiry SWAT Kat grimaced and said, "Just one… _move your asses_!"

And they did, just in time. Acid bolts rained down on them, melting through roofs. As they made their escape, they put their hoods and masks back on. Inhaling the fumes from that stuff wouldn't exactly be a good idea. Ahead, they saw what they were looking for- MegaKat Biochemical. But it was so far away… unfortunately, they didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

"We gotta keep moving! Head for some cover and regroup!" T-Bone didn't have to ask twice, and as they leapt down from the roof they were on, they smashed right through the windows of the adjacent building. Of course, they were followed in, but at least the plantimals had less room to maneuver. And that gave the big tom an idea…

He latched his grappling wire onto one of them, and it screeched in surprise and slight pain as the hook sunk in. After pulling himself up, he clamored on and tried to take control. "Damn you, listen to me for just one second!" He punched again, and though it didn't do much but stun the beastie, it gave him a momentary amount of control.

T-Bone's powerful thighs began to squeeze, as if he were trying to break the damn thing's ribs. That was, if it had any ribs in there. Sure enough, it panicked and sprayed acid in the direction it was pointed in. The acid sprayed onto the other plantimals before it… and ate right through. Regardless of what else they managed to shrug off, something that could eat through a tank was not one of them.

"_Hell yeah_! I got his slimy ass!"

Razor placed a hand on his chin and said, "Yeah… you did. And I think we've got ourselves a ride!"

Soon, they were back outside again, and this time they were ready for the rest of them. Lioness and Razor each got themselves a creature to ride on, and wrapped their grappling lines around their confiscated mounts. With that, they were back in the air. Unfortunately, they had seven more to take on. Though their opponents were two short, they still had numerical advantage. Still, it was good enough that they could fight back. Soon, they were mixing it up with their foes again.

"This is a weird-ass dogfight," Lioness said as she trained her ride on two that were trailing T-Bone, "But I ain't complaining any!" With that, she squeezed her thighs together, and the beastie she was riding opened fire. The acid hit those dead on, and they spiraled downward in a haze of acidic smoke. The two plantimals disintegrated before they hit the ground.

Razor managed to get two more to spit acid at each other as he banked out of the way. "Bingo! It's even odds, kats!"

T-Bone grimaced and said, "I prefer _zero_ odds. Let's finish 'em!"

They turned to face the three that were coming up on their six, preparing to open fire. "Steady," T-Bone said in a rather calm voice, despite the situation, "We just have to be faster than they are, that's all. Keep it steady…"

They were within firing range. Their foes opened their mouths to spit, and that's when it happened. "_Fire, now_!!"

They fired, and the acid went right into their guts. The SWAT Kats went right over the plantimals before they outright exploded, bits flying everywhere. "That takes care of that… now all we have to do is make our way over to MegaKat Labs and nab us a snakehead!"

Lioness nodded and said in her throaty purr of a voice, "Roger that, but how the hell are we going to take care of that mess down there? No one's going to be able to get through that gunk unless we stop this _right now_."

Razor grinned behind his nose cup and said, "_We_ won't have to. Doc Conway should have something cooked up by now to clear the air. I'm gonna give him a buzz- see if it's ready yet. Don't worry- he's good for it."

The slim SWAT Kat switched his frequency. "This is Razor to Enforcer HQ, target building is in sight and we are en route. What's the status of the cleanup crew?"

Dr. Conway responded instead- it seemed that Commander Feral was elsewhere. Hopefully he was getting a few teams ready to man the specially-equipped helicopters. "Situation is green, Razor. The special filters are equipped on the helos and ready for deployment. Commander Feral will be in the air in five minutes tops, but with him I would expect a shorter time than usual. He certainly is quick to jump on things."

Razor smirked and said, "That's what worries me most of the time, but right now it's a good thing. We're also going to need an airstrike at the following coordinates with the special bombs I mentioned. You got 'em set?"

Dr. Conway scratched the back of his head and said, "We have them prepped. Three F-16s are ready for launch on your go, but… are you positive this will work? Everything that sprung up just a few minutes ago could be immune to liquid nitrogen due to the various chemical compounds. This might do more harm than good."

Razor grimaced and said, "I know. But I can't think of a better plan. We burn it, and the inferno will most likely cover _more_ than twenty miles- this is our only shot. Have the pilots on standby- we're going to need all the support we can get here!"

Dr. Conway nodded and said, "All right. I'm certain that Commander Feral won't be happy to hear that you're assuming control like this, but he doesn't have much choice in the matter. I'll have them ready when you give the word."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow and said, "Buddy, did you plan this out before we left or something?"

Razor nodded as he switched frequencies again. "Yeah, I did. It worked once- it'll most likely work again. Precedents are a good thing to follow sometimes."

Soon, they arrived above their destination, sooner than expected. Pulling their mounts low enough so that they could land on the roof without injuring themselves, they leapt of, retrieved their grappling lines, and scrambled for the nearest building entrance before their rides decided to double back and start spitting acid again.

The nearest entrance happened to be the stairwell, and T-Bone kicked in the door with enough force to send it flying off of its hinges. They made their way downstairs, back into the mists, hoping for something, anything…

But as they made their way further in, he had a bad feeling- a sort of doubt. It was too easy… even with the limited resistance that had been encountered in the stairwell leading down towards the top floor, it was entirely too simple to penetrate the building. If the good doctor really were here…

'If he really were here, he'd have the damn thing _locked up_ like his own personal _Fort Knox_.'

"Hold position," T-Bone said as he raised his right fist. The others stopped and looked towards him. "Situation's changed. We have to move out, now."

Razor raised an eyebrow, but Lioness nodded. "Can I guess? You don't think he's here anymore, do you."

The big tom nodded. "It'd be a hell of a lot more difficult if he were. Razor, call in the Turbo Kat for extraction. I hear the Enforcer choppers coming in now. Hopefully with a few passes, this idea of yours will work. Report back to the hangar- I don't want to be here when he finds out we missed our boat."

Within minutes, the TurboKat was on the scene, prepared for immediate takeoff. By that time, the helos were already making their runs, the filters equipped on the sides and bottoms of the aircraft sucking in the toxins and converting them into something breathable.

The kats below, mutated and deformed, gasped for air. They were pretty much drowning without the environment they were "born" in and slowly but surely they were dying. Unfortunately, it couldn't be helped… but there was one thing that could.

"Doc, we're clear of the combat zone," Razor said as he looked down at what used to be MegaKat Biochemical. "As soon as the choppers are done, the F-16s are a green light for the strike. Coordinates should be set into the fire control computers by now. Target is, unfortunately, MegaKat Biochemical Labs."

Dr. Conway nodded and said, "I understand. This whole mess started there, and it might as well end there. I'll request the strike as soon as they're finished. Hopefully, the blast radius of the nitrogen will take the entire rainforest network out- otherwise we'll still have cleaning up to do."

Razor grinned and said, "Don't worry about that- two bombs should do the trick nicely. Thanks for your help, Dr. Conway. Razor out."

Lioness was in the cockpit as well, and she had Razor sitting in her lap. "So then, when should we tell Feral that Dr. Viper duped us?"

T-Bone grimaced and said, "When we're good and ready to, Lioness. For now, we regroup."

With that, and a lowering of the TurboKat's grappling line, Lioness was escorted to the StealthKat and the SWAT Kats took off again, headed for the scrap yard to discuss their next options. Either way, the talk with Feral would not be good…

* * *

"I want you to explain to me why the hell," Feral asked in his usual fury, "Dr. Viper is not in that holding cell I have created specifically for him! Well? _Answer me_!!" 

T-Bone was on the other line, and he sounded no happier than the Commander. "I told you, he got away. We didn't _let_ him get away- he _got away_. Viper planned this out step-by-step. Everything he placed in front of us, including that cloud of toxic chemicals, was designed as a distraction. In short, he outmaneuvered _both_ of us. So don't go blaming this shit on the SWAT Kats, like you _usually_ do!"

Feral sighed haggardly. Yes, this was not the time to throw blame around. Losing Felina had… changed him, if only in a slight way. Besides, they'd saved his ass more than once and Felina's as well. "You're right. I'm… I'm sorry."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow. Was Commander Feral still rattled from the ass-kicking that he gave him a while back? Because it sounded like he just apologized for an obvious and misplaced burst of anger. He shook his head, pretending that he didn't hear, and said, "Well now we need to find his scaly ass, and soon. He might have another batch of this stuff, and more explosives. Hell, he might be making chembombs as we sit here and chat."

Feral nodded on the other line. "We'll search every square inch of MegaKat City if we have to. Of course, I'm expecting your full cooperation on this."

T-Bone nodded and said, "That sure as hell is affirmative, Feral. We'll have all scanners up and running within half a minute."

Not surprisingly, Feral replied with, "All right. As soon as you find him, contact me. I'll send in any available units to move in and-"

"That," Razor cut in, "Is a huge _negative_, Commander. The more guys you send out, the more he'll suspect the game's up. You still need a small, covert team to penetrate into wherever the hell he's at and get the information out of him. Soon as we get Viper out though, we'll give you the coordinates of his base of operations. From there, you should find enough evidence to hold Viper in that reinforced cell of yours for a while."

Feral growled, both at the fact that he was interrupted… and the fact that the SWAT Kat was right. It was starting to become increasingly irritating that they were right most of the time. "…Fair enough," he agreed grudgingly. "I'll leave it to you, then. Besides, it gives the Enforcers an opportunity to actually capture one of these maniacs without them getting away. Get it done."

The transmission ended, and T-Bone turned towards the other two SWAT Kats in the roster. "Not much R&R for us, kats. Fuel up and let's move. He's out there somewhere, and we're gonna have to go get him before things get worse than they already are."

Lioness smirked and said, "What could be worse than a good portion of MegaKat City being turned into a temporary winter wonderland?"

Razor joked around as well, saying, "Or Feral when he has to clean up all that mess afterwards? Bet he's having a field day right now. By the way, you got any idea where Dr. Viper might be, so we can nail him and get back to our day? Seriously, this thing with the Commander actually _asking_ for our help… it's starting to freak me out."

T-Bone grinned and said, "Roger that. But as far as I can tell, there are only two places he could be. Either the Chemical Factory, where he'd be most likely to strike next, or MegaKat Swamp, which is one of the few places I'd hang out if I were him. Fortunately for us, we _can_ be in two places at once."

He pointed towards Razor and Lioness. "You two check the swamp. There's a lot of ground to cover, and it'll be better if there's more people searching the place. And remember to suit up; the smell of that place is fucking ridiculous, and there could be more than just methane in the air."

They could work with that plan. Lioness smirked and said, "Guess that leaves the rather unglamorous job of searching the Chemical Factory to you, then."

T-Bone scrunched up his nose and said, "Ha, ha. At least I won't be eating swamp fumes most of the time. Whoever finds Dr. Viper first will radio the others and rendezvous at his location. Understood?"

Razor and Lioness looked at each other for a brief moment before they saluted. When someone had a plan and a good one… well, others just happened to follow him. "We got it!" they said in tandem.

T-Bone nodded, thinking nothing of the gesture. That was all it was, after all. "Then get moving. Take a Cyclotron- the jet would be too obvious. Remember, radio in when you've got a bead on him. Move out, SWAT Kats!"

With that, they all scrambled to their respective vehicles, with T-Bone taking the Thunder Truck this time. Before he left the hangar, a two-seater Cyclotron roared out, boosters flaring before Razor gunned the engines. With that, the SWAT Kats split up, as they tended to do when needing to cover more ground.

With any luck, they would reach Dr. Viper before he got whatever he was cooking ready for deployment. If not… there really _would _be one oversized swamp for him to muck around in, filled with mutated kats. That was not a pretty thought, and it stood out in all their minds as they went out to search for their common foe.

* * *

**Chapter 21: Welcome to the Jungle (Part 2) - **_**Vanish like a Ninja**_

It occurs to me that I keep on making up these awesome titles for chapters. Why is that exactly? What compels me to do such things; to create sheer awesomeness off of the top of my head? I don't know, but whatever it is I hope I don't lose it.

Let's go straight to the meat and potatoes here, fans. It's once again time for Reviewer Appreciation. And yes, I'm capitalizing that from now on- it's a special section of the author's notes. It deserves a bit of a headline.

First off, we have **Purple kat**. Welcome back! Glad to see you again after such a long time. I'm glad that Dr. Viper is your favorite, but it's a shame that he'll be axed near the end of this one… still, once again, I'm going to off him in a more indirect manner. **RaidenSilversword**, thanks for commenting. I do so enjoy your amusing and informative reviews. Yes, Felina is fitting in quite well, as this chapter has hopefully portrayed. One can only wonder what she'll be up to next. Last, but not least, we have **GeekGirl2**! Oh yeah, bruised egos all around here, especially in this chapter. You'll want to take a closer look at the fic from now on, as Feral and the SWAT Kats will be working together on at least one more occasion.

And that's the news, sports and weather. We now return you to your regular, boring day. Well, at least until the next chapter arrives. And trust me; it won't be long before I drop the bomb again!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	22. Welcome to the Jungle Part 3

T-Bone looked through a pair of tactical binoculars at the Chemical Factory that he was to infiltrate. It wasn't going to be anywhere near easy, or legal for that matter, due to the fact that the normal security forces had been replaced with Enforcers. Perhaps Feral was one step ahead of him this time- he thought that Viper would hit this place next as well.

'Or maybe he just wants to make a good showing,' the big tom brooded with a smirk.

If they were however, on the same page, the Enforcers were probably there to watch for any suspicious activity, including and especially the SWAT Kats. Knowing Feral, he would probably tell them to shoot them if they got anywhere near the building. But even that was a tactically unsound order- Viper could get in through the sewer systems. To assume that he wouldn't take the same way was foolish.

'But they're right,' he thought as his nose scrunched up again. 'No way am I going down in that muck. My only hope is that they're not covering the rear entrance or the roof.'

Since he would have to get within visual range of the guards to check the rear entrance, he looked upwards with his binoculars, zeroing in on the roof. There didn't look like there was anyone there, but… he couldn't exactly see that far with these. Still, it was better than nothing, and he could take care of just one.

With that in mind, T-Bone exited the Thunder Truck and made his way inside. Well not inside yet, but rather towards the building. Getting inside would be more difficult than he first anticipated, but it was doable. Firing his grappling line towards the eastern edge after an Enforcer patrol passed by, making sure that they were completely gone before doing so.

As he reeled himself in, he wondered what would happen if Viper were actually here… and began to figure that he could take him on his own. To be perfectly honest, it wasn't that difficult to fight the half-snake, half-kat. The big tom grinned as he thought about how he'd love to tear that tail right off of the mutated sicko, but for the moment he had to get in first and scope the factory out.

The entry point was soon found- a ventilation shaft that curved its way downward. He took a blow torch to the damn thing, seeing as kicking it in wouldn't help matters as far as stealth tactics, and within sixty seconds, he was crawling his way to a safe point where he could drop down, preferably somewhere that was out of the way and out of sight.

Like any good air conditioning system though, the network of air ducts was more of a labyrinth than a simple, one-way track. T- Bone sighed and muttered, "This is going to be more… interesting than I thought."

By interesting, he meant that it would be a pain-in-the-ass to navigate all this. Yet and still, he made an attempt to do so, checking his radar now and then. Fortunately for him, the signal bounced off of the walls, providing a rather accurate map. Now and then, he looked down through the vents to see and hear what was going on.

'No talk of anyone suspicious yet.'

Not like he was expecting anything bad to go on here. All the action was probably at the swamp, but he refused to go that way. Hell no- he would rather take his time and look for Viper where it wasn't so… stinky. Though to be honest, it was starting to stink around here as well. 'Damn,' T-Bone thought with a disgusted grimace, 'you'd swear they had learned how to tone it down by now…'

But of course, the moment passed and he found his quiet way in. The vent just above the janitor's closet swung open in downwards fashion as T-Bone made his way out of the air conditioning. Checking to see if his Glovatrix was fully loaded and properly armed, he sighed and said, "Time to go snake hunting."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

As he moved from one hallway to the next with muted footfalls and making sure to check his corners before advancing, the big tom made sure to avoid contact. It was definitely not a good idea to start a fight in here, especially since he had infiltrated instead of just walking in through the front door. As he made his way toward the nearest stairwell, T-Bone was almost sure that he would get caught with all these lights on.

'But this isn't a raid,' the big tom reminded himself. 'This is infiltration and monitoring. I can't hurt any kat that I run into, unless it's Viper.'

Soon though, it was almost unavoidable for him to stay undetected for long. He heard someone coming upstairs, and he wasn't even on the production floor yet. Hastily opening the nearest door and standing to the right of it, he heard the two toms pass by him in relative ignorance of his presence. He did however, hear them talking…

"Hey, you hear anything about those Enforcers outside?"

T-Bone couldn't help but overhear for a moment as they walked past the door he had just hurried through.

"Yeah. They say that crazy Dr. Viper is probably heading over here. Not like he would try anyways- there's nothing here he would be interested in. You remember the last time they came around?"

The other kat sounded disgusted as he remembered. "They acted like they owned the place. They were lucky that they were ordered by the Mayor to do it- otherwise we'd have thrown him and his goons off the premises. But maybe it's a good thing they came- I think I'd tolerate them more than I could tolerate a criminal or terrorist in here."

The first kat chuckled and said, "Even if it was the SWAT Kats that came in?"

His partner seemed to pause for a moment and said, "Now, they're a different story. I think that…"

The conversation faded away before he could catch any more. There was talk of Viper all right, but no signs of anything suspicious. T-Bone sighed and said, "This is getting nowhere. I sure as hell hope that Lioness and Razor are having better luck… that is, if they're not doing the tongue tango."

He chuckled at the very image. Hell, he wouldn't mind if it were outside of a mission. Truth be told, they were just right for each other- full of ideas and full of excess energy to bleed off. Regardless, it wasn't the time to think about or act on such things. He honestly hoped they had their heads in the game.

'If they don't… we're all fucked.'

With that, he continued making his way through the factory.

* * *

"We're lucky we got these chemsuits on," Razor said in a rather disgusted tone as they went sloshing through the swamps, their Glovatrixes raised and ready. "Otherwise we really would be sucking these swamp fumes instead of actual, breathable, and non-stinky air." 

Lioness had a marked grimace on her features. "Regardless, I still feel like I'm gonna need a shower after this. If Viper isn't here, we're heading back ASAP. I hate feeling like I'm searching through square feet of muck for nothing. In fact, there's only one good thing about this whole expedition."

Razor raised an eyebrow. "You mean there's a _good_ thing about all this?"

Lioness chuckled and said, "Come on, let's go."

As they continued moving through the wetlands, everything seemed to be deathly still, as if even the birds and snakes that usually hung out here were gone. It seemed that the further in they went, the more eerie the quiet became. Soon, it seemed that not even the air stirred- it was almost perfectly still.

"I don't like this," Lioness whispered. "There's nothing moving… and I mean _nothing_."

Razor grimaced and said, "We're in no-kat's land here. Good and lost now."

As if that were a signal for something, the mists before them cleared. Their eyes widened as they beheld what looked like a primitive version of a building. Vines and plants seemed to cover the entirety of the structure, but there was a power source somewhere, because the lights were on. Whether the generator was inside or outside was a different manner altogether, because they couldn't see it from where they stood.

'Shit… he's here, all right,' Razor brooded to himself.

"Razor," Lioness said as she looked behind her, "We're being watched."

He fired his Glovatrix behind him without looking, a blade popping out of the wrist-mounted personnel weapon. The blade punched through an insect that was much, much bigger than most of the ones that were normally seen around these parts. Another shot followed, not even an eye blink behind the first one, and another one was taken down in a haze of toxin-laced blood.

"I know." He turned towards Lioness and said, "I'm doing some recon- see if there's a generator anywhere that we could disable before going in. You call T-Bone and tell him to head towards the swamp in the HoverKat. We're gonna need some extraction, and fast. Soon as you get the word out, you cover me. There could be more of those things around."

She nodded and began to make the call. Hopefully, he wasn't out of range…

As Razor moved towards the murky waters that were no doubt laced with chemicals and mutagens by now, he searched for some kind of power converter. It would most likely be near the base of the structure, so that was where he would look. The bad news was that he would have to wade in that water for a bit.

'Yeah, I'm gonna agree with that shower bit. Chemsuit or no, I'm not keen to the idea of wading in this gunk for too long.'

Of course, he soon saw a ripple in the water. This was definitely not a good sign… it meant that whatever was living in these waters, if there was indeed anything there, was not friendly and most likely poisonous. Razor got a move on, making his way towards the next bit of dry land, which was the bottom of the structure that was Dr. Viper's supposed lair… when he was suddenly and violently pulled under.

Lioness looked behind her right shoulder, halting the transmission that she was in the middle of trying to send, hearing something wrong on her own frequency. "Razor? What's wrong?"

She did not have a good feeling about this… and she began moving towards his position as soon as she had that thought, her quick body responding to that same quick mind. She didn't get a response to her communiqué yet, and was starting to get extremely worried. "Razor, respond! What's your status?!"

As soon as she reached the water's edge, there was nothing to be found, and she grimaced as she dove beneath the surface. 'Fuck,' she cursed mentally, 'what a way to go.'

Underwater, Razor was not exactly in good shape, but he wasn't too bad either. The good news that he hadn't had his suit penetrated in any way. The bad news was that a quite large snake was trying to make sure that wasn't a permanent condition. He tried to fire his Glovatrix, but found that he could not. 'This _crap_ is gumming the weapons systems up!'

He was squeezed yet again, and gritted his teeth. 'Dammit… there's _nothing_ good about this place.'

The snake suddenly opened its mouth, trying to swallow the lean SWAT Kat's head whole… when a combat knife suddenly went straight through the underside of its mouth, up through the roof, and out the hard way. The hold loosened and Lioness pulled Razor free from the confines of the serpent. They both swam towards the surface and ended up at their intended destination.

"You're right," Lioness said in between shallow breaths, "This place sucks. But there's still something good about this whole thing."

Razor laughed mirthlessly and said, "Doubt that, but go ahead."

The she-kat smiled behind her nose cup and said, "We're here together."

He looked towards her and said, "That's the cheesiest reason I've ever heard. But it does help." Razor stood up and looked around for the target… which was nowhere in sight. "Damn… it must be inside. Well so much for taking out the power first. And our Glovatrixes are pretty much useless now- they're clogged with that swamp water."

Lioness sighed and said, "This is what, the second time we haven't been able to use our personnel weapons for some reason or other?"

Razor nodded, testing out his grappling line. It fired, straight up to the top of the makeshift structure. "At least we still got these. Let's do plan B- head for the front entrance as quietly as you can. Watch out for plantimals and those oversized stingers. Did you call for T-Bone yet?"

She shook her head and said, "Your scaly buddy interrupted me."

Razor smiled and said, "Fair enough- call him on your way up. We'll do a double-entry and take him from both sides, if he's in there."

With that, they made their way up via two different methods. Lioness didn't mind taking the direct route- it was how she worked best. As she made her way up the main pathway, she once again attempted to call in for some backup- they would probably need it.

* * *

Heading from his fruitless search at the Chemical Factory, T-Bone suddenly received an emergency transmission on his radio frequency. "T-Bone, this is Lioness. Break off your search; I repeat, break off. We got Viper's base of operations and need backup. Please respond." 

He was about to reply when he heard a distinct buzzing. It sounded like something bad was happening over there. Sure enough, back at the swamp, too many wasps to count were heading in the direction of Lioness and Razor, and closing quickly. Just like Razor had shown her, she deployed the shield to her Glovatrix and said into her radio, "Respond a bit faster, T-Bone, situation is seriously FUBAR…"

"Roger that, Lioness," he replied as he punched the accelerator, "I'm heading in your direction already."

Her eyes widened as a stinger hit the shield she was ducking behind, the rest of them falling around her. "Wait, in the Thunder Truck? You're _completely fucking nuts_! It won't make it through the swamp! Head back to the hangar and get the HoverKat!"

T-Bone grimaced as he drove towards their position. "Negative on that- there's no time. Viper could have found you guys out by now. I'm heading through that shithole and getting that megalo, come hell or high water!"

He hit the boosters and began making his way towards the outskirts of the city, traffic moving out of the way of the Thunder Truck as it barreled through the streets. He just hoped he wasn't too late… but just in case he was, he would need to call in a favor. A big one.

"This is T-Bone calling Enforcer HQ. I'm requesting immediate backup in the vicinity of MegaKat Swamp. My team is pinned down and needs extraction, ASAP. I'm already en route, but I could use a bit of backup, over."

Feral responded immediately. The last thing he needed to do at the moment was gloat- he'd have plenty of time to do that later. Right now, it was time to get his forces moving. "Understood T-Bone, I have helos on route to their position. Have they found Viper's base?"

"Yeah," the big SWAT Kat replied, "And they found his anti-personnel defenses too. Or rather, the defenses found _them_. Viper could be down there as well, but there's no way to confirm yet."

Feral growled, but sent the choppers out their way. He would take what he could get.

With that out of the way, T-Bone gunned the engines again and found himself nearing the marshlands. The Enforcers would be descending on that place like a bunch of hawks soon, eager for the prey, but he wanted to get Viper before they did. It wasn't long before he came crashing and smashing through the trees, his tires splashing through the water as if they were puddles.

"Kat-scanner is picking up two heat signatures ahead- that must be them!"

He prayed for rain as he cleared the last five miles of marsh, the Thunder Truck ramming through anything in its way. 'Hang on, I'm almost there…'

* * *

Lioness was not having a good day right now. Aside from having multiple stingers in her shield and being forced to use said same shield and oversized stingers to beat and poke her way out of this mess, she had to look after Razor, who was busy infiltrating the building. 

"Hurry it up, SWAT Kat," she said as she ran the stinger she was currently using through another incoming wasp, hell bent on poking her with that poisonous needle, "We don't have much time!"

Razor responded as beads of sweat ran down his forehead, "Fifteen seconds until breach. Just hang on for a bit longer, all right? I almost got it open…"

A stinger missed the she-kat's head by three inches, which made her curse vehemently. "Fine then, _son of a bitch_! You want a piece of this, then?" She yanked the stinger free from the ground and threw it back with surprising accuracy, spearing two of them through at once. Still, for every two that went down, three followed. She rolled out of the way as a barrage of stingers came at her and yelled, "_Time_?!"

Razor's cutting torch couldn't seem to cut fast enough. "Six seconds." He was surprisingly calm about it.

Lioness huffed and said, "Six seconds better turn into one second _real quick_- I can't keep this up!" She wondered where the hell T-Bone was at- they could use some extra fire power at the moment. But of course, just as soon as the thought came up, she heard the distinct sound of an engine, along with afterburners.

'Yes!! Here comes the Calvary!'

As T-Bone broke through the tree line, things seemed to move in slow motion. The wasps scattered, breaking formation immediately. As it skidded to a hald, Lioness immediately moved towards the Thunder Truck as fast as she was able, yelling in her radio, "It's about time! They were about to turn me into a pin cushion!"

"So I noticed," the big tom responded, "Now get on the turret and make with the pest control!"

The mounted turret this time was a GAU-19/A Gatling gun. They certainly could find anything in a scrap yard, couldn't they? And the fact that they had kept it so well maintained was a wonder. She didn't hesitate to get a bead on the wasps that were coming around for a second strafing run and pull the trigger.

They had lined themselves up all nice and neat, and she couldn't help but grin wildly as she took the nasty little bugs down. They scattered, but not before about six of them were eradicated by the constant stream of .50 caliber fire. And even then, she began tracking for targets, taking out whole groups quite handily.

Meanwhile, T-Bone hopped out of the truck and began sprinting towards the laboratory while Lioness was giving him support fire. "Razor, this is T-Bone," he shouted into his helmet radio, "give me a situation report!"

Razor responded and said, "I'm in, but there's no sign of him yet…"

They both heard the sound of his air being depleted as his sentence was abruptly cut off. Razor had been yanked off of the ground by the tail of none other than Dr. Viper, and he was having a grand time reducing his supply of oxygen as the extra appendage wrapped around Razor's rib cage.

"Oh, but there have been plenty of signssss of my presence. You simply have not been paying attention!"

T-Bone grimaced. "Viper, you slime ball. I'm coming up there to tan your scaly hide!"

He chuckled darkly and said, "Not if you don't want me to break your partner in half. Stand down and fall back, or this slim kat goesss to hell!"

Razor struggled and fought, his air supply becoming increasingly low. He wasn't fucking around here… There had to be some way to get him to let go… and then, he had it. "That gunfire out there," he managed to rasp out, "That was Commander Feral."

Viper grinned viciously and said, "A lie. He would not be audaciousss enough to advance into this swamp without hisss precious backup. And besides, he would have barged in by now with his troopsss."

Razor grinned back, just as ferociously. "You never know- Feral may have actually gotten smart for once. Besides, how do you know that backup isn't on the way already? You have _zero_ time to mess with me, much less break my ribs!"

Viper faltered, for just a brief moment. Perhaps this one was right… if this were true, he had no time at all to play around. He didn't even have time to pack all this away! But it wouldn't matter, they wouldn't catch him. The Enforcers were simply not that on the ball.

"…Do not be so foolish as to think that I am letting you live out of mercy, SSSWAT Kat. You will die by my hand, sooner or later!"

The demented biochemist dropped his captive uncerimoniously and began making his escape. However, it wasn't long before multiple shots fired through the door, weakening it to a significant amount. Soon, T-Bone kicked the door in, sending it flying towards Viper's retreating tail. Having long since dressed in his chemsuit and mask by now, he was pretty much ready for whatever Viper could throw at him, literally.

"Couldn't run in time, could you? We've got you now, Viper," he called out.

T-Bone however was met with a vial of the same Katalyst Zero that had been used to transform the area around MegaKat Labs into a rainforest. The bad news was that all the plants in here were alive… and though the chemsuit protected him and Razor, it couldn't save them from being eaten alive.

"Awww, hell… this is just my day," he groaned as he picked Razor up and carried him over his right shoulder before hauling him out of there. Right behind him was a series of giant, thorny vines and rows of teeth that could bite him in two. "Lioness, move your ass, we got a problem!"

"I noticed," she replied as she trained the turret on this new, very ugly threat. She opened fire with the .50 caliber, but it didn't have much of an effect. Still, it did provide a nice distraction as T-Bone and Razor made their way to the Thunder Truck.

"T-Bone, hit the Trace Radar," Razor said as he clamored into the vehicle. Raising an eyebrow, the bigger SWAT Kat did so, and found that there was indeed a contact. It was moving fast, but they could track him. "You sneaky bastard, you put a homing bug on him!"

"Yeah," the slim tom said with a grimace, "But we gotta get past tall, dark, and ugly here first. And we don't have the firepower for it!"

Seeing how futile it was, Lioness stopped firing as they simply sat there, waiting for the damn thing to move. And move it did, but not in the way they expected. A pair of Hellfire anti-tank missiles rammed into the plant beastie, causing it to screech in pain.

"You're late, Commander," T-Bone said with a smirk.

A pair of Enforcer helos had arrived on site, armed with a pair of GAU-8 Avenger auto cannons and eight Hellfire missiles. Well technically, seven apiece- one had been fired from each helicopter. But they were still fully loaded and ready to unload some serious firepower.

"Early enough to save your asses," Feral replied over his helicopter's loudspeaker. "Where's Viper?"

Razor responded this time. "He's on the run, but he's not far. We'll get moving soon, if only we could get the hell away from this flytrap!"

Feral nodded and said, "You heard him, kats! _Clear a path_!" The auto cannons opened fire, tearing holes through vines with 30mm rounds. Soon, the Thunder Truck had a clear path. But as they drove away, Lioness looked behind her and saw the choppers take evasive action, acid spitting towards them. She wanted to help… oh, how she wanted to.

'But I'm needed _here_. Sorry Uncle,' she thought to herself as she turned back towards the forward position and looked for targets.

The engine roared, the boosters ignited, and the chase was on!

* * *

**Chapter 22: Welcome to the Jungle (Part 3) - **_**The Escape**_

Phew. Okay, that's over with. I know this was a short chapter, nowhere near seven thousand words, but I'm trying to crank these out as quickly as possible while maintaining my perspective and the flow of action. So I figure four to five thousand words aren't too bad. In any event, I will skip straight to Reviewer Appreciation.

**Master Nemesis**. Thanks for posting, man. I'm going to introduce the StealthKat's aerial capabilities later- right now it's all about ground action. Wait until the next story arc for the details on that! **RaidenSilversword**, you are hilarious. But seriously, I'm glad I'm your number one. I'm hoping that I'm everyone else's number one as well.

Anyways, bed for me now. I'm sleepy and I've been writing for almost eighteen hours straight.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	23. Welcome to the Jungle Part 4

The giant-sized plant monster would not go down.

Arms were shot off, missiles were fired at it, multiple 30mm cannon rounds rained down on it, and it still kept on coming back for more. Feral grimaced and said, "Once again we're left to deal with Dr. Viper's trash," as another giant flower with massive teeth that could chew through Chobham armor lashed out at his helo. The pilot barely pulled away as several thorny vines spit acid at the chopper.

The other one wasn't as lucky as its engine was eaten clean through… and just plain old blew up. Feral growled fiercely as his wingman went down in a ball of fire. The pilot of Feral's helicopter grimaced and said, "Do we go down swinging, Sir?"

Feral trained his sights on the plant monster and said, "We are _not_ going down."

There was no time to call for backup- not now. They would arrive too late and he knew it. He had to take this damn thing out now. Waiting until one of the plant heads opened up again to try and chew him apart, he fired a Hellfire right into its guts. If that didn't stop it, nothing would…

And sure enough, the stupid thing let it go down its throat.

The head was blown clean off by the anti-tank, air-to-ground missile. It wasn't growing back apparently as the plant monster's other six heads screamed in pain and rage. Acid spit from multiple directions, and yet the pilot was trained for this one. Heck, all the pilots were trained for multiple situations, but they weren't always lucky.

This guy was, though.

"Bring her around," Feral said as he fired the Avenger auto cannons towards the arms that fired anti-air acid towards them, lopping them clean off. He knew they'd grow back, but the plant would have to stop moving for a moment in order to make them do so faster. "I'm going to rinse and repeat. And call in a surgical strike on this building after we get the evidence."

The pilot nodded as he allowed the Commander to line up his sights again.

"Chew on _this_," Feral said menacingly as he fired yet another Hellfire. Once again, the plant monster didn't really have much of a brain as it ate the projectile. Yet another head was blown off. Two down, five to go. Fortunately, Feral had five missiles left. The only bad news was that they were running out of ammunition.

If they ran out of bullets for the cannons, then there would be nothing to slow it down. The task of beating this beast would become that much more difficult. Maybe he did need that backup after all… he just hoped they would get here in time.

'You goddamn SWAT Kats had better have Viper in a _gift box_ for me when we're done, or I'll have _your_ heads next!'

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Small lakes were mere puddles to the massive wheels of the Thunder Truck as it smashed through the swampland, and trees toppled as it rammed through them. T-Bone might be bat shit crazy, but he was getting the job done of chasing Dr. Viper down. Of course, all the while, Razor was keeping tabs on their mark, telling their driver which way to turn.

"T-Bone, there he is! Target at three o'clock," he shouted excitedly.

"I see him," the big tom said as he cranked the wheel to the right, the vehicle turning sharply. Lioness had to hang on as they gave chase, grinning wildly as she did so. She still had her chemsuit on, thank goodness. Regardless of how fun this was, it'd be a whole lot _less_ fun if she were breathing in the stink that this place gave off.

Suddenly, her eyes looked upwards towards the trees. "Shit… we got incoming," she said as she began opening fire on a whole new set of threats. There were twelve more wasps, and they were supported by two flying plantimals. She knew for a fact that they had pretty much iron hides when it came to gunfire, but she would do what she could.

T-Bone grinned and said, "Then we're _definitely_ going in the right direction. Keep us covered, Lioness- we'll bag this creep and turn him in to the Enforcers in no time!"

The she-kat grimaced and said, "No promises…" but she continued firing anyway. Three of the wasps were down, but she had to duck as several stingers and acid shots came at her. "That the best you got, fuckers?! Viper needs to work on his formulas a bit more if that's all you're packing," she taunted as she fired again. The .50 caliber incendiary rounds chewed through more wasps as they came around for another pass.

Meanwhile, Razor looked leaned out of the right window and took a look upwards. Viper was moving through the trees with a speed that he had never seen before. He knew they were following him, and that meant that he was leading them somewhere. The slim SWAT Kat's eyes narrowed and said, "Damn him. T-Bone, we're being duped again! He _let_ me put that tracker on him!"

The big tom raised an eyebrow and said, "You sure about that? I think he's just hauling ass because we've got him cornered."

Razor put his head back in just as a branch came his way. "I'm not joking man; he's leading us into a trap. But we have no choice but to follow if we want to nail this guy. Keep on his heading and don't lose him!"

But of course, the damage alarm began to sound off in their ears. T-Bone yelled as the truck was just about punched through. "Lioness, what's the problem back there?"

She grimaced and shouted, "_Reinforcements_! They came out of nowhere- I'm trying to bring down as many as I can, but I can't hold them all!" She continued the stream of fire, but no matter how many she took down there just seemed to be more of them. "There are two- no, three! Three squadrons heading our way! Twelve each, two of those acid slingers for support on each team!"

T-Bone's eyes widened. "Goddamn… a whole fucking _wing_! Where the hell are these guys coming from?"

And then, Razor realized what exactly the trap was. They were already in it. "T-Bone, he's not leading us into a trap… he's leading us _through_ it! This whole swamp _is_ the trap!"

T-Bone growled and said, "This sick fuck is _really_ pissing me off. Exactly how long did it take him to set this up?" He shook his head and said, "Never mind- we gotta take him in, now! Even if we have to tear apart this whole swamp to do it, he's going down!"

And at that point, the low ammo alarm began to sound. "Awww, that's just great," T-Bone groaned. "Just when I get my resolve back, she burns through the turret!" He turns on his radio and shouted, "Lioness, you got low ammo back there, conserve your fire! There are a couple more weapons- use them if you have to!"

She looked around for something she could use to her advantage when she found it- a panel that was hidden near the bottom of the weapons platform, just behind her. Without thinking about the consequences, she kicked the hidden panel with her right toe, and it simply flipped downwards, revealing a hidden shelf full of goodies.

She picked up a grenade launcher and a few extra rounds, turned off the safety, and fired with her left hand. Three more grenades were in her right, just waiting to be used. For a moment, she wondered if one of those would hit at all… and then took note that they didn't have to as the round she had fired exploded in mid-air. Three, four, five wasps fell, and the rest scattered, a few firing stingers at her in retaliation.

'Whoa, these are airburst rounds. Nice!'

She loaded the next round with a grin, deploying the shield on her Glovatrix at the same time. "Come and get some."

In the driver's seat, T-Bone was still busy chasing down Dr. Viper, wondering where he had gotten the added airpower from. And once again, he realized that all this was a distraction, a diversion to keep them occupied. His eyes narrowed as he prepared to hit the afterburners. "I've had enough of this guy."

"Hang on T-Bone," Razor said as he leaned out of the passenger's side window, "Let me see if I can't get him myself. You two call for backup on these little runts; I'm sure that Feral would _love_ to get some payback on 'em. I'll contact you when I have Viper in custody."

Without another word, Razor deployed his grappling line and yanked himself out of the Thunder Truck.

"Razor, wait!!" T-Bone called out, but it was too late- the slim SWAT Kat was gone and after him. T-Bone shook his head and said, "Dammit, you're as crazy as I am, buddy." He activated the radio frequency and said, "Hear that, Lioness? It's you and me now!"

She fired another grenade as she ducked behind her shield, and watched as several more wasps fell in smoking heaps. "Well that's fine, just as long as he doesn't get himself _killed_. But what are we supposed to do about these guys?" Three more stingers impaled themselves in the shield as she reloaded. "The Thunder Truck can't take much more, and neither can we!"

T-Bone smirked and said, "Simple, we sic the Commander on 'em. By now, he should have some… chopper backup." He chuckled to himself and switched to the Enforcer frequency.

* * *

"_Keep at it_, kats! We're almost there," Feral shouted over his radio. His helo had been joined by five more, similarly armed. They were busy keeping the acid vines occupied and keeping themselves from turning into lunch while Feral aimed for the open mouths of the plants. He had taken out three, but missed the other two. It wasn't over yet… but it was close. 

Suddenly, he intercepted a transmission from a private frequency. Of course, there was only one group of kats he knew that could tap into an emergency radio band. And there was only one reason he knew why they would be calling him, especially now.

"Let me guess- you're in the fire again and need someone to pull you out."

T-Bone replied, "Ha ha, very funny. We got ten tons of bogies on our six and are running out of firepower here! Razor's on Viper's tail, but meanwhile we're stuck fending off a swarm. Razor said this whole swamp is one giant trap, so don't be surprised if you run into some trouble on the way."

Feral almost growled. The audacity! "You expect me to _drop what I'm doing_ just to come and help a few vigilantes? Ones that I would rather see locked up than on the streets?"

"Either that," T-Bone countered calmly, "Or you lose your only chance of stopping Viper from blowing anything else up. It's your choice. I'm sure you can spare at least _two_ helos, right? Unless that ugly bastard still has you occupied…"

Feral groaned. He didn't _really_ have an excuse _not_ to help, did he? Several more acid jets sprayed at his helicopters before he could make a reply, narrowly missing the pack. "Give me a moment… we're almost done here." He cut transmission and shouted, "Someone take out those last two plant heads, _on the double_! Fire when their mouths are open!"

One of the helicopters got too close for comfort when the message was sent, but they managed to react quickly enough to launch a Hellfire right into the open jaws that were coming right towards it, and then quickly break away. It was a clean shot, and sure enough yet another plant went boom. One left. Feral was no longer worried about sending a few men towards the SWAT Kats' position.

"That was excellent shooting, Unit Six. I need you and another helo to head towards the SWAT Kats- they need some air support, ASAP. Get moving before they bite it! The rest of you, let's finish this thing off and move in! I want any evidence you can recover turned over to me in five minutes. You get me?"

"Yes sir," they all said at once before going to their respective tasks. Two helicopters broke formation and headed towards the last known position of the Thunder Truck, which wasn't that hard to find- the path of destruction the assault vehicle had carved while chasing Dr. Viper was obvious enough.

"They're _nuts_- do they plan on tearing this whole swamp apart looking for him?" one of the Enforcers asked as he looked down in shock.

Another said, "No, not looking for him." He pointed down, his finger tracing along the path of destruction. "They_ found_ him, and that's the path they took chasing him. It's too straightforward- if they were looking for him, there'd be a lot more damage than this. Follow the downed trees and activate all radar scanners- ten kilometer radius. They can't have gone that far."

It was five minutes before they found anything, and when they did it didn't look good.

"Holy shit… multiple hostile contacts! I'm also getting a reading of gunfire down there- that's gotta be them." They moved in closer and saw the Thunder Truck, with someone firing a Gatling gun on the back, along with a few airburst grenades. With that said, they would not be doing so well for much longer, as demonstrated by the sheer numbers they faced.

"Things ain't lookin' good… weapons hot! Take those hostiles down!"

Both pairs of 30mm auto cannons opened fire, shredding through the lines of wasps and giving the six airborne plantimals a good distraction. Their numbers were quickly cut in half.

"Thanks guys; we needed the air support. Careful of those acid spitters," T-Bone said through their frequency, "You know how much punishment they can take!"

The Enforcer choppers responded, "Roger that. We'll see how they like a few Hellfire missiles down their throats. Just get Viper- we'll cover your six. And for the record… regardless of what Feral thinks, you're good with us."

T-Bone smiled and said, "Hey, don't mention it… to anyone. I wouldn't want Feral to think his own guys were turning against him."

With that, the afterburners of the Thunder Truck kicked in as it hauled ass. With any luck, they would catch up to his buddy in time. T-Bone doubted that the slim tom could take him alone, but then again you just had to trust Razor on these things.

Meanwhile, the Enforcer choppers were busy evading acid shots. It wasn't like they regretted their decision, but at the moment it didn't look like they could do much about it. Yet and still, they both doubled back and aimed their missiles at the targets. The thing about these pests was that if one blew up, adjacent ones would follow.

Hopefully.

"Targets engaged… AGMs deployed!"

The Hellfire missiles launched, seconds after another round of acid blasts came their way. And seeing as they could travel at a good clip from the get go, the beasties soon ate their share of destruction. Two of them blew up… and only one each managed to break away before they exploded. The others were not so fast. Four down, two left.

"Meh, they ain't so tough. Finish 'em before reinforcements arrive!"

With that, they proceeded to give chase.

* * *

Dr. Viper continued his evasive maneuvers through the trees. He knew there was a tracer on him. In fact, he _wanted_ the SWAT Kats to follow. This entire swamp was laced with countermeasures that he had set in advance, just in case anyone happened to find his lair. It was a very elaborate setup, and it was working thus far. 

"Those SSSWAT Kats will _never _take me alive, not in my own back yard!" He laughed maniacally to himself as he leapt to the next tree branch… just before something snagged his right leg. He was violently yanked out of mid-air and in a different direction, ramming into a tree at the end of his path with explosive force.

He fell towards the ground hard, but he could still move, still breathe. It just hurt, and it felt like something was broken on his left side. As his vision cleared, the sight of a slim tom with a black chemsuit and gas mask was before him, with a _very_ familiar bandana.

"This ain't your back yard anymore, Viper," Razor said as he walked forward, ready to put the pain to mutated tom's face.

Viper hissed menacingly as his long tail lashed out at Razor's legs from his prone position. The nimble SWAT Kat leapt over, flipped in the air, and came down like an eagle swooping down on its pray. Viper moved out of the way, and the tail moved with him, lashing upwards as it did so.

Razor was knocked clean out of the air in quite hard fashion, as if a whip had lashed into his right side. But he could still move, and before he hit a nearby tree he planted his feet onto it. Springing from his current position, he rammed his knees onto Viper's gut before he could recover. The half-snake lost his air immediately, and the SWAT Kat quickly positioned himself so that his knees were on either side of Viper's ribs.

High mount position; always a good choice.

With that, Razor began beating the tar out of the mad scientist with everything he had. "How's that feel, bitch? You want some more?" He started slamming his elbows now, attempting to break his opponent's face in. He switched to fists again when Viper recovered, and before long Razor had half of his left forearm down the mutant's throat, jaws clamping down with a visceral force.

Razor _screamed_. God, but did that hurt! And it felt like his shoulder would be torn out if he kept shaking his head like that…

Fortunately for him, it did not keep up for long as Dr. Viper pushed him off with one explosive movement. He had let go of his arm before doing so, but the damn thing still stung. For all the distraction of pain, Razor couldn't sense the tree behind him, and was subsequently knocked into it. The wind was knocked out of him as he fell to the ground, and his left arm felt like it was going numb.

'Shit… a neurotoxin,' his mind calculated quickly before he hit the ground. His left arm was going to be useless for a while. With a grunt, he used his right arm to get back up again, but was suddenly tail-whipped along the ground again. Oh, this was not good.

As he recovered, his vision spinning, he managed to grate out, "Damn… you. You poisoned me!"

Viper cackled and said, "I see that you are familiar with my special traitsss… Too bad you won't live to see the prolonged effectsss."

His tail wrapped around Razor's ribs and began to crush. "I told you that you would die by my handsss, and now you will. Shame… you were my most determined and intelligent opponent. I will give you the honor of a swift end, SSSWAT Kat."

Viper's tail tightened and Razor began to feel pressure on his lungs. This was definitely not a good day.

Then, faintly, he heard it. It was something familiar, and right now, very welcome. The sound of a pair of afterburners and an engine that sounded like it had come straight from hell!

"Game over, Viper," he rasped out.

The mad scientist only had a split second to look to his left, eyes wide in shock. The menacing profile of the Thunder Truck was directly in front of him, and he couldn't move out of the way in time. All he could do was grit his teeth, squint his eyes in sheer loathing, and brace himself.

The third part did not come quickly enough as he was knocked into next week, slamming through one… two… three trees that were a good fifteen feet away. The fourth tree he rammed into stopped his progress. It hurt just as much as going through a tree; he was damned certain of that.

T-Bone looked out the driver's side window with a concerned look on his face. "_Dammit_… Lioness, First Aid! _Move it_, SWAT Kat! I got Viper!"

She didn't think twice about following his shouted orders as he hopped out of the truck and sprinted after what may be a much more dazed and injured madman. Lioness looked at Razor for a moment, shaking her head. "You are one crazy-ass fool. I bet you gave him hell, though." She reached for his mask and said, "Sorry, but I'm going to have to get you to suck swamp air for a while and talk to me."

Razor's gas mask was removed and his hood was taken off. His ears were down and his eyes were half-lidded. "Uhhnnnn. What the…" He coughed twice and cringed. "Eeew… swamp fumes. Yeah, this is not a good day."

Lioness chuckled and said, "Stop kidding around and tell me what he did."

Razor smirked and said, "Son of a bitch _bit_ me. It's a neurotoxin- my left arm is shot to hell for the time being. Can you handle it?"

She nodded and immediately headed back to the Thunder Truck, looking under the passenger's side seat as she was told to do. There were two first-aid kits, one with a red cross on it and the other green. "Bingo," she said as she pulled out the green cross, "Counter-venoms." She opened it, took out one of the vials marked neurotoxin, and replaced the cap for the pressure-sensitive needle.

She thought that it was quite convenient, but they used to be Enforcers. It was standard Enforcer gear to have this kind of stuff on hand.

She pulled out a bandage and said as she approached him again, "This might sting just a bit… Oh, and if you ever do something that insane again, I'm going to kill you."

* * *

T-Bone weaved and hopped his way through the foliage, following the sheer destruction that Viper had caused with his sudden backlash. 'He got hit pretty hard,' the big tom thought to himself. 'I just hope that he stays down this time instead of getting back up.' 

But of course, once he got to the site where the half-snake, half-kat was supposed to be, he saw an imprint in the tree that was shaped relatively like his foe. T-Bone gritted his teeth and shouted, "You've _gotta_ be fucked up from all that damage, Viper. This is your chance to come quietly, before you get broken in half. Another hit like that, and your hide won't be so tough!"

He heard a deep chuckle from somewhere out of nowhere. The chuckle turned into a cackle, the cackle turned into a full-fledged, maniacal laugh of a kat gone insane. "Come quietly? Do not be absurd! No, I would rather come in a messy way than rot in a jail cell, with my creationsss gone to waste and my brilliant schemesss destroyed. Besides, you should be less concerned about me, and more concerned about your friend…"

T-Bone growled and said, "If you've done anything to Razor that can't be fixed, I'm not gonna turn you in. I'm gonna _kill_ you, _tear you in half_, and bury you where _no one can find you_. Either way, I'm here to beat the shit out of you! So you might as well come out, or I'll come and _find_ ya! And it won't be pretty when I do."

Viper smirked from his position high in the trees. The big idiot was right in his assumptions- he had taken severe damage. It was a wonder that he could still _move_. Razor had already laid a nice beat down before he managed to inject his toxins in him, but this one had done far more damage with his truck. No, he was not coming down for anything.

T-Bone smirked as he shrugged. "No? Fine by me… but this just proves that you're not tough enough to square off with me. Hell, I knew it from the beginning. Matter of fact, this shows how smart you are, too."

Viper's right eye twitched. What did he just say?

T-Bone continued onward as if he hadn't noticed that his opponent hadn't responded. "I mean, come on… it takes real brains to fight someone. If you can keep it together during a combat situation and be creative during all that mess, you are one hell of a kat. I'm guessing that you're not that quick on the uptake though, are you?"

So he was insulting his intelligence, was he? Doubting his ability, was he? The nerve… the sheer arrogance of this fool shocked him. After the shock wore off, he was just pissed now. "You doubt… you doubt my power? I set the traps! I baited your partner into following me! I set off those explosives before even the _Enforcers_ could stop me!! And still you doubt?!"

T-Bone replied, "Hell yes, I do. We made it through your traps, cleared out the chemicals, and found out before anyone else where you were. I _highly_ doubt your power, or if you have any at all."

That was it. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Viper snarled and lunged from his concealed position. "Fool! I am your superior!! I am-"

Before he could say anything else, T-Bone suddenly turned around and exploded forth with a right straight, ramming his Glovatrix into Viper's midsection seconds before he finished his pounce. "What you are, creepy, is toast!"

Viper went flying back again, and his fractured ribs and aching muscles complained. The energy from the punch transferred through his entire body, and that alone made him cough up an odd color of blood as he recovered from the fall he had taken. Yellowed eyes glared towards the SWAT Kat before Viper sprung forth again, claws extended.

"I will tear you apart, SSSWAT Kat!"

T-Bone grinned and put his guard up. "_Bring it on_, ugly!"

Dr. Viper was almost upon him, but the SWAT Kat was powerful. He exploded to his right as Viper landed, and then suddenly saw a tail coming toward him. The big kat smirked as he caught the tail, claws digging into scaly skin. His forearms strained as he dug in, and sure enough his claws penetrated the pseudo-armor.

It was giant swing time. T-Bone braced himself for a moment before he pivoted on his right leg. Viper's legs immediately left the ground and he flailed about helplessly. One turn, two, three, and he went faster as the rotations continued. After six of them, the SWAT Kat spotted his target, a nearby tree, and grinned. Yeah, this was gonna leave a mark.

"_Ride's over_," he yelled as he let go just before the mark, and sent Viper flying. His arms and legs flailed helplessly as he soared, and it seemed that his face was destined to be an imprint in some natural wood. But no, he met a worse fate. T-Bone's strength was far more than even Viper had expected as he was sent through the tree instead of ramming into it. The tree _behind_ it was what caught him.

And yet, it did not catch him in the way that was expected. Viper managed to right himself in mid-air and launch off as if having a skull smack was nothing. His feet planted themselves on the tree for a moment before he made for a flying tackle at high speed as T-Bone rolled out of the falling timber's way. He was surprised when Viper came at him again. The mutated kat's forehead was cut open and blood streamed down his face, yet he still had that maniacal grin.

This moment of sheer shock led to him getting set upon, claws digging into his shoulders. Fortunately, those were not laced with poison. They still hurt, though. "_Fuck!_" the big SWAT Kat cried out as he was taken to the ground. Almost instantaneously, Dr. Viper began snapping at his face, striking swiftly like… well, a snake.

T-Bone managed to weave his head this way and that, the bites narrowly missing his ears and head. However, upon the fourth time his persistent adversary attempted this maneuver it was null and void as he grabbed his jaws and held them open, struggling to regain control of the battle. He began pulling them wider, forcing them to the point of pain.

Soon, he felt the claws retract. It was time to turn the tide.

T-Bone lifted his hips, planting his feet underneath him before rolling towards his right. Up, over, and reversed. It was pain time. One punch after another rained down on Dr. Viper's face, ramming into him like no tomorrow. "Stay… your… ass… _down_!"

The right forearm however was caught in the jaws of doom… unfortunately, that neurotoxin couldn't eat through the titanium and heavy leather of his Glovatrix! "…Idiot," T-Bone said with a smirk as his left elbow rammed into the right side of Viper's head.

His world finally started to spin. A kat could only take so much punishment. Along with the broken ribs and internal bleeding, now his _face_ was wrecked too, and he couldn't see out of one eye. If anything else, Dr. Viper's pain tolerance was outstanding. But that tolerance was reaching its upper limits.

'Tougher hide than I thought,' T-Bone mulled to himself. 'I could use him for a punching bag. Hell, I _am_ using him as a punching bag. But the training session ends _here_!'

He grinned fiercely and said, "Time to polish up!" The jaws were loosened by the elbow strike, and T-Bone removed his personnel weapon. "Ugh… you drooled all over it. Now I'm _pissed_."

With that, he shifted to a much better mount position, higher up on Viper's chest, and grabbed his head. "If this won't knock you out, nothing will… say good night, you scaly bastard!" He began to bash his opponent's head against the floor of the forest. One… two… three times, and Viper's vision started to go dim.

'I will not… be beaten here.'

He tried to struggle, to remove T-Bone from the iron grip that he had on him, but his thighs constricted across his still-injured ribs. His left side cried mercy, but got none. Four bashes, five, six… "What the hell… why won't you pass out?! Give up already!"

His tail wrapped around T-Bone's neck, constricting painfully. "I… will not… lose to _you_!"

T-Bone just continued ramming Viper's head down, his teeth gritting in concentration. "You won't have a choice soon," he managed to rasp in response. "It's either you or me!" Neither gave an inch, neither released their hold, and neither would give in until one was passed out. This was not working…

'Maybe I'm not being forceful enough.'

Rising up high, the big SWAT Kat lifted Viper's head six inches, seven, almost to the point of him sitting up. The thing about that was, Viper was too weak to even attempt it, and too restrained. "Let…"

He rammed his adversary's head down with enough force to crack a normal kat's skull. "…_Go_!"

WHAM. That had to hurt, frankly. The world spun yet again, and Viper's eyes rolled to the back of his head. That was it… T-Bone felt the tail loosen and his opponent loosen from unconsciousness. Breathing hard, he put Viper's head down and checked his pulse, two fingers at the right side of the madman's neck.

It was faint, but it was there.

'Still alive… after all that…'

T-Bone wanted to pass out himself, but he had a job to finish. Activating his radio, he made the call. "This is T-Bone, requesting immediate extraction of captured target. Repeat, Dr. Viper is in custody and alive to boot. Make sure to bring your heavy-duty handcuffs for when he wakes up."

* * *

An Enforcer helicopter had landed just meters away from the Thunder Truck, which was heavily damaged but still in one piece. Surprisingly, Commander Feral and his troops had made it with minimal losses this time. But perhaps that was in part due to the fact that he had some reliable kats working with him. Speaking of the Commander, he was there to personally pick up Dr. Viper himself. 

His eyes widened when he was T-Bone's condition. "What the hell happened to you?"

The big SWAT Kat grimaced and said as he hefted the scientist over his right shoulder, "Viper happened. Don't ask- you don't wanna know. And no, he didn't talk, which means you're gonna have to find out where those explosives came from by yourself. I don't think someone as loony as him will ever tell any kat anything important."

Feral nodded and said, "We found a shipment of those same explosives at that building he used as his base, along with the chemicals he stole from MegaKat Labs. Even if we can't trace the C4, this is enough evidence to put him away for a good while, and I have the perfect cell for him. Judging from your appearance, I would guess we will need it?"

T-Bone nodded.

Feral sighed. "…Good work, SWAT Kat," he said gruffly, "But don't think this puts you in my good graces. Consider my debt to you repaid. All bets are off from here on."

The big tom smirked and said, "I guess that's the closest to a thank you that I'm gonna hear from you."

Feral roughly grabbed Viper and tossed him unceremoniously into the helo. "Damn straight. Don't expect another one. This is _my_ city to protect, not yours."

With that, the door closed and the helo took flight. T-Bone scratched the back of his head and said, "Well shit… now I have a bad taste in my mouth all over again. And it ain't from the swamp air."

"Well, that doesn't mean it's not a reason," a voice said from behind him. He turned and looked at Razor, supported by Lioness. His left arm was bandaged up, but other than that he would be fine. "You gonna be okay with that wound, partner?"

The slim SWAT Kat nodded. "It'll pass. This arm of mine is gonna be numb for a few days, but the toxin will be gone by tomorrow if I don't move it. Lioness here is a pretty good field medic."

She grinned behind her nose cup and said, "I do try. Just don't get yourself in that situation again."

T-Bone chuckled and said, "Hey, we're SWAT Kats. This kind of situation is another day at the office. C'mon, let's get the hell outta here."

With that, the Thunder Truck roared away, afterburners lighting up gleefully. Indeed, just another day at the office.

* * *

**Chapter 23: Welcome to the Jungle (Part 4) – **_**Snake Charmer**_

WHOOO! Now that's what I call a throw down! I wanted Viper to be one of those heroic-difficulty enemies that took more than a few passes to defeat, like the Pastmaster. Thus, an EPIC BATTLE ensues, one on a grander scale than I have attempted before. Or at least, I hope so. Tell me what you think, please.

Okay, let's get to the meat and potatoes, the Reviewer Appreciation.

**Raiden Snake**, welcome back! Glad you're enjoying things so far. Have you read Chapter 14 yet? I changed the outcome so that Hard Drive would die in dramatic fashion… and to stress the fact that someone is moving events from behind the scenes. Who will be revealed in time; for now, witness the conclusion of Dr. Viper's reign of terror!

For the rest of you, I'm hoping that you guys will read and review so I can get a good bead on what's going on here. A writer must have feedback! Feedback plus changes equals results, which make for a good story! So gimme reviews to munch on, I eat 'em for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and twice between meals.

Okay, going to sleep now. Prepare for the shocking conclusion!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	24. Welcome to the Jungle Finale

He didn't eat.

He didn't eat, or drink, or sleep. He just stared menacingly out at the guards from his tiny slit in the doorway, made of a double-reinforced alloy that not even his sizable strength could put a dent in. Dr. Viper was good and caught, and he knew it. He also knew why he was here, or at least he could guess. They wanted to know where he got the ordinance to destroy MegaKat Labs.

He wouldn't tell. He would die first, either by starvation or their interrogative methods.

Besides, the Enforcers couldn't hurt him- he knew that. The only ones capable of that were the SWAT Kats, as proven earlier. That tom that called himself T-Bone was… exceptional. His raw, explosive power matched his own tolerance for pain. He fought like a kat possessed, like an animal released from its cage. The other one, Razor- he was precise and intelligent, a quick mind combined with quick hands and agility. His fists did not hurt as much, but they were faster. If the slim, wiry tom were concerned about aiming at specific points, he would have hit them.

Viper knew this. He had fought those two before.

But what he did not know about… was the _third_ SWAT Kat.

Oh, he had seen her in action. He had watched her fight off his air support with a tenacity and ferocity that was rare. She was expert in handling the gun turret, and though rough with her backup weapon, she used it well. Viper was not stupid- he knew military tactics; otherwise, he would not be able to command his own creations.

Her tactics, combined with the sporadic anti-air fire from the turret and T-Bone's extreme driving maneuvers, saved them from a much worse fate.

'Apparently, they are intelligent enough to expand their roster,' he brooded to himself. The mutated tom was not like most kats- he did not watch the news. In fact, he did not watch any television at all- the only thing he did was commune with his plantimals and his various other creatures, constantly working on formula after formula, mixing the chemical compounds that he stole to create his own originals. So when he had seen a third SWAT Kat he was… surprised, to say the least.

Because of the extra addition to the team, he had been beaten. Had there been two instead of three, they would have been at a far greater disadvantage than they were before he was quite unceremoniously thrown into this confined space.

But he would not give them the satisfaction of the information they wanted.

So he did not eat, drink, or move from the spot he stood at, his willpower evident through his defiant, cold, yellowed gaze.

Viper glared at the door as if it would move simply because he wanted it to. He wasn't looking at the door itself, however. He was looking at the three SWAT Kats who had worked together to land him here. His mind's eye was trained on them, dressed in all black instead of their usual red and blue. And more than anything else, more than this cold metal and steel, more than the pretentious Mayor Manx or the incompetent Enforcers…

He hated them.

The words boiled around in his mind, repeating over and over again. How many times had he been beaten by them, utterly humiliated and disgraced? How many times did he have to make a narrow escape, scrap his plans, and try again when he had enough resources? He had lost count of them by now. But the same three words continue repeating, over and over.

'I hate you.'

Viper growled, his scales bristling. At the top of his voice, in a roar that turned into a serpentine hiss, he screamed, "_I hate you, SSSWAT Kats_!!"

The door rattled yet again, but it would not budge. The two guards standing in front of it jumped in surprise before one of them kicked behind at the door. "It's no use, you fucking maniac. You're staying in there for a good, long while. Hope you rot for what you did to the city."

Viper's growls ceased, and he glared again. At least now he had something else to focus his rage upon.

He was entirely content with his situation, though. The reason was because sooner or later, someone would open the door to try and interrogate him again, and he would regain his strength by then. Hopefully, enough to make his escape, calling them fools and inadequate, and all sorts of other cutting insults to their intellect and ability on his way out. But no one came, not even that evening.

Well, that wasn't entirely true… someone did come. It sounded like a guard.

"Oi… special delivery for the prisoner," The voice said from behind the door as an envelope slid through. Viper's tail managed to pick the envelope up and turn it, letting his eyes take a look. There was nothing on it besides a few words in eloquent script.

_To Dr. Viper, with all my condolences._

He sniffed at the envelope, shook it, and then smirked. "Well isn't this nice, how thoughtful of someone. Perhaps I should write back and say that I do not accept condolencesss." Viper took it in his hands and proceeded to tear the envelope in half.

He had a split second to grimace as the powder within the envelope ignited from the influx of oxygen, and the conflagration spread, eating up just about every trace of breathable air in the room within an instant. The sound of the explosion was quite evident, but there was no one around at this hour to hear it.

Just like the envelope was torn in half, so was the mad scientist as the concussive and incendiary explosion rocked his world. Blue blood was everywhere, splattering the door, walls, and floor. Dying like this was not a pretty sight. And of course, there were no fingerprints, no boot prints, and no traces of evidence.

Whoever had killed Hard Drive had just struck again, and no one would know until the morning.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A_SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

Early the next morning, Chance and Felina were on the obstacle course, with Jake timing their progress at the finish line. His arm was in a quite expertly-done field dress, splinted and already treated with the antivenin. They managed to stop the poison before it spread any further, and though the left arm would be numb for a few days, the poison would be fully neutralized by the time the sun had set on this one. 

In the meantime, his right hand held the watch, and he looked down at it now and then to check the time. 'Course record is six minutes, eighteen seconds… I currently hold that one. So judging by that, one of them should be coming over the lake about now.'

That was only half-true.

Chance_had_ gotten there first, but while he had decided to swing, Felina chose to swim instead. And she was a fast swimmer… which meant that she caught up to him fairly quickly. Coming up to his right side as they approached the vaulting pole, she attempted to slide tackle him, right leg extended outwards.

It had already happened to him once… but it wouldn't happen twice.

Chance hopped over the incoming tackle and kept on moving. "Quit being such a copy kat! Jake already tried that one," he said as he grabbed the pole and prepared to take off. Felina immediately got up and sprinted after him, climbing onto the big tom's back, stunning him with an elbow strike to the right side of his head.

"All right, how about _this_ then?" She did it again, and a third time… no. He ducked, rolled on his right shoulder with the pole still in his hands, and successfully steamrolled her underneath him. As her air was cut off for a moment, she watched as he vaulted over the pile of scrap, letting the pole clatter to the ground.

'No time to think- only time to catch up!'

She sprang off of her shoulders in a kip-up and sprinted for the pole. By now, he was probably across the line first, but she would do her best to catch up. As she vaulted up and over, managing to land farther away from the junk pile than Chance had, she saw that he was several paces ahead. With a grimace, she exploded from her current position to catch up…

And pretty soon, she was close- too close! Practically breathing down his neck!

The big tom pretended not to notice as his eyes zeroed in on the red tape. This time, he _would_ win.

But Felina was close enough for it to be disputed. He could feel the air parting as she closed in on him. He had to do something, and fast. He quickly launched forward, diving for the tape. It wasn't all that far away now, but he wouldn't take any chances.

As Felina saw him move to make a dive for it however, she stopped him before he could take off by placing a foot on his right calf and just plain old climbing along his back, launching off of his shoulders to burst towards the goal. As she broke the tape first, Chance growled and ran through mere seconds after.

Jake stopped his watch and said, "Well Chance, the good news is that you beat my time. The bad news is that she beat _yours_ by two seconds."

Felina pumped her fist in the air and said, "Hell yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!"

Chance shook his head and said, "Another run, now."

Felina scoffed and said, "Well if you want to lose again, sure. We could be out here all day and I'd _still_ kick your ass seven different ways to next week."

Chance smirked and said, "You wanna prove that statement?"

Felina grinned. "I do."

Jake held his right hand up and said, "Whoa, hold up! You can do all that after breakfast. You guys haven't eaten anything yet, right? Let's get inside before the morning rush starts." He grimaced and said, "I don't even wanna think about what we're gonna tell Feral… what, a hood slammed on my left arm and fractured the forearm?"

Chance shrugged as he headed back to the garage. "That sounds fair enough. Just hope that it heals before anyone notices what's wrong."

As they headed in, the three kats began looking for something to munch on, when Felina's phone began buzzing. "Damned stupid thing… hang on, guys." She unhooked the phone from her belt and flipped it open. It was none other than her good friend, Benny. The former Enforcer smiled and replied. "This is Feral, how can I help you?"

Benny's voice sounded haggard and entirely too distressed for his own good. "You can help," he said softly, "By turning on the news, as soon as you can find a television."

Felina raised an eyebrow and said, "Well sure, but… why?"

Benny shook his head on the other end and said, "Just do it. You're not gonna like what you hear… trust me."

Felina frowned and said, "Right, hang on…" She pressed the mute button and said, "Guys, turn on the TV. Something's going down on the news. A friend of mine says it's bad…"

Their eyes widened as they raced towards the television. Felina sat down on the couch, wondering what exactly was so bad about this news. Soon, they heard Ann Gora speaking in a rather grave tone of voice. "…At the moment, the Enforcers have no leads, but it has been confirmed that Dr. Viper, also known as Elrod Purvis, has been killed in his cell. An investigation is being conducted as to the manner of entry, but it is clear that…"

Chance and Jake widened their eyes and went slack-jawed. After a while, they both said in tandem, "_Holy shit!_"

Felina just grimaced. This was nowhere near good… she continued listening in, a wary look to her face.

"This latest killing," Ann continued, "Is the second death of a known felon, the first of which is Hard Drive, technology pirate. Evidence suggests that an anti-materiel round penetrated the engine block of the armored vehicle that was used to transport Hard Drive to Enforcer Headquarters for detainment and sentencing. Once again, there are no leads in the case, and it is unclear who is behind these killings, but one thing is for certain, as far as Commander Ulysses Feral openly stated."

The scene switched to Felina's uncle as he had a haggard expression on his face. "Though we can't confirm who is responsible, we _can_ effectively rule out the SWAT Kats from any involvement. I highly doubt they would push their vigilantism this far."

Chance sighed in half-relief, half-mortification. "Shit… someone's offing the bad guys that we catch. And they're being _damn serious_ about it! I mean, come on- a fucking _anti-vehicle rifle_? Who the hell has something like that besides the Enforcers?"

Jake shook his head and said, "You got me there, buddy… but for now, I think we should stay out of this one."

Chance raised an eyebrow as he looks over towards Jake. "Are you kidding me? The Enforcers will never be able to catch whoever's behind this, and you know it. I say we should go out and-"

Felina placed a hand on Chance's shoulder and shook her head. "We just got back from catching one… and we can't take down another who has no face, no name, just a bullet. Besides, Jake needs to heal, I need to get back to my place, and _you_ need Callie." The third one was a rather basic assumption, but she was trying to help. Besides, it sounded right to her.

The big tom sighed and said, "I guess you're right… I do need to check up on Callie; see if she's all right. I mean, after hearing the news, it's probably safe to assume that she's had a hard time with it. From what I can guess, she's either been there already, is at the scene, or is on her way now."

Jake nodded and said, "Any one of those could be right, Chance. But we both kinda need to be _here_- just in case Burke and Murray come back with any new… presents. You know how stupid they can be when it comes to listening to people."

Felina nodded and said casually, "I'll look after Callie, then. I'll also keep my ears open for any reliable information in the Enforcers or from the guys at KatGuard- see if they can't dig up anything. I've got your number- we'll keep in touch, all right?"

Chance sighed and said, "Yeah, understood. This is getting very hot, very fast, kats. We need a counter-strategy to what's going on, just in case something stupid happens. I guess that's left to me, but if anyone has any ideas, I'm open for 'em now."

Jake shook his head and said, "I got nothing right now, but I'll let you know when I have any feasible plans. For now, the SWAT Kats will just have to lie low and wait."

They all nodded in agreement and headed off on their separate ways. The big tom had to agree with Felina in some part- even he needed some downtime, and Jake would be out of commission for at least two to three days. Not to mention he still had work to do, and kats would probably be coming in with their rides. Hell, he would probably have to do the tow truck thing alone.

For some reason, he didn't want to do that.

It wasn't that he couldn't do it alone; just that it wouldn't feel right, looking over and finding an empty seat where his lil' buddy used to be. Chance shook his head and said to himself, "This fucking sucks."

He felt like beating the crap out of something, just to stop him from feeling so useless in this situation. There was only one remedy for that- the workout room. He stood up abruptly and said, "Jake, I'm heading to the back- beat up the bag a bit. I'll be back up in an hour or two. Let me know if any customers come by."

Jake nodded and said, "Sure thing, Chance," without looking. He was still checking out the news, trying to decipher how someone would get into Enforcer Headquarters and kill Dr. Viper…

* * *

The Deputy Mayor was indeed on site. And she was not happy at all about the mess she saw before her. 

She did not ask for any explanations or excuses- she could already imagine what had happened. Of course, she didn't tell any of the Enforcers about it, but to her it was obvious. The situation played out in her mind as she walked down the corridor that lead to the nigh-impenetrable cell: Someone had effectively fooled the guards- either by dressing up as a delivery kat or as an Enforcer themselves (the second one was more likely in her mind), then somehow gained access into the high-security areas, found the cell, and delivered the note.

'This is assuming that no guards were awake or even _around_ to intercept him,' she brooded as she covered her mouth with a handkerchief that she had in the right pocket of her business suit. If that were the case, it was just one big mess from there. No one's fault, but it was just plain sneaky. 'More than one kat may have died today.'

She grimaced and said, "I've seen enough. Close it."

The guards did, with solemn expressions on their faces. She turned towards Commander Feral and said, "You're sure there are no traces of the envelope? Not even a shred left?"

Feral nodded. "It was completely obliterated in the blast- nothing else was destroyed except the bed and Dr. Viper himself, however. This is one hell of a secure cell. It took even more damage than I figured it would- not that this is a good thing in this case," he said with a marked frown.

Callie nodded and said, "You will keep in contact with me at all times during this investigation, and report anything you find to me. Is that understood?"

The Commander nodded. He wasn't about to harp on about how he gave the orders- no, this wasn't the time for it. "Affirmative, Deputy Mayor. You'll be the first to know when something turns up."

She turned and began briskly walking down the hallway, back towards the secure double doors, made of reinforced titanium. She allowed the Commander to use his access card to open them. That was the first thing- he had to have gotten someone's card, either by dexterity or by lethality. As they headed towards the elevator that led back up to the main floors, Feral input a six digit code that he claimed changed every twenty-four hours.

'He had to have gotten the entire code list if he wanted to open this thing by brute force,' she mulled. The third and final security check was the retinal scanner, and there were only two ways to get an actual retinal imprint… she grimaced as she thought about the second one. The skin between her shoulder blades itched and a shiver ran down her spine.

'Yes,' she thought with an odd sort of certainty, 'more than one kat died today.'

"Is there something wrong, Deputy Mayor?" Feral asked with a raised eyebrow.

Callie shook her head and said, "It's just a bit cold down here, that's all. Not to mention that seeing all that blood in such a strange color creeped me out. He really did change entirely, didn't he?"

Ulysses nodded with a grimace. "In part, I'm glad he's gone for good. We won't have to bother with him anymore. That doesn't make it right, what happened to him, but…"

The Deputy Mayor shook her head and said, "No… it doesn't make it right." With that, the elevator opened and they both walked in. She wouldn't tell him how she really felt. It would be entirely unbelievable if she did, not to mention it would sound crazy. Despite how many times she had been captured, almost killed by him, part of her almost felt… sorry for Dr. Viper.

'No kat should die this way.'

As she headed for her car, with a final farewell and a promise to try and get Felina to head over to his apartment sometime, she wanted out of that building more than anything else at that moment. If not even Enforcer Headquarters was safe… what place _was_ in MegaKat City?

That was simple. The only place she _felt_ safe.

She had a call to make.

She had to wait for a while before anyone answered, but finally, she heard it. The voice she had been waiting for ever since that night. "MegaKat Auto and Body Shop, this is Chance speaking."

The blonde she-kat almost sighed in relief, but saved it for when she actually saw him. "…It's Callie."

On the other end of the line, Chance nodded to himself. "I was hoping you'd call, actually. Did you see the news? Dr. Viper's been…"

She finished the sentence for him, though she didn't really want to be reminded. "…Knocked off, I know. I'm heading away from Enforcer Headquarters now. You don't wanna know what the room itself looks like… and they still haven't found any leads yet. They say that the envelope containing whatever exploded was completely destroyed beyond any sort of recognition. There are no fingerprints, no boot prints, not one hair or trace of DNA to be found, besides Viper's."

Chance grimaced on his end of the conversation. "Shit… so someone came in and left quietly, and made sure they didn't leave any traces of their passing." He shook his head and said softly, "Everything the SWAT Kats are doing… it's being undone by all these killings. They have to stop."

Callie agreed, saying, "I'm working on that now. I've asked Commander Feral to contact me in case he finds anything, so I can call the SWAT Kats to investigate. He won't like it, but I don't much care- they're the only ones who can stop all this now."

For all the bad things happening, the big tom couldn't help but smirk confidently. "I'm sure they can think of something. So other than that… you okay?"

Callie wanted to say that everything was fine. She wanted to tell him that she would be all right and could take care of herself. But when she tried to do so, her insides seemed to twist. She couldn't say that, not to him. After a few moments of silence, the Deputy Mayor sighed and said, "…No, I'm not. I'm scared, and I'm tired, and I don't want to be alone tonight."

Chance shrugged and said, "Well that's the thing- Felina said she was on her way to your loft half an hour ago. She could be back at her place for all I know, but why don't you go see her? I'm sure you ladies have a lot of catching up to do. That is of course, unless you're busy."

She shook her head and said as she changed her course slightly, "Not at all- I've already finished the notes for the Mayor's press release on this whole thing by now, so I've got time. I could just type it up and fax it to him from Felina's apartment. But you know," she added softly, "I was planning on seeing _you_ when I left Headquarters."

Chance shook his head and said, "Sorry, but now isn't a good time. We've got tons of cars on the queue today… how about I head over to your place later tonight, if you're not asleep by then?"

The sexy she-kat chuckled huskily and said, "For you, I'd stay up all night."

Chance smirked again and said, "Right, see you then."

Callie hung up and sighed to herself. Well, that option was out… she supposed that she should see Felina for a while. It would be better than nothing, though she really needed a hug from her rock. Those always seemed to make her feel better. 'I guess,' she thought to herself, 'Hanging out with Felina would have a similar effect, though. Besides, we haven't had girl time in a while.'

It wasn't that she didn't want to go… just that she had been busy as all hell over the past few days. She hadn't even had time to call Felina and check on her, and that made her feel wrong. So today, she would skip the Mayor's office and head straight for Felina's apartment. All the same though, she gave Mayor Manx a call, to let him know she had everything ready for him.

'Fortunately for me, Felina doesn't live far from Enforcer Headquarters.'

Within two hours, she was parked in front of the high-rise apartment building that Felina had a unit in, and stepped into one of the elevators. All of ten minutes later, she was standing in front of her door.

'Come to think of it, I've never been in Felina's apartment before,' she realized with a smirk. 'I wonder what it looks like…' With that thought in mind, she knocked on the door, expecting anything from total chaos to an almost sterile environment. But when the door opened, what she saw was something entirely different.

"Hey there, Callie," the ex-Enforcer said with a smile. "I was just over at your place, but you weren't, so I decided to come back here." She moved aside and said, "Come on, I'll see if there's anything to snack on for ya."

She did indeed walk in, and as stated, she saw something entirely different from what she had expected. The place was clean, but it was also homey. Felina was no slouch, but she certainly wasn't neurotic either. Callie found that she liked it quite a bit, and headed over towards the couch after taking her shoes off at the entryway.

Felina looked behind her with a raised eyebrow, and it made the Deputy Mayor want to explain herself. "Habit, I guess. Besides, this is a hardwood floor- I don't want to ruin it."

The former Enforcer shrugged and said, "I don't much care either way, really. But hey, whatever's cool with you. So then, what brings you to my corner of the earth?"

Callie decided to be brief and concise about it this time. "Bored, tired, lonely, and needing some ice cream. Other than that, I have to get the Mayor's press release on the… incident earlier typed up, but the last place I want to be right now is his office."

Felina said in a deadpan voice, "So you came here to lounge on my couch, mooch off my food, and commandeer my computer."

Callie's eyes widened and she said, "Hey, now that's not fair! I let you over my house and cooked for you, let you stay over, and that's how you choose to put things? You're really starting to become a pain in the…" Then she looked behind her and saw the biggest grin on her friend's face that she had ever lay eyes upon. The Deputy Mayor groaned and said, "I really _should_ take it easy, huh?"

Felina nodded, the teasing grin still persistent. "Bingo. I'm gonna order some pizza and sodas, then break out the ice cream when they get here. Maybe then you'll tell me what's gotten you so worked up that you'd bite someone's head off at a joke."

Callie smiled apologetically. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Felina."

* * *

No one would have noticed him, dressed in plain clothes. 

The tom walked the streets, in a denim jacket, a white silk shirt, and a pair of dark jeans tucked into military boots. He didn't wear anything else on him but a pair of shades. Were the kat no so scruffy, he would be considered handsome. Or perhaps he was considered handsome because he was scruffy. Either way, he was quite unassuming.

It wasn't that long ago that he ditched the Enforcer uniform that had been the disguise for the day, burning it thoroughly and scattering the ashes to the four winds. The gloves would have to be done away with as well, but he would do that later. Right now, he had to blend into the crowd, letting everyone assume that he was just another citizen.

He hoped he would get paid well for all this- it'd be a shame if he went through all this for nothing. Still, working for the tom who had hired him was starting to pay off. He had all sorts of neat toys at his disposal these days, and he used them to great effect.

'Being this guy's right hand isn't all that bad- it comes with some perks.'

He smirked and thought to himself, 'I'll probably have to ditch him soon though. He's a bit loopy sometimes. Brilliant, sure enough, but he's mad the rest of the time. Not my concern, though- just as long as I get out of town before he does what he's planning to do, everything will be solid.'

That was of course, only a feeling he got. He had never seen the kat's face.

With that, he begins walking toward his roadster and revs the engine. It was time to lay low for a while- wait for the payment for services rendered to come in and sit on what he had now. It was already a considerable amount, and if he cut out now he'd still have it made. But then again if he cut out before his employer was done with him, he'd be dead before any of that money was spent.

Death was nothing to him, though. It was just another part of business.

As the mysterious tom drove along the roadways, his phone buzzed. Only one kat would ever call him these days, so when he picked it up, the response was usual. "What's the situation?"

The voice on the other end, disguised as always, replied, "I saw the news. Many thanks for delivering my letter- I do hope Dr. Viper found it entertaining. You are to come towards my compound and receive your payment personally this time- I feel that it's time to meet. That is, if you are not too busy."

The assassin shook his head and said, "Not at all. I'd be happy to meet the tom who is providing for my well-being. Just give me directions over the phone, and-"

The disguised voice cut him off. "There's no need for that. Check your navigation computer."

He did, and raised an eyebrow. A route was already mapped on his GPS.

'Follow the yellow-brick road…'

"You've thought of everything, boss. I'm heading for your position now," he said as he began driving towards the marked location on his navigator. He wasn't about to argue- this guy had given him just about everything he wanted, and had only asked him to do what he did best. It was only right that he reply to this one request.

After about three hours of driving, he was finally at a section of the city where there were no cars. In fact, there was no one in sight… he was in the old warehouse district. It wasn't like this place had any security measures, but then again it had nothing he was afraid of either.

Well, not yet. As soon as he neared the place where the meeting was going to take place, a door opened upwards to let his car in. 'So then, someone is around here after all.'

Once he reached the mark, he stopped his car and got out… or rather he would have gotten out, had several kats dressed in all black, their mouths covered and hoods over their ears, leapt down from the support beams and out from their various points of cover. There were a total of roughly twenty-five, enough to take him out handily if they wanted, and they were armed to the teeth.

'Weapons are HK G36K… not half bad.' He looked around a bit more as his eyes narrowed. 'Shit… if I start my engine on 'em, some of 'em have grenade launchers on their rifles. I try to fight back, others have bayonets. And they're trained…'

One of them said, "It'd be best if you exited the car slowly. Leave your weapons here- we know you have them. Bring the gloves with you- we'll see to it that they're disposed of."

The hit kat nodded and said, "Right. I promise to play nice."

And with that, he rid himself of the two hidden pistols he carried with him, but not before turning the safeties for both of them on. Stowing the gloves in his right jacket pocket, he slowly opened the door and stepped out, his hands raised.

"I'm unarmed. Now then, shall we go see the wizard?"

Another masked kat bumped his lower back with the barrel and said, "Shut up, smart-ass, and move."

With that, they headed towards a pair of cargo elevators, and twelve of them went down, the rest seeming to vanish back into their cover positions.

A good ten kilometers into the ground, the underground complex was revealed. It was a vast place, and filled with all sorts of machinery. The assassin, flanked by these kats masked in black, widened his eyes. This was… incredible, frankly. He hadn't seen anything like it in the whole city.

Still, it wasn't over yet. Fifty kilometers down they went, until the elevator stopped and they ushered him out. One corridor after another they walked, twisting and turning this way and that. It was almost as if…

'It's as if they were misleading me on purpose. That's okay though- I'm patient.'

And soon, his patience paid off, because they were in front of a set of double doors. Pretty soon, they opened, and the regiment of guards that led him here dispersed.

The doors opened automatically, leading to a quite lush room that looked more like the study of a mansion. In an elaborate chair just in front of the fireplace sat a hulking figure dressed in black robes and wearing rings on his fingers. It wasn't clear who it was just yet, but it would be soon.

"So then… you're the Wizard of Oz in this story."

The hooded figure chuckled and said, "Something of the sort. Do forgive the rough treatment- I had to make sure you would not attempt to… double-cross me."

The hit kat smirked and said, "I don't work for kats or countries, I work for money. And you, apparently, have plenty of that. So then, what's the name of the tom who is asking me to eradicate kats who happen to have convenient information with them?"

The figure paused for a moment and said, "So you figured out why I had you kill them."

The assassin laughed and said, "Wasn't that hard after a while. Hard Drive had the data for that jet in his Surge Coat. If the Enforcers got their hands on it, it'd be bad for a hell of a lot of people who wanted to fuck with 'em. Dr. Viper would have told someone sooner or later where he got all that C4, no matter what he thinks of himself. I doubt that would have been good for your… operation."

The cloaked kat nodded and said, "Well done. I knew I hired you for a reason. I wanted that data so I could use it to make my own fleet of stealth ships. I gave Viper that C4 for his plans, and then after he had transformed MegaKat City into a veritably uninhabitable wasteland, I would have taken it from him for my own use. But both have failed, and both are dead."

The cloaked kat stood and said, "Tell me, assassin…" as he turned to look over his right shoulder. The assassin's eyes widened as he observed the face of the most dangerous kat alive.

"…Do you fear death?" Dark Kat asked with a malicious grin.

* * *

**Chapter 24: Welcome to the Jungle (Finale) - **_**Menace Revealed**_

WHOA.

Seriously, is that not a bad enough bad guy for you? If not, I can make him _much_ worse. In fact, I am going to make him worse, but later. I figured I would reveal who the main mover behind the storyline was, and this is definitely the right time for it. If not, well… I think it fits, and so it's staying here.

It is now Reviewer Appreciation time, starting with **Raiden Snake**. You got the gist of that one- I meant it to be a huge, all out, slamtastic battle where winner took all! And by your review, it succeeded. Yes, I will have more of them on the way. And yes, Turmoil will be introduced later. **inferno1**, thanks for reading. Unfortunately, the next story arc will be choc-full of Dark Kat. Worry not, though- I'm reserving the Metallikats for a setting of epic proportions. And last, but certainly not least,**RaidenSilversword**. You're right- it _is_ better to be late than never. Sorry about your e-mail thing, and I hope you get it back.

As for this chapter's theme song... I think the title speaks for itself here. "Welcome to the Jungle", by **Guns 'n' Roses**.

_Awrite_! I'm so jacked up right now from all these reviews; I want to write another chapter. So I will.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	25. Roller Coaster Confessional

It had been three days of nothing but pampering for Jake Clawson.

Felina managed to fuss and worry over him whenever she got a chance, almost up to the point where Chance had to get her a room at the garage. She made sure to check him out every day, as if she were a nurse instead of a hard ass ex-Enforcer turned mercenary. Of course, Jake thought it to be highly amusing, that she was passionate as far as something as small as a snake bite.

'Then again,' he mulled to himself, 'If it had spread any further, that neurotoxin would have killed me.'

So he was grateful.

That said, he couldn't help but laugh every time she asked if he were all right, and insisted that he didn't take it off for a "few more days". He figured she expected him to do the same for her, and he would. It would just be handled a bit differently than she did. He'd give her space and give her room. Because she'd need it, or at least he thought she would.

On the third day, this day of all days, he decided that enough was enough. Jake took off the splint, removed the field dress, and observed the bite. It was damn near gone, and when he flexed and extended his forearm, rotating it this way and that, he felt it respond. And it felt _good_.

"Awesome… only one way to find out if it really works, though." He grabbed a towel and headed towards the workout room. It was time for a full-on, explosive test. Then he would really see if that numbness was gone. But of course, as he closed the door to the workout area, Felina entered the lounge.

He hadn't even heard her come in, nor did he hear her say, "Hey guys, I'm here to check on…"

She noticed the splint and the bandages, and narrowed her eyes. Yes, he was one very, very crazy tom. She would proceed in the ass kick as soon as he found him.

"…Jake. Dammit, where are you?"

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT KATS: Endgame**_

* * *

"So what's all this about a building project," Chance asked as he and Callie walked away from the ice cream shop, two cups of the frozen treat in their hands. "I hear a lot of funding is being put into it." 

Callie nodded and said, "It's actually a homeless shelter. It's a pretty big one, too. It's supposedly designed to get kats back on their feet and back into a paying job, but I figure it's Mayor Manx's way of keeping them in one place without them being a nuisance."

Chance nodded and said, "And what would you use it for?"

Callie sighed and said, "I would use it as it was meant to be used, but that's an entirely different story. In any case, how's Jake? Is his arm any better?"

The big tom nodded and said, "It's been getting better, slowly though. I'm still wondering how he wants to move with an injury like that. Then again, I suppose that he's been antsy from hanging out in the garage for too long. I swear we need to get him laid or something."

Callie giggled and said, "Don't be so mean! Jake is a sweet guy, and he's only trying to look after you. Besides, I think Felina is taking a liking to him- she told me so the last time we talked." She leaned toward Chance, wrapping an arm along his lower back. "I sure hope they fit as well as you and I do…"

The big tom purred and said, "Yeah, me too," as he wrapped an arm along Callie's shoulders. In addition, their tails twined together in that curious way as they walked back to the Deputy Mayor's car. "You know, I've been thinking about getting a ride of my own these days. It's not like it'll happen any time soon, but… if I had the money for it, I would get myself a car so you wouldn't have to…"

Callie placed a finger on Chance's lips before she kissed them. "I _like_ driving you around, Chance. Sure, it would make it easier for you to get your own car, but I doubt you could with your present salary. So I don't mind helping you at all, just as long as you need it." She kissed him again, except on his right cheek. "I told you before… there's no problem in letting me help you."

Chance had a bashful, coy look on his features, but nodded all the same. "Yeah, I gotta remember that. Anyways, what do you wanna do now? I don't really have to check on Jake- I'm sure Felina's taking care of that already. You ask me," he said with a chuckle, "She's taking care of him a bit _too much_."

The blonde she-kat smiled and said, "Felina throws her whole heart into everything she does. You shouldn't be surprised, you know. After all, you do the same thing."

He shrugged and said, "Maybe. But I can't keep up with her, y'know? She just moves to quickly for me and her mind goes in like, twelve different directions at once. Jake's perfect for her, and he'll charm the socks right off of her. Me… I'd rather have you."

Callie blushed and said, "Get in the car, silly. Let's head over to my place for now, then go see if Jake's okay."

* * *

WHAM 

The heavy bag was rammed into with what appeared to be a gentle palm strike from Jake's left hand, but it shook violently as the attack landed. Right, then left again. Jake grinned as his left forearm responded with proper resistance. It felt great to have that arm back.

His hands balled into fists and soon he was ramming into the bag, popping a good four to five inches into the canvas with each punch, his moves relaxed, yet at the same time carrying a gentle sort of power to them. The chain rattled noisily as his energy transferred into the bag, almost through it. Then again if it had gone through… the wall behind the bag would be affected, wouldn't it?

So absorbed was he in his 'tests' that he did not notice when Felina had opened the door and watched him work. She simply leaned on the door frame and watched silently, a small smile coming to her face. The look on his face when he did this sort of thing was a calm sort of intensity. She knew it was a contradiction, but there it was. There wasn't any other way she could define it.

When he finally stopped, Jake moved with quick steps toward the door, but it was as if he didn't see her. She raised an eyebrow as she curiously looked to her right, and found a curious slab of metal. It was beautiful, pattern-forged steel, but it was just a big, wide, thick plate of it. She wondered what he was going to do for a moment when Jake started smacking it with his palms, the backs of his hands, his fingertips, whatever else he could.

Her eyes widened. 'What the hell is he doing?'

Jake smirked as he felt himself being watched. "Bet you're wondering what I'm doing, hitting a slab of metal like this."

Felina blinked for a moment. What the hell? She really _was_ thinking that! "Um… yeah, I am. Doesn't it hurt any? You'll just get your hand broken doing all that."

Jake shook his head and said, "Not if you do it softly." He did the same movement he did earlier, with the same intensity, and the metal made the same resonating noise. Felina shook her head and said, "It_sounds_ hard. I don't know if I could do that." Despite all her toughness, she didn't like pain all that much.

The slim, wiry tom smiled and said, "Yeah, but if you do it for long enough…"

He walked over to the bag again, and did that same movement, the same palm strike… but put his legs, hips, and waist into it. The bag didn't move, but it shuddered hard. Felina cringed- she could almost feel her insides collapse at that. "And how long does that take, exactly?"

He shook his head, "_Months,_ when you're starting out. I've been doing it for a long time now."

Felina shrugged and said, "I'd rather do things the direct way. To me, it's always good to hear the sound of bones breaking when your fist makes contact." She began walking forward, her face turning from placid to stern in an instant. "But that's not what I'm here for. I don't recall telling you to move that arm just yet."

Jake adopted his best bashful look and said, "But it works, doesn't it? I have feeling in my forearm again, so- OW!!"

Felina gripped Jake's left forearm hard for a moment before letting go. "Mmm… well you've got the feeling part right. You sure you haven't been having any problems? Slurred speech, blurred vision, pins and needles along the arm, seizures…"

Jake almost wanted to laugh as he placed his left hand on one of Felina's shoulders. "You look incredibly sexy when you're aggravated like this. As for the answer your questions, it's no to all counts. I'm fine, Felina. Otherwise I wouldn't be moving around like this. You think you could trust me for just a day or two?"

The she-kat sighed and said, "I'm sorry, it's just… I was worried. You know what would happen if that poison were in there too long, right? You could have…"

Jake chuckled and traced his hand along Felina's jaw line, lifting her chin slightly. Felina blinked for a brief moment- that was odd. Why did he always have to do that? But then her tail began swaying lazily and her shoulders seemed to relax almost instantaneously as Jake scratched beneath her chin. Oh, that was why.

"I know," the slim tom said with his own purr of a voice. "But nothing keeps me down as long as you're here."

Felina said in her own entirely relaxed voice, "I may not be here all the time, Jake. You should be more careful." She was insistent to the end. And she knew the end was near as Jake continued to scratch gently, his affections tender.

Jake remembered the time when Chance told him not to take being a hero too seriously. He couldn't help but smirk to himself as he saw this she-kat before him, and thought to himself, 'Why _not_ take this hero thing seriously?' He couldn't help but move just a bit closer and take in her scent. She hadn't noticed because she was too busy being stunned by the claw gently scratching underneath her chin.

"Hey… you wanna go somewhere? I'm bored and there are no cars today," he said in her left ear.

Felina almost nodded. Almost, mind you. Her lazy brown eyes shifted to the right for a moment, then widened in wonder. "Are those… what I think they are?"

Jake looked over in her direction before grinning. "Yeah, they are. Those are replicas of MegaWar II combat-grade machetes."

Felina scampered over and took a look at the beautiful pieces of work, her face reflected in the shining blades that sat on the rack. They were panga-style, with a sharpened, trailing-point tip and a pair of pressed fullers near the spine. They were more swords than knives, with wide blades that were a good twenty-four inches long and five inch long handles.

"Can I… y'know…" She had most definitely wanted to take a look at one of these, and to be so close… well, Felina couldn't help but want to pick it up and swing it around a bit. She looked towards Jake and put on her best wide-eyed, innocent expression. "Please?"

Jake shrugged and said, "Sure, I don't mind. Just as long as you don't go cutting the place apart, do what you want." Still, it was a pretty spacious room, so he didn't have much of a problem with it. Of course, when he said cutting the place apart, he meant that these were live-edged blades. Heck, they wouldn't be a real replica if they weren't.

Felina's excited squeal however made him think twice about that as she deftly snatched a blade off of the rack. Still, with the way she expertly twirled the damn thing, it was a spectacle to watch. She managed to hold her grip on the blade through every movement, and put her entire body into each swing and thrust.

"Wow, that's not half bad," Jake said, impressed. "You know… we could spar sometime, just to keep from being bored and all that."

Felina stopped what she was doing and turned towards Jake. "Sometime like now?" She smirked and said, "Come on, you know you want to. Besides, I haven't beaten _you_ in anything yet." The ex-enforcer pointed her borrowed machete towards Jake and said, "I challenge you to a duel, Jake Clawson! Stand and deliver," she said with mock haughtiness.

Jake laughed and said, "Just remember, you asked for it! But we sure as hell aren't using live blades."

Felina pouted and said as she placed her hands on her hips, "Awww, why not? You don't think I have enough control over my blade? I know what I'm doing here, Jake. Besides, a SWAT Kat has to be ready for anything, isn't that right?" She began tapping her right foot and said, "You _know_ I'm right. Now hurry up and get yourself a weapon so we can do this."

Jake smirked and said, "Suit yourself."

Jake deftly pulled another machete from the rack and settled into a loose fighting stance. He probably had a better time moving around than she did- who knew how long he had been training with these? But she was no slouch either. It was all a matter then, of control. Stopping the high-speed blade before it reached its designated target.

Seeing as Felina didn't exactly feel like waiting around for Jake, she made the first move, yelling as she came in with an overhead slash. Jake smirked as he stepped to his left, off of the line of attack, parrying her weapon by knocking the edge of his blade into the flat of hers as he did so. Incoming head chop.

'_Shit!!_' She hadn't expected him to be so fast, much less to evade instead of trying to lock her weapon or block it. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't do anything about it as she ducked and cut towards his legs. Jake seemed to anticipate this, because he hopped right over and quickly lowered himself, sweeping at her crouched position with his right leg.

However, she managed to leap right over his head, turn a flip in the air, and whirl towards his back as she landed, aiming yet another overhead blow at Jake's head. The sound of steel meeting steel ran through the training hall as the slim kat blocked the incoming attack with the flat of his machete, then turned immediately and struck at Felina's right side.

Blocked. Incoming thrust, midsection. It was parried to the left, then countered with a shin kick to the outside of the left thigh, three inches above the knee. Hit. Felina grimaced in pain as she felt her balance give, but blocked the incoming attack to her head coming from her left side. She immediately attempted to cut Jake's head off at the neck.

'Too close!' This was not good… Jake had to lean backwards in order to clear the blade, and for a moment all he saw was the hair-thin edge passing right over his face. He knew for a fact that Felina was still reeling from that roundhouse, so he would have time to counter. Or at least, he thought so. But as soon as he got back up again, he saw that same blade coming at him from the opposite direction.

"Awww, hell!" He yelped as he ducked underneath, bending at the waist again. This time, it barely missed the back of his head. A third swing was most likely coming his way, and he was just about ready for it… but when he got back up, that wasn't the case. It was a thrust.

'Gotcha,' Felina thought triumphantly before her eyes widened as Jake turned to the left, his blade knocking her own away as she did so. A second turn followed as she cut again and missed. And then, Jake started circle walking. Within three short, deft steps, he had her back.

A split second later, there was an incoming hair-splitter. At the last second however, Felina heard it coming and barely stopped the blade by leaning back and hefting her own machete upwards. Blocking the incoming sharp edge with her the cheek of her weapon, she pushed it to the left before cutting to her right, at Jake's torso. He managed to block that attack as well before coming in with one of his own- knee to the back of the head.

Felina moved before he could even get the chance as her cut was defended against, and felt something whiff just behind her. 'Dammit, he's too fast… I can barely keep up!'

Jake swung time and time again, aiming to take Felina apart, and somehow she managed to defend, even with her back turned. But all the while, he continued attacking her from a rear position. Even when she tried to whirl, the foot that was placed behind her was stepped on at the calf, effectively stopping the turn and forcing another defense.

'Dammit… what the hell is this?' She had just about enough of this circular footwork. Felina quickly turned away twice, hearing Jake swing after her in an attempt to chase her down. However, he was a bit late as she suddenly brought her weapon to bear, stopping it at his jugular vein on the right side of his neck.

"Checkmate," she said, breathing hard and flushed with excitement.

Jake shook his head and said, "Look down. Do it slowly."

She did so… and her eyes widened as she found his blade at her inner thigh. Cut to the femoral artery, left side.

"It's a _stale_mate, but nice try."

Felina shook her head (though she was more than impressed) and said, "Sneaky bastard. I want another round," with a grin.

Jake stood and put his machete away. "Sure. But first… you never did answer my question. Did you want to go somewhere other than this boring-as-hell garage? I have no cars to work on, no missions to run, and a perfectly good left arm. Today is a good day to mess around somewhere other than here."

Felina chuckled and said, "Sure thing, handsome. Where did you have in mind?"

* * *

"Weren't we supposed to be checking up on Jake and Felina?" 

Callie chuckled as she lay with Chance on the quite comfortable couch, just in front of her television. Her hands stroked and rubbed against his chest as she nuzzled against his neck. "Jake and Felina," the she-kat purred softly, "Can take care of themselves. I want some cuddle time with you, and I'm going to get it, whatever it takes." She kissed his lips then, moving further up in order to do so.

Chance, thinking that he was being sneaky, took her glasses off while she was distracted with the kiss. He placed them delicately on the nearby coffee table and proceeded to snuggle, running his fingers through the blond hair and tail. Callie purred and shivered, sparks racing across her nerves. Whenever he did that, she could ignore just about everything else.

Within the space of sixty seconds, he had lit a fire in her. But for the moment, she kept it under wraps and said softly, "Why did you take my glasses off?"

Chance, a bit dazed, said lazily, "Hmmm? Oh, those. You can see without them, right?"

Callie blinked for a moment, her green eyes puzzled. That was the reason he had taken them off? Puzzling, really- but he deserved an answer. "Yes," she said softly, "I can. They're just reading glasses anyway. Most of the time I wear them to look important," she said with a giggle.

Chance chuckled and said, "You should try leaving them at home sometime. You look better without them." He ran a thumb along her right cheek and said, "Not that you don't already look incredibly tasty."

Callie blushed before playfully licking Chance's nose. "You should stop that… a she-kat could get used to it. And do I…" She blushed deeper. "Do I really look good enough to eat?"

Chance smirked and kissed her lips briefly before scratching behind her ears. "How could you even _ask_ me that? You're the most beautiful she-kat in the city. But if you want, I'll tell you as many times as you like, just so you could believe it yourself. Matter of fact, I'll tell you now…"

She gasped as he began nibbling at the right side of her neck, teeth and lips finding her pulse instinctively. Chance could feel her heart rate pick up immediately; feel her hips press against his and her tail wind around the hand that was busy stroking and toying with it. Hell, he could almost feel her toes curl.

"More," Callie said with a whimper.

The big tom chuckled and said, "You got it, ma'am."

'Sorry buddy,' he mused to himself, 'But I'm gonna take a bit longer than usual to get back this time. Hope you're all right…'

* * *

Felina's eyes widened as she looked at the towering steel track, high above their heads. Approximately three thousand, seven hundred feet of track at two hundred feet high stretched out menacingly, but that wasn't what bothered her. In fact, bothered wasn't even the word for it. She was ecstatic due to the fact that there were two tracks. 

"Jake, what is this? I've never seen anything like this before," she said in wonder.

Jake grinned and said, "You'll see."

The fact that he kept silent about it made her antsy. But of course, the name of the ride that passed over their heads and the length of the lines signified that this was most likely going to be one hell of a good time. "So it's called the _Blue Manx_, huh? I don't think that's a good omen," she joked with a laugh. The queue and scenery were lined with portrayals and pictures of the former next-gen fighter/bomber, as well as a chart with its specs on it.

Electronic tracks played across the speakers as they inched ever-closer to their goal. Surprisingly, it would only take about twenty-five minutes to reach the staging area, but she and the other kats in line got a glimpse of one of the trains flying overhead.

'What the hell…'

The kats on the ride waved down at her as the suspended train raced by. She could see them grinning wildly at her as they raced by within a split second. "Jake… they're…"

He nodded and his grin widened. "I know. They're flying."

She glanced towards him and said, "Just what is this ride you have me going on? Am I going to regret this?"

The slim tom laughed and shook his head. "Come on, it'll be fun! Besides, we're too far in now. You might as well relax- it's gonna be a crazy three and a half minutes." Sure, he said nothing about waiting almost half an hour in line for a ride that was almost four minutes long, but he had promised that it would be worth it, after all.

Felina was no longer confident about that. She was anxious to either get on or look for an exit, but her head couldn't seem to decide which. She began shivering somewhat, clinging close to Jake, but only slightly. She wouldn't let anyone see how afraid she really was. But somehow, before anyone else, Jake knew. His left arm wrapped around her waist as he walked along, and she cuddled into him.

"You're an _idiot_ for bringing me here," she said softly.

Jake chuckled and said, "Think of this as an exercise in trust."

She nodded, but still wasn't sure. Of course, he helped her into her seat first before he hopped into his own. They both set their harnesses and the attendants secured the foot clamps. Felina whined, just a little, her legs shaking as she did so. There were enough kats here for all thirty-two seats to be filled; eight cars, four riders each car.

She looked beside her and saw the adjacent train being loaded up, and her eyes widened as she realized something. "Wait; there are two tracks… so that means that they could…" She squeaked as her mind processed the information all too quickly.

Jake laughed and said, "Trust, remember? Here, if it'll help…" he held out his hand to her. She gladly took it, squeezing tight. He squeezed back, and she noticed that he had a surprisingly strong grip.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the ride announcer shouted excitedly over the speakers, "This is flight control speaking. On behalf of Extreme Island, I'd like to personally welcome you to the _Blue Manx_!" They all cheered, the two trains full of kats getting pumped up. Jake grinned and said, "I _love_ this guy."

"You are about to witness first hand," the announcer continued, "without the threat of live weapons, what a dogfight in mid-air is truly like. We have tried painstakingly to simulate the air combat maneuvers that you see in air shows and in live fire that have been proven to save many a pilot's life. While we can't tell you everything that this coaster is capable of, you will witness high-speed banked turns, sudden drops, and the extreme bursts of acceleration that come as close to full afterburner as possible without the threat of injury."

Felina tried to slow her breathing. How were they going to do that? It sounded insane. She wondered once again why she was here, and then looked to her left. He was the reason, of course. And if anything happened, she would kill him from the grave.

"You will notice that there is another train right beside you. Don't freak out too much, but this is not just a simulation of ACM- it's a simulation of a _dogfight_. You will be dueling with the other coaster as you soar through the air in an elevated position underneath the track, flying at an excess of sixty-five miles an hour and passing the other train by a clearance of eighteen to twelve inches. Thus informed, for those who want to get off, this is your last chance. Raise your hand and an attendant will help you out of your seat and lead you towards an exit."

They booed. That was not an option. Jake's hand tightened on Felina's own, and she closed her eyes, trying to slow her breathing again Jake laughed and said, "Just open 'em and keep them open. You won't wanna miss all this!"

Felina shook her head and said, "I doubt that highly," but opened one of her eyes anyway. They hadn't started moving yet.

He grinned and said, "Don't tell me you haven't ridden a coaster before."

She shook her head and said, "It's not that… just that… this is a bit…" She shivered and said, "A bit too much! I mean, come on- I'm hardcore, but I'm not _that_ hardcore!"

Jake smirked and almost said that there was a girl underneath there after all, but he had too much tact for that. "Just hold on to my hand, okay? Don't let go until you feel like it."

That won him a smile.

"All right, don't say I didn't warn you," the announcer said jokingly. "With that said, it sounds like the pilots are getting ready for takeoff …"

Felina then noticed that there was a pair of speakers installed in her seat as she heard a voice. "Manx One to Flight Control, we are set for launch on your go."

She heard another voice, younger-sounding, from the other train. "Manx Two, situation green, requesting permission to begin taxiing run."

The announcer nodded and said, "Permission granted. Manx One, Manx Two, try not to do anything too crazy out there. You have clearance to begin taxiing run at point zero-two-six."

Felina's eyes widened as she saw her point of view shift from facing forward… to facing downward. The bottom of the seats, where their feet were braced, tilted upwards, and the cars were locked in place. With that, the ride was underway as both trains hit the lift chain.

"Jake," she yelled as the ride climbed, "If we get through this alive, I'm going to _kill_ you!"

He laughed and knew she wouldn't, and thus he just kept on squeezing her hand for comfort. "Just don't let go of my hand until you're ready! I'm right here, you got that? I'm not going anywhere- couldn't even if I _wanted_ to!"

Felina smiled again, and it was a stronger smile this time.

Of course, that was the point where it all went sideways, literally, as the climb completed. Felina couldn't help herself as she screamed along with everyone else. Right, this was not exactly the kind of start she wanted! Jake of course, hollered and laughed as the first drop, a good one hundred and fifteen feet, commenced.

She was lucky to keep her eyes open.

'Be brave, be brave, be brave…'

Felina's eyes widened as they reached the first vertical loop. She saw another one just in front of her… and then gasped as both trains passed each other. She could almost reach out and touch another kat's hand. It was over all too quickly, but it was just enough for her to grin.

'That was crazy. We need to do that again…'

And they did as the ride began executing close-pass barrel rolls, immelmans, and a half-inversion that led to an interlocked corkscrew, which had the trains pass each other belly-up. That one made her giggle. But it wasn't anywhere near over yet… the two trains lined up again, and without any sort of brake run, continued their momentum. They both entered two separate, transparent tubes that were easily wide enough to fit them… and Jake grinned. "Here comes the crazy part…"

She blinked towards him and said, "Crazy? This _whole thing_ is-"

BOOM.

Just inside the tunnel, there were a series of linear induction motors hidden inside the track. Once the trains hit the section of the track that had the motors, they both burst forward in an epic increase in acceleration. The trains reached their top speed of sixty-five miles an hour within the space of a breath, and there was definitely a good reason for it as she saw… nothing in front of her. She didn't like the look of it, but she trusted Jake enough to know it wouldn't hurt her.

And it didn't.

The trains pulled upward dramatically as they raced out of the tunnel, climbing into the vertical. She saw nothing but sky… and for once, she let Jake's hand go before reaching her arms forward. She was flying. It really felt like she was flying. Of course within sixty feet of upwards track, it was time to come right back down to earth as the trains flipped, finished the exaggerated half loop, and began the approach towards the staging area with a drop that put them directly over the launch tunnels.

After one final, bombastic move that simulated the scissors maneuver, with the trains banking over and under each other time and time again, the ride was over.

Felina laughed.

"Again," she shouted exuberantly, "We have to do that one more time!"

* * *

The rest of the day was spent on one ride after another, and they rode the _Blue Manx_ again before they left. The second time through, Felina had her hands forward for the duration of the ride, hollering and laughing along with the slim tom who had given her the time of her life. It was at lunch time however, in a brief moment of respite in all the excitement, when she said it. 

"Jake… thanks for all this."

He smiled and said, "No problem. It's the least I could do for helping me out. Besides, I just so happened to have the money for it," he said as he chewed on his chili-cheese fries. Felina shook her head and said, "Not just for the rides or the food, or anything. Thanks for… being yourself."

Jake blinked, confused for a moment, before he got the idea and nodded. "I can't be anyone else but me, y'know? Why bother trying? Then again, I _am_ two different kats, so I can't really say all this with a straight face."

Felina chuckled and said, "But either way, whichever kat you are, you're entirely you. Maybe that's why I love you so much."

Jake raised an eyebrow, pausing for a moment. After that brief moment, he said, "I don't know if I heard that right, but I just think I heard you say something about liking me."

Felina shook her head and said, "Not like, _love_." She smiled and said, "What, you haven't noticed how I've been fussing over you for the past three days? How every time you would get yourself into some crazy situation, I told you that I'd kill you if you did it again? And yet here you are, still well and hale after doing it not once, but multiple times! You ever wondered why?"

Jake shook his head and said, "I never really paid it any mind, but now that you mention it, it is an important question. According to my track record, I'd have been killed five times without hope of reincarnation by now."

Felina laughed and said, "Because, silly, I love a tom that is willing to stick his neck out for someone or something important. I love toms that fight for lost causes and hopeless cases against impossible odds. I love toms that scratch underneath my chin and behind my ears, and make me want to burn up."

Jake smiled and said, "Then I suppose that what you're looking for is not a tom, but an ideal. You're looking for someone who can do two entirely different things at once- be all badass and gentle at the same time. I'm not saying I can do that… but I'm saying I can try."

Felina was entirely silent for a few seconds. He had put it so well and on-the-point that she had no words in response, and she was usually a frequent talker. But it was not his statement that made her clam up. After that lapse of several seconds, she said softly, "You don't know, do you?"

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't know what?"

This was frustrating. She immediately got up from her chair, and in a flash of motion moved to his position. Jake only had a split second to brace himself for something, anything, before she kissed him. That kiss was familiar, all right- it would have given The Lioness away immediately, had he not already known who she was. It had the feel of a fire that would eat up any source of fuel within a twenty mile radius.

She took his air away, and he didn't mind.

She pulled back and licked his lips before saying, "That… is exactly what you do, every day. You're the kind of tom that could sweep a she-kat off of her feet, conquer the world, hand it to her gently, and still be entirely himself. You don't _have_ to try- you just _do_ it."

She nuzzled along his right ear, and he purred in response. Oh, that felt nice… but not as nice as the whisper in his ear.

"Jake… you're my hero."

He grinned and mused to himself, 'So much for not taking the hero thing too seriously, Chance. It's _exactly_ what she wants.'

* * *

**Chapter 25: **_**Roller Coaster Confessional**_

The_ Blue Manx_ is a crazy idea for a roller coaster, right? But if it were real, wouldn't it be awesome? I just had to write it up. Not to mention that this is a perfect setting for two dynamic and lively kats to get together and hang out. The kiss was, of course, a long time coming. I just had to set it up in proper fashion, which is why this one took so long. _Gomen_.

As for Extreme Island, it's located (naturally) on Anakata Island. If you've done your SK homework, you'll know where that is.

Enough! Reviewer Appreciation time! But before we begin, I would like to say OMFG. The review count has reached **50**. Minus mine, that makes 49, but who cares! Thanks go out to everyone for reading and pitching in!

And with that on the table… our first subject is **inferno1**. I am not planning to have the SK die off in this. But the city itself will sooner or later have the rough equivalent of Dante's Inferno released on its unsuspecting citizens. Just watch- it'll be a glorious battle. Next up is **RaidenSilversword**. It's always a pleasure to see you. And thank you- I do pride myself in describing a good assassination. But even the best hit man makes a mistake, and his is coming soon. And of course, **Raiden Snake**. Yes, mission accomplished indeed. I'm sure there are plenty of people who want to curb stomp the good Mr. Turner for his indiscretions, but let's not hate. Only wait. Last, but certainly not least, **GeekGirl2**. I do tend to write these things quickly- it's what gets me the props from the peeps. The longer one has to wait, the less interested they are. I certainly hope you didn't have to wait too long, any of you.

All right, done and done. That wraps up this episode. Next time I'll try and elaborate the Jake/Felina pairing a bit more- see if I can't start pushing the envelope a bit.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	26. Fire on the Dance Floor

They were in their element this evening, surrounded by kats on a packed dance floor. The music by now had gotten into their blood; the drums were their hearts, the lyrics ran through their heads, the bass drove their hips and feet. It wasn't like anything that had ever happened before- entirely intense and new. One, the she-kat, had been here before. She had started coming here ever since she had left her old life behind, in an attempt to make a new one. Since then, she had become increasingly popular, and many a tom had begun to notice more than just her steps.

The other was here for the first time, and he had more than caught the ire of a few toms on his way in. He wore mostly casual, his features intelligent, and his smile appeared almost too quickly for their tastes when she looked at him. Of course, any kitten that set their eyes on him wanted to know his name, his number, what he liked to eat and whether or not they could take him home.

Neither of them cared, really. They were too captivated in each other to notice anyway.

For two kats who loved to lose themselves in a crowd of people, they certainly felt like they were the only two in the room as they danced to a beat other than the music. Here, there was no one bothering them, no one trying to pressure them into something, and no one lying to them. Here, in the middle of a crowded dance floor, it was just them.

The irony was not lost on them, even as they danced.

She thought she knew everything about him, but he always managed to keep her guessing. The usually quiet, reserved tom, who had a sort of nervous energy about him, as if there were always somewhere to go or something to see, could dance. He had a sense of rhythm and timing that few others possessed, and depending on which song caught his fancy next, he moved differently to it. Still, whichever way he moved, he was good at it.

'What can't he do?' she began to wonder. 'What is he incapable of that I can do better?'

Yes, it was a selfish thought, but it was one of her primary ones all the time. She always wanted to be better, always wanted to be faster. This she-kat always wanted to be on top of someone or something, because everything was a challenge to her. When she wanted something, little else mattered as she charged forward, be it an object or a person.

But here… was an equal, or rather a balance. He had charmed the socks off of her, shown more courage, showed her a good time, and still managed to be everything that she had wanted in a tom. An idealist and a realist at the same time, and it frustrated her to no end. He brought out her tender side at will, something that no one else was capable of doing while she was an Enforcer. Even in the ranks of the KatGuard private military firm, no one could pierce her brittle exterior.

It was something she prided herself in, and just like her uncle, she was a prideful individual.

So it was frustrating when someone could circumvent her defenses so easily, and without even trying as hard as most did. He let her have her individuality, yet at the same time he had a good hold on her, or at least the illusion of one. And this was coming from the fact that they didn't even have a working relationship beyond friends.

They just… fit. She found it eerie, but there was no denying it.

So she would make a marked effort to change that. But first, they would dance.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A_SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

Eight hours earlier, at 11:34 AM that morning, it was another day at the office. They were busy tearing apart and fixing cars, looking for usable parts and turning the rest into sheet metal. It wasn't entirely a glamorous job; especially since they were visited today by Burke and Murray… they were, of course, none too happy to see them. 

"You're lucky your girlfriend decided to intervene," Burke said with a sour look on his face. "If she weren't the Deputy Mayor, we'd have told her to go straight to Hell. But then again, this is Hell enough for you guys anyway- here would be a perfect place for her as well!" They both laughed, but of course Chance was not amused. In fact, he wanted to kick their asses.

Jake placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. He would have to take it.

"Yeah, that's right," Murray said with a malicious grin, "Back off before we run and go tell Feral that you struck your… commanding officers." They sniggered before saying, "Matter of fact, we might as well drop our load right in front of your doorstep, since there's not a thing you can do about it!"

Chance's face seemed to be made of stone for a moment as he seriously considered tearing these two apart. They really were going to do it, weren't they? Jake however, just smiled pleasantly. "Well you know, by the time you drop all that, I'll have gotten done with calling the Deputy Mayor. I doubt you could outrun her car with how tuned it is… but then again, if you'd rather take that chance, be my guest."

They stopped advancing towards the truck, frozen to the spot. "You're bluffing," Murray said without looking behind him.

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "Chance, how long does it take to reach the phone?"

The big tom smirked and said, "For you? From this position, I would say… fifteen seconds."

Their tormentors gaped as they turned and stared. No one was that fast… were they? Then again, these two used to be Enforcers. Who knew whether they kept their training up or not? Did they train even harder? From the way they looked… yes, they did.

"…Don't think we're going easy on you two," Murray said with a pout. "We're just doing this out of respect for Deputy Mayor Briggs. Come on Burke, let's go!" With that, they drove off towards the scrap yard to deposit their cargo. Silently, Chance and Jake watched them go before they pounded their fists together.

"Nice moves buddy," the big tom said. "But seriously, can you really move that fast?"

The phone rang just then and Jake grinned. "There's only one way to find out. I'll let you know as soon as I'm done!" With that, he jet off towards the sound of the ringtone. Chance raised an eyebrow as he watched, and shook his head. "There's no way."

Jake answered the phone seconds before the answering machine picked up and said the customary greeting. Of course, the voice that he heard on the other end was not the one he expected. He was used to being overworked by now, but Felina's voice was a breath of fresh air. "Hi, Jake," she said on her end of the conversation. "Busy?"

Jake sighed and said, "Yeah, we just got a visit from our two wardens, Burke and Murray. I don't entirely know why Feral tends to employ assholes, but those two are the kings of that personality type. Anyways, what's up?"

Felina had a towel around her shoulders, having finished working out on the heavy bag that hung from the ceiling mount in her apartment. She had one hand on her hips, trying to maintain her breathing just enough for her to talk at a normal rate. "Nothing much, just bored. I don't have too many contracts coming up, so it appears that I'll have to retain my funds for the time being. Doesn't mean I can't spend any money, just means I can't spend too much of it."

Jake shrugged and said, "Well as long as you're all right. Did you have fun yesterday?"

Felina nodded and said, "Oh, yeah. I just figured I'd return the favor. How about I pick you up tonight, seven in the evening?"

Jake laughed and said, "Slow down there! You haven't even told me where you wanted to go."

Waving her right hand through the air, as if to swat an annoying fly, the impetuous she-kat replied, "Doesn't matter where. I just need to go somewhere to keep from going stir-crazy, and need someone to take with me. Now are you gonna come or not?"

Well, at the very least, Jake liked surprises. He nodded and said, "Sure thing. Got any preferences in clothing for this little outing?"

Felina had to stop and think about that. What would she like to see Jake wearing? 'Nothing,' her mind instantly responded, but she wisely kept that to herself. "It's not a formal thing- just come as you are. But don't wear anything too raggedy, or else I'll box your ears. You got that?"

The slim tom chuckled and said, "You got it. Seven PM then. Gotta go- I think they're coming back."

Jake hung up and leisurely walked outside, just in time to see the dump truck start up. Looking toward Chance, he raised an eyebrow. "Did they…"

The bigger tom nodded. "Nah, they put it in the right place this time." They watched them drive off, spitting curses all the way. After they were good and gone, Chance looked towards the slim tom and said, "Time?"

Jake grinned and said, "Thirteen seconds."

They gave each other a high-five as Chance laughed heartily. "They never stood a _chance_. Come on, let's get back to work."

* * *

"So he took you to the amusement park, did he?" Callie teased as Felina stood in a defensive stance. "Whatever happened to making the first move?"

Felina came rushing at her, her irritation rising. That was not a good question to ask right now… "I didn't get a _chance_ to," she said as she popped off a left jab that was easily slipped, but followed up with another jab from the same hand. They were quick and had snap to them, but she was angry, and it only got worse as the second punch was evaded with a right shoulder roll.

Callie grinned and kept teasingly within range. "So what, he asked you first? I told you that Jake was sneaky. He probably charmed your socks off first before asking." Her hands were still in high guard as she looked for some kind of opening in Felina's defenses.

Of course, Felina was not the sneaky type. She defended only to attack, and the rest of the time she… well, just attacked. Like now when she began getting frustrated at Callie's questions. Of course, half of it was because she was right without having to have been there. "Just shut up and keep your chin _down_," she yelled as she came at her with a right hook.

The back of Callie's neck tingled as she felt, rather than saw the attack coming. Even then, she saw the shoulder move first, so as soon as Felina started the move, Callie ducked, set, and immediately lashed out with a solid left straight. While they were fortunately wearing gloves, the shot to the liver still hurt, and it still made the former Enforcer stumble backwards.

Her opponent's approach was still low, and just as Felina stumbled backwards she was beset upon by a rush of punches, one after the other. The first two hit squarely in the face, but the third, a right jab, was countered by a left cross that hit squarely into Callie's jaw. She turned with the attack, flowing right into a left back kick.

Felina didn't just stumble backwards this time; she _flew_ a few good feet just from the close range of the attack. Oh, they were fortunate to have padding on their feet, too. It still stung, but she would get over it. But before she had finished landing safely, Callie was in mid-air, hoping to end it with a final right punch. Sure, she was capable of stopping it inches from Felina's nose, but it still had enough momentum behind it to knock someone out.

Felina's eyes widened as she opened her eyes just in time to see her opponent no more than two seconds away from her. She rolled out of the way just before the Deputy Mayor landed, and got right back up as she took another stance. 'She's got me off balance with what she's been saying- I've gotta focus.'

Callie raised an eyebrow as Felina let out a breath of air and began to relax, the tension in her body melting away. Well then, she was finally getting her head into the fight. Good- it wouldn't be a decent spar without proper concentration. The blonde she-kat did the same thing, clearing her mind of discursive thoughts. Their faces were both masks of placidity, and for a brief moment, Callie could feel it again.

The current- it was everywhere. She once again swore she could close her eyes and feel out everything in the room. She could feel it inside of Felina as well. Just as soon as she thought that, her sparring partner advanced swiftly, closing the range and coming in with a left jab.

Callie moved to parry as the punch came her way, and that's when the itch between her shoulder blades started. No, that wasn't it! It was coming low. And sure enough, Felina quickly retracted her attack, going for a right cross to the solar plexus… only to have the attack miss as the blonde she-kat evaded. Barely. The punch was quickly retrieved and her left forearm came up to guard the side of her head. She felt a fist impact later, and whirled to meet her with a right uppercut.

Callie managed to move backwards just as the punch missed by inches, and kick out at Felina's right kneecap at the same time. The hit scored. The right leg locked out and she grimaced in pain as Callie came in again with a right hook. Blocked, incoming left rising elbow as she regained her stance. Slipped, incoming right hook. Slipped; left straight to the stomach.

The fight turned into an intricate series of parries and evasions and defenses, one trying constantly to outmaneuver the other. Unfortunately, the dance had to end sometime as they finally got in sync, each avoiding a strike from the other before coming at each other with a straight.

The spell was broken as their eyes widened. They were one inch away from knocking each other senseless. Their breathing was hard and shallow and a fine sheet of sweat covered their faces.

"Not bad," Felina said after a few moments of this pause.

Callie grinned and said, "Thanks. So then, are _you_ going to ask _him_ out this time?"

Felina smirked and said, "Already did."

Callie nodded and said, "That's more like it. Well don't let me keep you from getting ready for your date tonight."

* * *

At six in the evening, one hour before his ride arrived, Jake donned his clothing for the evening. His clothing was slim fitting, consisting of a black jacket with the Savages' team logo on the back, a red tomahawk in front of a stylized, swooping capital s. They were actually doing well for this year- not that they didn't usually do bad. His shirt was gray and his jeans were a rich royal blue. The shoes were just a pair of high-tops, black in color. 

It was simple, but it'd do the trick for where he was going.

"Chance, I'm heading out soon," he shouted as he made his way out of the bathroom. "How're things looking? We got any more cars?"

The big tom headed into the lounge from the game room and said, "Nah, we're good. I think we got 'em all. Hey," he continued jokingly, "don't let her push you around, buddy. You know how she can get sometimes."

Jake chuckled and said, "Yeah, but you should know how she was when we went to the amusement park yesterday. She practically fell all over me! Not that it's bragging or anything, but…"

Chance nodded and said, "I hear ya. I just hope you don't do anything stupid to turn her off."

The slim tom folded his arms and said, "Look at who you're talking to for a minute here. It's me, Jake! I wouldn't do anything like that. Nothing bad is gonna happen tonight, I promise. And if it does, I have the number of this place, right?"

The big tom shrugged and said, "Cool. I just hope you don't have to use it."

A horn honked outside. Chance groaned and said, "Another one? We don't get a moment's rest, do we?"

Jake headed towards the door to the lounge and into the garage area. Of course, Chance's suspicions were unwarranted- those were Felina's headlights. "False alarm there, Chance, it's my ride. She's here early. Look, if I'm not back in two hours, lock up."

Chance smirked and said, "Yeah, I know. Get moving before she decides to tear the place apart lookin' for ya, and have fun!"

Jake grinned and jogged towards the black street racer, hopping into the passenger's side before closing the door behind him. Felina was dressed in black, but not the formal kind of black. No, it was more like a dark, edgy outfit that included a long, sweeping coat, a halter top that ended a good four inches above her navel, and hip-hugging jeans.

She looked delicious.

"Well, you certainly look handsome in that jacket," she said with a smile. "And the shirt, the jeans, the shoes… it's simple, but it'll do."

Jake laughed and said, "It'll do, huh? Well I'm not going to comment on how you look then."

Felina rolled her eyes and replied, "You look wonderful, silly. I hope I didn't go too overboard with what I'm wearing, though."

Jake shook his head and said, "I just hope that no one looks at you funny for it."

She put the car in reverse gear and said, "Trust me, if someone looks at me in any sort of wrong way, they will be getting three broken ribs, both legs crippled, and the status of their manhood in a questionable state." She certainly sounded like she would carry that one out, even if it meant that she would get thrown out by security.

Jake chuckled and said, "And if I looked at you the wrong way?"

Felina smirked and said, "You're _already_ looking at me the wrong way. And if you keep looking at me like that, we might not be getting to where we're going for a few hours. You can take that how you want to."

Jake took it at face value, of course, and flashed a toothy grin. "I wouldn't want to keep you from driving, then."

As it was, they reached their destination in about an hour and a half. Of course once they stopped, they were in front of a nightclub- the_Neon_. Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "We're going dancing tonight?" Jake asked as he looked towards Felina.

The brunette looked back towards him and raised an eyebrow. "What, so you're telling me you don't know how to dance? This is a bad time to mention that, Jake. We're going in anyways," she said as she stepped out of the car and began walking towards the entrance, expecting him to follow. He did of course, but he had to catch up for a bit as he closed his door.

"Oh, now I didn't say that," he said as he matched her stride, "I just haven't been in one of these before. I just hope that it's packed- it's better to have a whole lot of kats instead of just a handful in these kinds of things."

Felina waved towards the doorman, who grinned and said, "Felina, what's going down, girl! We missed you over here. And who is this next to you?"

She placed an arm around Jake's shoulders and introduced him. "Jake Clawson, my… date for this evening. I hope you don't mind letting him in too- it's his first time here." She withdrew the cover charge for the both of them, which equaled no more or less than forty dollars. The doorman took only one of those twenties and said, "Ladies get in free tonight."

Jake grinned and said, "Well that's awesome of you guys. Hell, I was going to pay for her, but I'm betting you know how she can be."

The intimidating, muscular kat simply laughed and said, "You ain't half bad, Jake. Just make sure not to hurt our girl, you hear? Then again, I'm more worried about _her_ hurting _you_ out there on the floor. Go on in, you two."

The _Neon_ consisted of three levels, the top reserved for VIPs with the other two floors packed with dancing. Lasers illuminated the atmosphere, flashing and shining and giving off a general intensity. The first floor of course, was where the kitchen and main bar was located, and there was a smaller bar on the third. The place was so big that it had to have a pair of elevators in it, one on each side of the entrance.

It made Jake grin. So many kats there…

"So where do we start?" he asked, naturally excited.

Felina grinned and said, "Where else? We're heading the dance floor!"

Jake was almost dragged towards the middle of the room, past the tables and the people who were busy conversing. Soon, he was out in a sea of kats, though he didn't mind one bit. Hell, Jake loved a crowd. Unfortunately, one song was ending before another one began. For a moment, Jake had to get used to the beat as he simply got his feet moving in time.

Felina however, was used to anything as she immediately started sidling up against him with a wink. He was lucky they were just about the same height, or he'd feel strange. As it was, they were in a comfortable position where she was comfortably in time with him, her back against his chest.

_Baby baby, I feel these sweet sensations, yeah  
Honey honey, looks like a superstar, yeah yeah_

By now, he had gotten the hang of it and immediately turned her around to face him. "Don't say anything, just follow my lead. Step back as I step forward..."

Felina was confused for a moment, and she had to look down for a brief second. On the first beat, Jake rocked forward onto his left foot, and then she understood why she had to move. 'He really can dance,' she thought to herself, and began following his lead. The second beat saw him shift his weight back onto his right foot with a short step, and immediately the third step had him with his left foot meeting his right by stepping back and to the side. Strange… for beat number four, the foot seemed to still be stuck in place. Three steps on four beats? Familiar…

_She got a promise of love-struck fascination  
What am I to do? How am I to know who you are?_

They were mostly on the balls of their feet, loose and light. Right foot back, left step, right to the side. Felina blinked with realization as she said, "What the… this is the mambo!" Jake grinned and winked. "Hang on for dear life… and try to keep up!"

Then the chorus kicked in… and they started moving to the rhythm instead of the kick drum. It was suddenly much faster, but now that Felina knew what they were doing… she didn't care. 'It can be done this fast? Hell, I could get used to this!'

_When this love-fool-osophy is killing  
Previous illusions that  
I had in my mind about you (I'm a love fool)  
Seems so true, all the lies you're telling  
Tragically compelling and  
My lovin' means nothing to you  
So maybe I'm still a love fool_

Felina laughed as Jake let go, and they went from moving in close, side to side, to moving forward and back. By this time, a few people had started to watch… And it made Jake grin. This was going to be awesome.

_She shimmers like a California sunset  
Lady lady, glitters but there's no gold  
She carries sweet infectious magic formulas_

Jake held her again and began a turning pattern that sent Felina's senses spinning pleasantly. Oh, this was too much! Everyone began clearing a path as the turns began, and soon they had their own little space on the floor. Felina laughed and continued keeping time as Jake led her around and around.

_I'm so delirious, is she that serious?  
Or is she bringin' me on, I've been waiting so long_

But of course, he had to pause for a brief moment before the chorus to pull her close again and wink. She gave him a sultry look and purred as the dancing continued. This was incredible… She would have compared it to the roller coaster had she not been scared stiff when she had ridden it. But here… here was an entirely new ballgame.

_And this love-fool-osophy is killing  
Previous illusions that  
I had in my mind about you (I'm a love fool)  
Seems so true, all the lies you're telling  
Tragically compelling and  
My lovin' means nothing to you  
So maybe I'm still a love fool_

This was, of course, the point where they were entirely lost. The crowd vanished; the music had seemed to seep into their blood instead of into their ears. Not even the dance mattered- each movement was barely felt at the edge of their senses as they got themselves carried away in each other. As a result, the crowd that wasn't there… got fired up anyway. The intricate spectacle had made a sizable number of kats stop dancing only to watch two experts at play.

Or at least, they seemed like it.

Not like they cared either way- they were too lost in whatever haze they had found themselves in.

_I don't want the world, I want you  
Yeah, I don't want the world I want you  
I don't want the world I want you  
I want you  
I want you  
I want you  
I want you_

The night could have ended there and they would both be going home happy. Of course, it wasn't exactly their thought at the time, but that was the general idea after a night like this. There were no words or gestures, no real movements besides the steps and the arms and the turns… but they just couldn't keep their eyes off of each other.

_Love-fool-osophy is killing  
Previous illusions that  
I had in my mind about you (I'm a love fool)  
Seems so true, all the lies you're telling  
Tragically compelling and  
My lovin' means nothing to you  
So maybe I'm still a love fool  
My lovin' means nothing to you  
So maybe I'm still a love fool_

The dancing continued onward, time ignored and the beat still strong. It was difficult not to confidently power-twirl her around as she gave in to his sway, and with another intricate set of moves, the song was almost over. Of course, neither wanted to stop as the drums continued driving them onwards, the lyrics resonating in their ears.

_Girl, my love foolosophies  
Don't you see it's killing me  
Girl, my love foolosophies  
Don't you see they're killing me  
I'm a love fool_

The song ended as Jake dipped his dance partner so low she swore her ears would touch the floor. Their heads cleared to the sound of pounding heartbeats combined with the exuberant cheers of the crowd. Entirely out of breath but completely satisfied, Jake wanted nothing more than to stay like this for a while longer. The position might get a bit uncomfortable afterwards, but it would be worth it if time stopped right now.

Felina grinned and said softly as he lifted her back upwards, "This is the part of the movie where you kiss me, handsome."

Jake laughed and said, "I guess… it has been like a movie, huh? A big love story ever since yesterday. Matter of fact, I think it's been that way for a while now. Just goes to show you that life imitates art more than art imitates life, huh?" Still, to kiss the she-kat was exactly what he wanted to do right now, and for a moment, he went silent as his heart rate shot up like a rocket.

He was going to move when Felina made up his mind for him, but as it stood they met halfway, surprising each other for a brief moment before relaxing into each other's embrace. They had just finished doing the mambo and were already in another dance: the tango. It lasted for all of fifteen seconds before they pulled away, their foreheads touching.

"Mmm… So do you wanna get something to eat?" Jake asked with a smile.

Felina nodded after a longing sigh. She wanted more of his tongue, but for the moment, food sounded good. With that, they headed for a table, their tails twining around each other. The only thing that Jake wondered at this point was… 'Did Chance lock the place up? I bet he forgot.' It was a thought that quickly faded however as they took their seats and ordered their food.

* * *

They had ended up in front of Felina's apartment building later that evening at 10:55 PM. Why she had thought of driving here was anyone's guess- logically, Felina should have taken him back to the garage, but a part of her did not want the night to end. Besides, she was not one to operate on logic when there was something she wanted- she just lowered her forehead, set herself, and charged forward. 

Jake however, had a clearer head than she did, and he could make a few guesses as to what was coming up as the engine stopped. It wasn't that he was nervous- far from it. The only question in his head was if she was sure about all this. Then again, when had she _not_ been sure about anything?

"Um, Felina…" Jake asked as diplomatically as he could, "Why are we here at your place instead of the garage?"

As stated before, he knew why they were here. Or at least, he could guess with a fair amount of accuracy. The question was, did she? Felina did things on the spur of the moment, so he had to make sure if even _she_ knew what was going on. Her answer was both expected, and not.

"Three things are going on, Jake," she said with a sigh. "It's late, I'm tired, and the garage is probably closed and locked by now. I doubt that either of us will be going anywhere until the morning, so you are staying here with me." Of course, she had to admit to herself that she wanted to do something more than just have him over.

Jake nodded and said softly, "I see. Cool with me! And besides, I've never been over your place before. It'll certainly be an adventure to check it out tomorrow. Right now though, I agree with the bed thing."

They made their way inside, neither saying anything for lack of anything to say. Anything relevant, that was. Jake was expecting many things when that door opened, but he wasn't expecting it to be as tidy as it was. With how much Felina moved around, it was a wonder that she had any time to clean up. Still, he was pleasantly surprised, and smiled as he took his shoes off.

Felina looked behind her and rolled her eyes. "I swear, why does everyone insist on taking their shoes off when they come in? It's no big deal- I can clean up after you, and if you're worried about scuff marks it doesn't matter. Besides, scuff marks add character to the place," she joked.

Jake laughed and said, "Hey, it's just not kosher to walk around with your shoes on in the house. Sure we do it at the garage, but we have to. It's kinda part of the job. But wearing them in here? Nah, it's not right. Besides, my socks are a hell of a lot more comfortable to walk in," he countered.

Felina chuckled and said, "Touché. So do you want anything to drink, then?"

Jake shook his head and said, "Nah, it's all right. I'll just get ready for bed," he said as he yawned and headed for the general direction of the bathroom. Assuming of course, he knew where it was. This time though, he got lucky, and the first door he opened happened to be the one he was looking for. It was a real shame that he hadn't packed for an overnight stay, but he'd have to make do with what he had.

As she heard the door to the second bathroom closing, Felina sighed to herself. 'Okay, Felina. You've got him in your house,' she mulled to herself. 'Now what are you going to do? It's not like I don't want him to stay, but there's gotta be a point where the line is drawn.'

The question was, where _was_ that point? Where did he end and she begin? What was going to happen if they slept in the same bed? The answer to that confused her, and frustrated her: either something or nothing. On the one hand, if something happened, everything would change. Not like she had a problem with change, but it would be a bit more… awkward from that point forward. She didn't like awkward.

'On the other,' her mind countered, 'if nothing happens, then I'll be hurt, and he'll feel guilty about me being hurt, which will make me feel bad all over again... The tower that I've so carefully built will fall.'

She didn't want that either. Thus, the inevitable conundrum had arrived- should she keep him out, or let him in just a bit further? Be awkward, or potentially be alone again? Despite her bold advances most of the time, regardless of what else anyone thought of her, she had a fear of not being accepted. That said, the question was which was the lesser of two evils- embarrassment or isolation?

Felina sighed to herself as she exited the kitchen and walked towards her bedroom. This was irritating. Usually she was so sure, but now… now, she had successfully confused herself. Or rather, Jake had confused her. She loved him- she knew that much for sure. But there had to be a boundary somewhere, some kind of rules that had to be set.

Her own thoughts rebelled against her. 'Oh, please,' her mind snapped viciously, 'when have you ever given a damn about rules?_Take_ him.'

Felina shook her head at the insistent thoughts that pounded through her head. It would be too awkward. Besides, he's tired, and he might not want to. It was best that she left things as they were… or was it? Could she just leave it be?

'Idiot,' her brain ranted again, 'you told him that you loved him just yesterday! Why is this not right?'

"Shut the hell up and let me think," she growled softly. At that point, her eyes widened as she realized something very disturbing- she was talking to herself. With an almost acidic chuckle, she said, "I really _am_ tired."

That wasn't it though, and she knew it. She was clashing against her own nature. Jake had brought out the she-kat behind the ferocious, brittle exterior- one that was hoping for the perfect time and place for a nice romantic scene. That in itself was contradictory- there was _no_ perfect time. She had said so herself, and to Callie no less.

'Yeah, I might as well suck it up and decide what I'm gonna do.' With that thought, she began getting ready for bed. Of course by the time she had finished doing so, dressing herself in a flowing silk nightgown colored a bold scarlet, she heard music and smelled something cooking. 'I thought he wasn't hungry anymore.'

But of course, it wasn't food. It was the smell of tea. And what a wonder- he had found her John Mayer CD. "So you did want something to drink after all," she said with a chuckle.

Jake looked over towards her and shrugged. "Well I didn't before, but I figured just a cup or two would help me sleep better. You want some?"

Felina nodded and said, "Sure, why not. I guess it would help."

Jake poured two cups of jade tea as the music continued playing. "Y'know, I didn't know you listened to this kind of stuff. Not like it's a bad thing- this is an awesome song. Matter of fact, it's a great kind of music in general to listen to."

The brunette smirked and said, "You sir, have a lot to learn about me." She sat down and accepted the cup of hot tea, taking in the scent for a moment with a smile before setting it down on the table and saying, "Jake, thanks for tonight. I had a great time, you know. Where exactly did you learn how to dance like that?"

As he sat down, the slim tom answered the question. "You learn a lot of things while in college. I just so happened to have my interests in a few unique things, so to speak. Dancing was a hobby really, but it was still something I wanted to do right. I had to work two jobs for it, but I got myself lessons, and sure enough I knew how within a year or two. It's nothing special."

Felina sighed and said, "No, Jake. Everything is special about you. Don't go saying that." She took a sip of her drink and said, "So what's your sleeping arrangements like? I know this place isn't exactly a four-star place, but…"

Jake shrugged and said, "It wouldn't be the first time I slept on a couch before. Don't worry about me."

Twitch. Twitch, twitch. "Did you just say… the couch?" She leaned forward over the table and simply stared into Jake's brown eyes with her own. "I won't have you putting yourself out like that out of some kind of chivalry, though it is nice. I'm going to make you comfortable if it kills me, Jake Clawson." She smiled and said, "You are sleeping with me, and that is final."

Jake chuckled and said, "All right, all right. I concede already."

Felina nodded and said, "That's more like it. Now then, how about you go ahead and pour me another cup? This is the best tea that I've ever had, to be honest."

With that said, and two cups each neatly finished, they headed towards Felina's room. It wasn't like she was entirely naked underneath that robe, but it fit close enough to spark the imagination. And Jake had a vivid imagination… but for now, Jake slipped under the covers and sighed to himself. "Comfy…"

Felina had to smile and think to herself, 'Yes, you are.'

"Thank you," she said instead as she turned the lights out, slid into the other side, and nuzzled her pillow. Briefly, she heard Jake yawn, a sign that he was headed to sleep. Of course when he actually did, he had her back turned towards her, laying on his right side. "Good night, Felina," he murmured before he finally cast off into the abyss.

After a few minutes to make sure that he was indeed asleep, Felina's eyes opened as she looked towards him. Yes, he was sound asleep. She could tell by his breathing pattern and the way his head sank into the comfortable, fluffy pillow. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him rest.

He looked irresistible, even now.

'Just once,' she thought to herself, 'I can allow myself this, just once. Besides, I can't really sleep.'

The she-kat surreptitiously moved over to Jake's side of the bed, wrapped her arms around him, and spooned, cuddling him close to her. His warmth seeped into her; made her relax entirely. Slowly, her eyes closed and her ears twitched, just twice. Within no more than seven seconds, Felina Feral was out like a candle.

It was soon discovered that she could indeed purr while she was asleep.

* * *

**Chapter 26: **_**Fire on the Dance Floor**_

YES! This is the sublime, supreme fluffy chapter, mixed with a high-speed mambo! This is some seriously good writing- trust me. But of course, with the cuddly antics out of the way, the next chapter will once again not be for kids. Anyone who is not within legal age to read, stop here and skip the next one. Trust me; you'll like the action better than the sap.

For the rest who are in it for the long haul, get ready for another (hopefully) great love scene.

Enough of that, then. Reviewer Appreciation starts now, and with **inferno1**. Yes, I'm glad they aren't going to die off as well. I still need them for something. What that something is, you will not know until it is too late, so don't ask. The Chance and Callie scene on the couch will be left to the imagination… Ah, and there's **Raiden Snake**. Thank you for the comment. I'm sure you've already gotten my reply, but just in case you have not… and for those who wanted to know… Chance and Callie have a more passionate, deeply entrenched thing going on. I wanted to make these two relationships entirely different, and thus I wanted to make sure that I penned two different situations. On top of that, the first one was just an experiment, to see just how far I could push the envelope without going overboard. Apparently, I can go just so without having to overdramatize or oversimplify and I'm hoping for a repeat of that. And who could forget **RaidenSilversword**? YES, that is an insane coaster. Bet you want someone to make that now, huh? I do try to put a five-star job in every chapter I write, so I'm glad you posted this here. Be sure to stay locked in for the final chapter of this downtime.

That goes for all of ya.

Okay, bed now. I've been writing for the past three days and I'm beat. See you guys in the morning.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	27. Felina for Breakfast

Chance Furlong was busy that morning doing what he does best- hauling weights.

It was what he did to keep himself occupied when things were just too slow. Not that he minded slow- every day he had time to keep himself from facing the reality before him was a day that he lived for. An eighty pound dumbbell was being curled with each arm, his powerful biceps straining against skin and fur.

'Where the hell is Jake? He should've been back by now,' the big tom thought as he continued cranking the weights, his mind half-occupied by the location of his partner. Of course, if he were gone this long, he only had one answer to put to it. 'I won't call him yet- I might as well give him a few more hours before doing that. He might be busy.'

But of course, his workout had to be interrupted by something- this time, it was a phone call. He sighed before putting the weights down and heading towards the phone, catching his breath for a moment before answering. "MegaKat Auto and Body Shop, this is…"

"Chance," Callie said on the other end of the line, giggling as she smoothly interrupted him. "I've pretty much memorized your phone greeting to the point where I know what you're going to say next. Hey, listen… have you seen Felina anywhere? She missed our training session today. Not like I expect her to be here every day, but she could have told me she was going to be sleeping in."

The big tom chuckled and said, "I doubt she's sleeping in, Callie. And if she is, Jake's with her, in her bed, doing God knows what. You shouldn't worry about them so much. So what can I do for ya, besides check up on them? I'm not sure they'd like that, but I could-"

Callie shook her head, chuckling to herself. Chance had once again gotten her to blush- not like she minded, as long as it was him. "Thanks, no. I'm sure they'll get along just fine." She paused for a moment before saying, "Have you had breakfast yet?"

Chance grimaced at that question. The answer would not be pretty, knowing her. "If you call a leftover mega-sub sandwich from the night before breakfast, then yeah."

Callie shook her head and said, "I don't. And you don't have anything to cook with over there, last time I checked. Hang on- I'll be right there."

Chance shook his head and said, "No, not this time. You are staying where you are- I'm not going to have you driving me everywhere. You need that car for more important things than having to cart me everywhere. And on top of that, it's too early for all that. I can always call a cab and head there myself, so just hang on while I do that."

Callie started to speak, but before she could finish, Chance said, "No, don't. I know what you're going to say, but I'm betting that it really is a bother. I don't want you to go out of your way just for breakfast. I'm heading over now. See you later, Callie." He hung up and sighed as he headed to his room.

'She's gonna be pissed at me for that, but I had to drop the hammer sometime. I don't want her to inconvenience herself any more, and besides… I'm supposed to be the one driving her around,' he thought to himself as he got dressed for what was sure to be a tense breakfast, at least for the first few minutes.

'Jake, I hope you're doing better than I am… at least you don't mind riding along instead of driving.'

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

Felina Feral expected several things when she woke up, but the one thing she did not expect was to be alone in bed. It had started of course, when she had tried to snuggle closer, and felt a marked lack of a warm body to snuggle against. This made her eyes open sleepily as she murmured Jake's name questioningly. Her mind, still too tired to make complete sense of it, innocently wondered why there was no one to snuggle. 

Had she been fully awake, she would have been pissed.

Her anger was further mitigated by the smell of cooked food, and she smiled softly to herself. "He can cook too," she sighed as she stretched out with a happy curl of her tail. Yes, it was definitely time to wake up. She just hoped it tasted as good as it smelled. If there were one thing she couldn't do, it was cook. She was a microwave chef, though she at least had enough skill to make what came out of the microwave taste good.

What that meant was that she was just good enough to take care of things when times called for it, but most of the time she had to order out or eat out. She hoped that wouldn't be for long. Heck, maybe Callie or Jake could teach her a few things. For the moment however, she woke up to the smell of… her nose twitched for a moment… pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs… a hint of toast.

Yes, her nose was that good.

'Dammit, if I had known earlier that he could do this, I'd have taken him home with me a long time ago,' she mused to herself as she slid out of bed, her robes swishing behind her. Felina exited her room after making sure her hair was in the right place and said, "There you are, Jake. You know it's rude to leave a lady waiting like that, right?"

Jake scratched the back of his head as he looked away from the food for a moment. "Well someone had to do something about breakfast, right? Besides, I didn't want to wake you up." He smiled and said, "Almost ready, though. Grab a plate and take a seat, okay? I'll be right with ya."

Felina smiled as she pulled out a chair at her table and watched as Jake got to work. Her head tilted to one side curiously as he moved around busily, seeming to go from one spot to the other like some curious hummingbird. She noticed as she watched that he was constantly doing at least two things at once- checking on the eggs while adding a bit of salt to the bacon, or flipping a pancake while adjusting the heat on the eggs, or any sort of combination.

She giggled as he turned the range off and turned around, bowing slightly. He had known she was watching, but had managed to keep on going despite it. "Having fun yet?"

Felina nodded and said, "But of course." She sighed and said, "What exactly can't you do, Jake?"

He grinned and said, "I couldn't sing if my life depended on it."

She laughed and shook her head as she said, "Me neither!"

After a good laugh shared by the two of them, breakfast began. And indeed, it was as good as it smelled. Still, there was a marked lack of what to say next. For a good few minutes, they dined in silence with the occasional comment from Felina about how good the eggs or the toast was, and Jake just shrugged and said that there was nothing to it.

"You know," he said one time during the meal, "If you wanna learn how to cook, I can always teach you. It wouldn't be too out of my way."

Felina shook her head and said, "I can cook just fine without relying on a stove, but thanks for asking. I appreciate the offer. Besides, when you can cook for me, why should I need to do anything?" It was a joke of course, and Jake took it as such as he laughed and said, "I thought you wanted to be good at everything?"

She smirked and replied, "There's a difference between that and burning my apartment down. I'd rather not risk the second one when I can use a microwave or have enough money to order something to eat that someone can cook better than I can."

Jake shrugged and said, "Just asking."

After a while longer, Jake looked at Felina with an amused facial expression. He had just remembered something that made him smile, and as Felina looked up from eating her second batch of eggs, she raised an eyebrow and finished eating for a brief moment. "What- is there something on my face?"

Jake chuckled and said, "No, it's just…" His eyes relaxed, lids lowering halfway. "Did you know that you purr when you sleep?"

Felina almost dropped her fork as a blush washed over her face. "You were… awake when I did that?"

Jake nodded. "I didn't notice until earlier this morning, though. Can't imagine how you managed to get a hold of me like that without waking me up last night, but it was a nice thing to hear first thing in the morning. Like I said though, I didn't want to wake you, so…"

Felina was silent for a good while before she said softly, "I haven't done that for so long, I forgot I could. Purred in my sleep, I mean. I used to do that when I was little- _very_ little. I usually did that when I felt…" For some reason, the blush intensified. "No, never mind. Forget it."

Jake grinned and said, "Too late now. Go ahead and finish- I wanna hear this!"

Felina shook her head. "Just leave it alone, okay? It's not like it's important- it was just something I did when I was a kid, that's all. I just didn't think I could do it again."

The slim tom laughed and replied, "What, do you think I'm gonna make fun of you or something?"

Place nail in a board of wood, apply hammer to nail with substantial accuracy, and drive it home. That's what Jake had just done at that moment- hit the nail on the head. Felina blushed again, and if her skin tone got any darker one would swear she had sunburn. Jake smirked and said, "I promise I won't say anything to anyone, or poke fun. Now would you please tell me?"

Felina's eyes seemed to be fixed on her plate. For a while, she was reluctant to reveal anything, but after a brief, awkward silence she said softly, "I used to purr in my sleep whenever I felt safe and happy. It was usually after my mom sang me a lullaby, or when I woke up from a bad dream and someone was there to tell me that it wasn't real." She chuckled derisively. "Sounds like something an adult shouldn't do, huh?"

Jake stood, walked over to her side of the table without making a sound, and tilted her chin upwards just enough to get her to pay attention. She was surprised of course at how quietly he had approached, but soon her eyes were too captivated by his own to care. How did he make it possible to undo her with one look?

"It's not silly," he said as he scratched beneath her chin, his left hand rubbing just behind her right ear. Felina purred and shivered as her world seemed to narrow to those basic, essential sensations that made her tingle everywhere. "I'm flattered, actually. If I make you safe and happy enough for you to purr in your sleep, then I must be doing something right."

For all her purring, Felina couldn't say a word in response, though she certainly did _do_ something. Still, he was ready for it this time- hell, part of him was expecting it. She grabbed onto the back of Jake's neck and pulled him downwards to give him a soul-searing, tongue-laced kiss that would send any tom up on his toes and put a swing in his tail. That was what, the third kiss in a row he had gotten from her now? He should start keeping score.

But the real surprise came when she suddenly stood up, the chair falling over as she did so, while holding that kiss in place. She was not going to let this one go too quickly… and after a good half a minute of tongue dueling, she pulled away with an exhilarated sigh and said, "Breakfast is over, handsome. You've said one thing too many."

Jake smirked and said, "Well technically, it isn't. The menu's just changed."

Felina chuckled and said, "Do tell then what exactly we're having."

Jake demonstrated his deceptive strength by easily picking Felina up, one arm hooking underneath her knees while the other supported her upper back. "I don't know what's on your mind, but I'm having _you_ for breakfast today. It's a damn shame that this table is too crammed, or I'd start right now."

She just wouldn't stop blushing. "Shut up and take me, Clawson."

With that, they headed towards Felina's room again.

* * *

Callie wanted to be angry, she really did. But with the way Chance looked at her, she just couldn't. He looked like he had done something entirely wrong by doing things his own way, which she had no problem with. The problem she had was that he was adamantly trying to rebuff any efforts for her to help, and that it wasn't the first time he had tried to do so. 

'Is it pride?' she asked herself. Then as soon as she asked it, she realized that it probably was. It had, perhaps, something to do with him thinking that he was responsible for taking care of her. The fact that he wasn't able to, or at least not yet, stung him. The more that this train of thought ran on, the more it made sense to her.

Still, their thoughts went on in relative silence before Chance finally spoke. "Look, Callie… I-"

She placed a finger to his lips and said, "You don't have to say anything. I already know what you're going to say, and why you're going to say it. But first, let me say something, okay?" She sighed and sat at the table with him, a good-sized breakfast waiting to be eaten, fresh off of the stovetop. "I know… that you want to take care of me and not have me go out of my way for you. I know that… but at the same time, you can't really do anything or go anywhere. Commander Feral has any sort of monetary gain locked up for you and Jake, and that's a situation you can't really get out of, can you?"

Chance shook his head and said, "…No, I guess not. But even so, I…"

Callie raised a hand and said, "Let me finish. I understand perfectly well that you want your life back… a life for _us_. But you can't, and I know how much it hurts. This isn't exactly the best time to fall in love, sure- but it happened, and I'm not taking it back. I know you certainly won't."

Chance smiled. She was awful good at making him feel better. "Well you're right about that. But I still want to give you everything that I've got. I might not have much, but it's still something that I feel I have to do."

Callie placed her head in her hands and said, "What if all I want is _you_? Money, I've got, and a car. You're sitting in a place that I got for myself, eating breakfast I made myself, slept in my bed and drank milk that I bought myself, just a few nights ago. Apparently though, it hasn't sunk into your head yet."

She chuckled and said, "I love you, and I will do _anything_ for you, so long as it looks like you need my help. And recently, it's come to my attention that yes, you do need my help. I don't know where you got the notion of needing to provide for me, but though the thought is very, very sweet… you should let me do it for now. I'm perfectly capable of it."

Chance sighed and said, "I never questioned how capable you were. It's just that I feel like I should be doing more, you know? You make me see a life past what I'm doing now. I want that life, Callie."

She nodded and said, "I want it too. But until it happens, let me carry you, Chance."

He smiled coyly and said, "I'll try. And sorry for…"

She waved it off as if it were nothing. Hanging up on her was a small price to pay for having this conversation. "I've already forgotten it. Well then, let's actually have breakfast before it gets too cold! I just wish Felina were here with us, or even Jake."

Chance had a somewhat irritated look on his face when she mentioned his little buddy. "Where the hell is he, anyway? He didn't show up to the garage… sure, we didn't have any cars to work on, but it's a matter of principle."

Callie chuckled and said, "Have you ever noticed that you get angry when you're worried about something or someone? It's cute." How she could tell was her little secret. "Relax; I'm sure they're fine. Probably on their way back right now, unless I miss my guess…"

* * *

The first thing he did as soon as they entered the bedroom, closed the door, and lay on the bed proper, was kiss her. Simple, almost chaste, and meant to tame the feisty kitten that he himself had inadvertently unleashed. What it did was the opposite- fuel the fire that he had lit under her feet. She arched her back upwards, her head moving to kiss him back with her trademark ferocity, but he evaded and nibbled on her left ear. 

She settled back down on the bed with a pleasurable whimper. That was unfair!

"Jake… quit teasing me," she pleaded as he continued driving her up a wall and out a window with his playful, gentle bites. "You sit still," he breathed into that same left ear, "And I will. Just let me work- you don't have to do anything." Another nip, just as a warning, and she shivered again. How could she say no? How could she resist when he knew _exactly_ where to go?

Answer: she couldn't.

As she surrendered to his affections, she found his lips on her own again. It was a paradox- he was gentle, and yet demanding. He didn't want to hurt her, and yet with every sweep of his tongue against her own, every time he tasted of her lips, the sweet pangs intensified within her. At this rate, she was either going to melt into him entirely, or take control of the situation and ruin the moment.

As of the current moment, she was on the fine edge between surrender and utter frustration.

She hadn't noticed as he untied the sash that held the scarlet robe together, at least not until her heated skin was met with cooler air. And even then, the warmth returned as Jake continued kissing her senseless, his body gently resting on top of hers. Her mind was awash with tactile emotion- sensations that ran along her spine, through her tail, vibrated in her ears and came out in a long, low, sensual purr.

Her hands were soon running along his back to trace every muscle and bone, every inch of the hidden strength that she knew was there. Jake's body responded wonderfully to her touch, even as her breath was taken away from her. To be both sapped of her strength and having it renewed with that kiss of his was a heady sensation.

It was almost too much. She had to break free.

Pulling away from the kiss and taking shallow breaths, she continued gently running her nails along Jake's back. "I want it, Jake. I want _you_. Please, don't make me wait any longer…" She didn't know why she had to beg, but if it got her what her body was burning for, then she would do it.

But once again, in a strong showing of the subtle control he exerted over her, Jake replied, "I'll get to it in a bit- just let me look around for a while. I'm sure I can manage to give you a buzz without having to go too far yet."

She whimpered again, but nodded. He would get to look around, so to speak.

All too soon, Felina realized her mistake as she shuddered under a pair of deft, dexterous hands that were all too willing to explore every inch of her skin and fur. Each touch, gentle and careful, sent a new chill through her nerves and a fire in her blood. She had expected him to be harsh, ruthless- a demanding lover. What she got instead made her cry.

She never, ever cried in front of anyone, and yet here she was, shedding tears that were shaped from joyful incredulity, rather than shame or sadness. Where she was demanding and insistent, impatient and impetuous, he was her opposite and her equal. Equally demanding, and yet in a gentle way. Impatient, but not with the drive to move forward so much as the drive to move _everywhere_, including backwards at times.

At the moment, he certainly was moving everywhere, but there were a few predictable places that he came back to, time and time again. The bra came undone, for example. Well, not exactly undone, but he had pushed it upwards so it was no longer holding back what he wanted to get at. There was an electric tingle every time he touched her breasts, and it made her toes curl and her back arch when his mouth met her sensitive nubs.

Thoughts were spinning away rapidly- so quickly that she couldn't put words to them. She was thus reduced to squeaks of surprise and moans of sheer bliss as Jake gently egged her on. She burned; he tried to cool her, only to make her burn hotter and brighter. It was a vicious cycle.

His hands and lips moved lower, the gentle perusal still leaving her immobilized. She didn't want to move; didn't _dare_ move, or else the overwhelming ecstasy would be lost. She felt her panties slip from her legs, but didn't see where they went.

'To_hell_ with that,' she thought wildly to herself, 'I just hope he doesn't stop!'

He didn't. Felina gasped as she looked down towards the juncture between her thighs and found Jake helping himself to her honey pot. No, this was too much. Something had to give, and soon. Her need was blatant, glaring, screaming to be met. Needless to say, her body tried to communicate this in the best way it could, but it were as if Jake were deaf to her pleas.

Either that or he was too busy having her for breakfast.

Her moans and cries and entreaties, even the ones he couldn't hear but knew that she made, pushed him to the limits of his control. But she had to come first- it was only right. So he continued pushing her, testing her, teasing her until she couldn't take any more… and soon, a barely-registered cry of satisfaction came to his ears. What was more important was the flood of honey that came his way as Felina' s back arched, and this was of course what he was really looking for.

It was nowhere near sickening for him to do this- in fact, she was rather tasty. He did his best to take in every drop that she gave, even as her thighs trembled and her cries escalated to fever pitch.

She calmed down after a good fifteen seconds, and Jake rubbed her inner thighs soothingly. "You okay there, Felina?"

Her ears were filled with a pleasant buzz as she attempted to piece herself together again. She was everywhere, and yet nowhere, floating in a void that had all sorts of promises and potential. Soon enough, she managed to come back down to the ground and reply to his question. "Look at me, Jake. What do you think?"

He chuckled and said, "I don't think we're done yet."

Felina blinked and said, "You mean there's more?"

She could have died right then and been content as Jake took off his shirt, then his boxers, then proceeded to completely disrobe her. His hands on her hyper-sensitive body made her shiver yet again. The fire was not put out just yet, and she doubted it ever would be. For a little while after however, he did nothing but lie next to her and just stare.

The brunette blinked and said, "Something wrong?"

"No," Jake said softly, "I just can't stop staring. You're beautiful, Felina."

Such a simple statement, and yet it made the burning emotions within her rise once again. She wanted to kiss him, to make it known how much she appreciated it, but she was still coming off of her high. Aside from that, she couldn't take her eyes off of him either. Slim, yet wiry, Jake had an athletic figure instead of one for a body builder, like Chance. He had proven easily enough that he could lift and carry her without much effort. It made her wonder how strong he was in other areas…

'Only one way to find out,' she mused as she licked her lips.

"Well you can stare all you want. Just remember what you said- we're not done yet."

Jake nodded as he rolled over on top of Felina, kissing her again. This time, she wasted no time in arching her back, pushing her breasts into his chest and moaning happily as he held her tight. This time, he let her move, wanting to feel the full impact of flesh against flesh. It wasn't that hard to get back into the swing of things.

She found herself pinned again as Jake got himself ready. "I'm not even going to ask if you're sure," he said in a voice that was more of a purr than speech. "The look on your face says enough."

Felina grinned and said, "Then don't make me wait any longer," as she opened herself to him.

The feeling of completion came as a sudden shock to her, drawing a gasp. She burned all over again, but deeper, hotter, and with more intensity than ever. She felt as if she were going to come apart, even as he kissed and held her. He shuddered, trying to keep himself together, and she understood how much he was holding back for her sake. Whispering his name against his lips, she reacted even as he gently drove her to the point of no return.

"Let me touch a star," she said in a husky, seductive voice as he continued urging her onward, "And I'll try and bring it back down for you."

Jake grinned, even as he shivered, and said, "I've always wanted one of those."

Higher and higher they flew, rising to the heights that neither thought they could reach until now. And yet it wasn't nearly enough- there had to be more, the strength and the will to hold out had to come from somewhere deeper. It was entirely frustrating for Felina, and she showed it. Her fingernails dug into Jake's back, she whimpered and moaned and pleaded for something just outside of her reach.

It was almost painful… she wanted him to hurry up, and yet she didn't want him to stop. The contradiction drove her insane almost as much as the wash of sensation did. The edge was teasingly, precariously close now, and she felt the anticipation rising. It felt like she was on that first hill of the roller coaster again, almost at the top and yet not quite.

But of course, the nails in Jake's back were the last straw. No, it didn't hurt- it only added spice to the sugar. His restraint snapped, his focus blurred, and his body reacted in the way it should when someone just pushes one button too many. Suddenly, Felina was far too close, too quickly. She managed to cry out in one last entreaty to finish it, her skin awash with trembles.

And then they crested the hill, hung there almost motionless, and dropped.

"Oh my _God_, yes!!" That of course, was Felina. She almost didn't hear what Jake said, but she figured it was something similar to what she had uttered as she was sent twisting and turning, flipping end over end and head over heels. Her body was a carving, a work of art as her back arched to the point where her hips almost left the bed.

It was over in seconds, though it seemed like minutes, an hour. An eternity passed before either of them could say anything coherent, and when they did it was one simple word that was shared between the two of them...

"Wow."

A weak laugh was shared before they snuggled into each other. Felina purred yet again as Jake moved the covers over their very warm, very naked bodies. "You think we should call Chance? He's probably worried sick about us by now," he asked as he ran his fingers through Felina's hair.

Felina chuckled and said, "The big lug can wait a while longer, can't he? Besides, I'm sure he's busy with other things, like Callie. Right now though, I want to snuggle and sleep and neither will be accomplished by talking." She sighed and nuzzled Jake's left cheek. "I love you."

Jake smiled and began scratching behind her ears again. "I love you too, Felina."

She yawned cutely and said, "Do me a favor? Don't ever leave me like you did this morning again."

"I won't," he replied as they both became entirely too spent for any further words. Once again, Felina purred in her sleep. Curiously enough however, Jake did as well.

* * *

It was all of two hours later before Felina heard a knocking on her door. The first time, she ignored it entirely, her body not responding to the sound of someone asking for entry. The second set of knocks came with a voice, and this was replied with a muttered, "Go away, too comfy." 

After a few minutes, a third set of knocks came, and Felina finally gave in, grumbling all the way. "Sorry, Jake… I gotta go take this."

The panties were on first, then the bra, and finally the robe. She trudged towards the front door, past the breakfast that was not finished, and looked through the peephole. What she saw made her blink. Did these two have a nose for trouble or something? She swore that they came at all the wrong times…

She unlocked the door, opened it, and poked her head out. "I figured you guys would be coming by."

Callie had the most telltale grin on her features while Chance scratched the back of his head. By now, he had figured out what they were up to. "Did we catch you red-handed, Felina?"

She blushed visibly. "Shut up and get inside, before someone hears you. Oh, and don't mind the unfinished plates full of food- breakfast was cut short. We'll finish it later."

Chance raised an eyebrow and said, "You guys were having breakfast over here too? Damn, small world we live in. So are you gonna open the door or not? I need to see if you're holding Jake hostage," he joked. Felina rolled her eyes and opened the door. As she had stated, there was an unfinished breakfast… but an elaborate one. Callie's eyes widened.

"Oh my God, did you cook all this, Felina?" she asked in amazement.

She shook her head and said, "Jake did. You should have _seen_ him, Callie-girl. I swear, if I had known that he could do that earlier, I'd have hooked up with him sooner."

The blond she-kat giggled and said, "Well you're going to have to tell me all about it later. Right now, we have to relieve Chance of his burdens and help him look for-"

"_Oh, shit_!" came from the master bedroom.

Felina smacked her forehead. "No need, he found him." Yes, she was caught with one hand in the cookie jar this time. Jake had to be awake by now from hearing that, and it would be awkward city. Still, at least Callie understood well enough. But why did she have that grin stuck on her face?

'Oh, no… this is going to be a bad day,' Felina mourned to herself.

Well, at least it wasn't boring.

* * *

**Chapter 27: **_**Felina for Breakfast**_

I'm sorry; I just had to end it there. It seemed fitting.

On that note, YES! Another love scene successfully sailed through! I'm starting to wonder why all these things take me three or four days to complete. Maybe it's because of all the intricacies needed to accomplish such emotions through typed words. And maybe in part, it was because I wanted to introduce a bit more prose and innuendo in this one. But no matter- I'm still alive and still full of digital kick-ass and feats of finger dexterity.

Speaking of digital kick-ass… It's once again time for Reviewer Appreciation. Thing is, the only one who reviewed (not like I mind) was **RaidenSilversword**. Can you even _get_ more than five stars on something? I dunno about that, but thank you so much for the comment. And for those who didn't have time to read, you have my condolences for missing out on an awesome night out for Jake and Felina. Here's hoping you don't miss the morning after.

Right, I'm going to have dinner now.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	28. Bed of Nails Part 1

_Plenty of pain to purchase in a nice tin cup  
Plenty of padded cells to buy  
But this bed's way to down-filled to wake you up  
If you can't lie upon it- just lie_

-Rockapella

Nighttime, three days later.

Within Calico Briggs's loft, sound traveled very well. The acoustics in the apartment were quite good, almost to the point where anything could be heard from anywhere in the house. Still, there were just some things that could not be heard at all, like the sound of three well-trained, black-clothed kats slipping the lock to the balcony open. It was anyone's guess how they got up there in the first place, but regardless of the methods they used, they were in.

How they knew where Callie lived was another matter altogether. She usually did not make her home public knowledge; on the contrary, she kept her home life quite private, and it was even more so now that she was seeing someone. So when Callie suddenly felt a draft running through her house, the space between her shoulder blades itched. Her eyes snapped open, vision blurred for a moment.

'Who… is in my house?'

She knew there was someone. The itch between her shoulder blades marked them as someone bad. The draft from the balcony told her how they had gotten in. Through the haze of confusion, she reached for the gun under her pillow, a USP Tactical .45. Her right hand closed across the grip, and her mind immediately snapped into focus.

The itch between her shoulder blades was felt again, and her eyes snapped towards the doorway. Someone was coming. No, not coming… they were already there. Without thinking, without breathing, she aimed and fired a double-tap _through_ the doorway. She heard a cry of pain- someone was downed. The sound of the shots would bring others, if there _were_ others.

Callie quickly and quietly moved toward the doorway, her ears twitching as she closed her eyes. She heard… something. It certainly wasn't the wind that was blowing through the open balcony doors. There were… two of them. No, three. One of them checked to see if their mate was all right, while the other two stood by, waiting, watching the corners, or at least the exits.

The blonde she-kat took a few steps away from the door. This was going to get very ugly, very quickly.

'Wait for it…'

She steadied her breathing. It was coming soon… and she felt before she heard someone turning the knob.

'NOW!!'

Callie charged forward, her right shoulder down. The kat behind the door was surprised as he saw it come down right on top of him, and the other two whirled to see what was going on. They each got a few bullets emptied into them. They would, fortunately, live. Not for long though as Callie removed the door from the downed kat and held the gun to his jugular vein on the right side of his neck.

"Who are you, and what the hell do you want?" She said through her teeth. Adrenaline ran through her veins, charged her nerves, and heightened her senses. She _would_ know who they were, or they would most likely die at the hands of a very frightened she-kat, though it didn't seem like it.

The kat with the black balaclava on hissed through his teeth menacingly. "You don't need to know, and there's nothing in this crappy hole in the wall that we want, save for you. One way or another, you're coming with- _hurrrrrk_!"

Punch to the solar plexus. That right there was always a good way to shut someone up. Callie's ears twitched as she heard one of the two downed kats in the foyer rise up. His eyes soon widened as he saw his team mate get tossed at him, and they both flew against the wall, ramming into it hard.

The third one tried to stand, but the she-kat was right there, the barrel leveled towards his face. "Did I say you could move? Now I'm going to ask again, who are you? You've already told me what you want- thanks. But I _won't_ be abducted so easily this time."

She slowly moved towards the kat on the ground, making sure that there were no sudden moves. Two were knocked out, one was possibly dead, and this one still breathed. If he still breathed, he could still speak. The dead kat would more than likely not be on her conscience for very long- she was defending her home, after all.

But he said nothing, eyes narrowing. Slowly, he reached for something on his right leg… and hissed in pain again as said same leg was shot through at the thigh, followed by that right hand. She had only one bullet left in the magazine, and she would probably use it quite well. This was starting to annoy her. "I'm going to ask one more time. Who are you?"

The darkly-clothed tom chuckled and said slowly, "We certainly aren't on friendly terms, that's for sure."

Before Callie had another chance to react, her eyes widened as she felt something impact in the left side of her neck. She didn't even have a chance to pull the knockout round out of her neck, because it worked so goddamn quickly. She felt her vision haze immediately, and within the next few seconds, she toppled to the floor.

Her last thought was a common one before she was lost to the abyss- the thought of the one she cared for most. Some part of her hoped that somehow, he would hear it.

'Chance… help me…'

From all of five hundred yards away, another kat clad in black stood, an HK MSG90 in his hands. She had done a royal number on the infiltration team sent to capture her, and while he was sent to provide reconnaissance, he was also sent do to their work for them if they failed. And just then, they had failed. Though he could admit- they were some of the best that his employer had to offer, and truth be told he had seen how they had trained.

'They were good… she was just better. Either that, or she was lucky.'

He doubted the second one. But no matter- he tapped the earpiece that he was wearing and said, "Situation has changed. Need another extraction team ASAP… no, the target is stable, no injuries. Still, we have a feisty kitten on our hands- she was packing, and she knew how to use it. Saw it from here."

Then, he heard sirens and cursed softly. "Five-o; just what we need. All units move in to extract, eliminate all traces. You have less than five minutes. _Move your asses_."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**Chance's eyes opened with a start, a cold sweat running down his forehead and back. Something had suddenly snapped him out of his sleep, and it gave him chills all over. Blinking twice and wondering what time it was, he looked over at the clock. With a groan, he flopped back down onto his pillow, one hand over his eyes. 'Too fucking early, that's what time it is.'

But what was that? What did he hear that had made him go off like a rocket? His mind, still fuzzy from the sudden deprival of his beauty sleep, attempted groggily to piece the information together. He was perfectly asleep for all of four hours before he began hearing something, a slight murmur in his head, as if it were something out of reach.

Of course, just because it started that way didn't mean that it did not progress. Steadily, ever steadily, it became louder, and louder, until it escalated into a whisper, almost a breath. He could hear his name being called, though softly. His mind registered the voice immediately- he hadn't been able to get it off of his mind, and loved it entirely.

'…That was Callie. Hell, I'm even hearing her in my sleep!' Not like that was a problem for Chance, but why did it seem like a bad thing this time around? Like something was entirely amiss, but he couldn't get a hold of it?

And then, his mind had finally come back into focus, and it all came flooding back to him.

First, she was trying to contact him. Then, she was trying to call for help. And then, the part that woke him up, sending a chill through him even now. He heard a scream of absolute terror, sheer despair. Just thinking about it made his ears ring in the worst way. It was uncannily loud, as if she were right there next to him, waking up from a nightmare.

'Or in the middle of one,' his mind suddenly rationalized. Chance blinked for a moment- how had he come up with that? It came straight out of nowhere, but it had a haunting truth to it. The big tom couldn't help but notice that his right hand was gripping the sheets, knuckles turning white through his fur. He was afraid… not for himself of course, but for her.

'What the hell _is_ this?!'

Chance growled and attempted to put himself back to bed. It was silly, that's what it was. He was afraid of apparitions and voices. Though this was a very odd voice… it sounded almost like she was right there next to him. Attempting to shake it off, he soon fell back into a restless sleep, but sleep it was. Of course, the following morning, he woke up to Jake watching the news.

"What's up, buddy," he asked with a yawn. "Is there anything remotely interesting yet?"

Jake raised a hand without looking and said, "Nah, not yet. You never know though- we could have something big sooner or later. Better later than sooner though, know what I mean?"

Chance smirked and said, "I hear you. I don't want to have to clean up after any more Enforcer messes any time soon. I swear, they stink worse than a litter box and are full of twice as much shit!" They both had a laugh at this before the news changed to something else.

Ann Gora was suddenly shown on the screen, her face in its usual, professional state. Even if the ceiling were to fall around her, she would still maintain her professionalism. "This is Ann Gora, here with a late-breaking story. I'm here outside of the _Garden_, a building that has multiple loft-style apartments situated within. According to reports from last night, shots had been heard from the top floor of this complex."

Chance's eyes widened. That was where Callie lived… shots fired from _inside her apartment_!?

"No evidence was at the scene besides the blood on the carpet, a destroyed bedroom door, and a few loose strands of hair, but the Enforcers have done much work with the little they have been presented with. After the analysis, Commander Ulysses Feral had this to say about the shooting that occurred last night."

Jake had a grimace on his face, but listened anyway. What he heard next didn't necessarily surprise him; Feral, for all of his anger problems and prideful attitude, was not all that stupid. Chance was too busy being drop-dead shocked at the incident itself to even listen to anything else as he stared at the screen, dumbfounded.

"I don't think," he said with that same stern voice, "That this was an act of murder, but rather self-defense. The evidence presented thus far states that the ones involved in this break-in did not come for anything nice. What's more, the hairs on the carpet match positively to Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs, though no traces of her blood were found. At the moment, we can assume that she is still alive, though missing."

Chance wanted to sigh in relief and kick in the television at the same time. Jake placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "I know how you feel bud, but don't do anything stupid. Callie bought us this, you have to remember that." Chance blinked and said, "What, you thought I was gonna…" Jake nodded and Chance sighed. "…Yeah, you're right. I was."

But the news report was not over yet.

"Mayor Manx has issued a statement upon hearing the results of the examination. He has officially announced that he will offer fifty thousand dollars to whoever can retrieve the Deputy Mayor, or provide any sort of valid information on her whereabouts. A hotline is standing by at the moment; open twenty four hours a day…"

Chance and Jake looked at each other, eyes wide. That was… quite a large amount of money.

Then they shook their heads and the big tom said, "_Hell_ no. First of all, she's worth more than that, and second, we're not getting her back for the money." Jake placed a hand on his chin and said, "But KatGuard will definitely jump on this… and that means Felina will be on the clock." The slim tom grinned and said, "I just got an idea, Chance. If we can get KatGuard's support while looking for Callie…"

T-Bone smirked and said, "Yeah, we'll find her in no time. But that would mean that we'd have to…" He paused for a moment before grinning himself. "We gotta call Felina."

Jake chuckled and said, "Unless I miss my guess, she's probably already on her way here…"

Their phone rang, and Chance immediately picked up. "Hello, this is Chance speaking…"

"Nice of you to skip the formalities; you must've known I'd be calling," Felina replied on the other end. "I'm on my way there- it'll be about half an hour. I trust you guys have seen the news?"

Chance nodded and said, "Yeah. She's still in one piece, though… for now, anyway. Whoever did this isn't going to get away. I'm going to inflict as much pain as I can on the bastards who took Callie. But first things first- you get a call from KatGuard yet?"

Felina raised an eyebrow and said, "You guys are remarkably on the ball today. No, I haven't gotten a call from headquarters yet, but I could call you once I do. Why, do you think they'll jump on the reward money? It's not like anyone knows where she is yet… the hotline is for when one actually has pertinent information, after all."

Chance shrugged and said, "I dunno, Jake says he has a plan. Hang on, I'll get him…" One second passed, two, three… and then, "Hey, Felina! Glad you're on your way- we need to assess the situation ASAP. Look, I have a feeling that KatGuard is gonna call you soon in regards to picking up Callie's trail. Once you take the job, ask them what kind of support elements they have. We're probably going to need all the firepower we can get."

Felina smirked. She was starting to figure out what his plan was. "You want to use KatGuard as a cover element through me, huh? That's all well and good, but if they find out they're being used, you're going to have a lot worse than the Enforcers on your asses. These guys are no joke…"

Jake nodded on his end. "I won't assume otherwise. That's why we're only going to use them _once_! Once we find out what the situation is, we'll call for what's needed- once, and only once. Hopefully, that'll be enough… because if not, we're gonna have to do some serious damage mitigation. That's not something we can afford right now, so first we have to find out where Callie is, then we get her out, and then…"

Felina finished it for him. "Then we blow wherever she used to be at to kingdom come, just in case. Good plan... I'm fifteen away from your position. You guys gonna suit up?"

Jake looked towards Chance, and just as he expected him to say his usual 'kick some ass' statement, Chance sighed and shook his head. His slim partner raised an eyebrow, but replied to Felina smoothly, "Nah, we don't know who's behind this yet, much less what they want. I know it hurts Chance to do this more than anyone, but we gotta wait. It's good that you're coming over anyway- it'll be less hassle, just in case we do need to move."

Felina smiled and said, "Good thing I brought a few changes of clothing, then. I'm closing on the garage. Talk to you guys later."

Felina hung up. Jake looked towards Chance and said, "You weren't serious about that, were you?"

Chance had a markedly disturbed expression on his face. "Did it look like it was _easy_, doing that? Of course I'm serious! I'm dead serious about anything I do, you know that. I'd love to go out and beat someone's ass for this, but we don't know who that someone is. Our only option is to wait. And it's going to damn near kill me to do so."

Jake walked over to his big partner and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get her back."

Chance growled and shrugged Jake's hand off. "I don't need sympathy. What I _need_ is a way to stop feeling so useless! She's in trouble, Jake, and for the first time we can't do a fucking thing about it! And it's all my fault…"

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "How the hell is all this _your_ fault?! You weren't even there!"

Chance sighed to himself and said, "Forget it, you'll think it's bullshit."

Jake frowned and said as a clear counterpoint, "I think _that_ is bullshit. Sit down and talk, now."

The big tom sat down for a moment, trying to make what was in his head not sound like such a pile of nonsense. Then he just sighed and looked at Jake, saying, "It's my fault, because I knew it was coming. Or at least, I think I did… see, something weird happened last night. I heard Callie's voice in my sleep." Jake raised both eyebrows and began to speak, when Chance raised his left hand.

"Let me finish… she was calling for help, man. Calling for me… and then I heard a scream that would've made a dead kat jump out of their grave. It woke me up good, but I thought it was just a bad dream. But now…"

Jake nodded and said, "It was a warning. But it probably happened just as you got the message, so it's nowhere near your fault. Even if you jumped out of bed and ran over to save her, you'd have been late- she's all the way downtown. And I doubt we'd have been able to do much on a hunch like that. Nah, the situation was unavoidable this time, so don't take it out on yourself."

Chance looked at Jake for a while longer before he nodded. "All right, I won't. I just hope she really is all right… or else we'll have one less candidate for mayor."

'And one less she-kat to love…'

Chance gritted his teeth at the very thought. This was just getting better and better, wasn't it? His hands balled into fists and he stormed his way into the training hall. "No working on cars today, buddy. We're spending all day getting ready to tan someone's hide. Drag Felina in as well when she gets here."

Jake heard a horn honking and grinned to himself. "You got it, Chance!"

* * *

It was quite unfortunate when Calico Briggs finally awoke. She had been out of commission from that knockout dart for several hours now, and felt a pounding headache now that she was coming to. Not to mention that she couldn't see, and had a difficult time speaking. At the very least, this place had air conditioning… but that didn't tell her where she was.

Fortunately for the Deputy Mayor, her ears and nose still worked. And what she heard did not make her a happy she-kat at all. Machinery of all types; computers, gears, springs winding and uncoiling. She heard the sound of other footfalls than hers. She could smell the sweat of those who carried her to wherever they were going to dump her, and hear them talking.

"The boss wanted her alive… even after what she did to the first team that tried to take her. I didn't know she was trained."

Another tom responded with, "Yeah, well that makes her an even hotter little number. You should've seen what she was wearing when we finally hauled her out of there. If she's alive after this, I want a piece of that ass of hers. Not like the boss is gonna keep someone this high-profile alive, though."

The first tom laughed and said, "It's always nice to dream, though. You know, we could always do her before hand- no one's going to mind a little mess before the big show."

A strict, stern voice barked back at them. "Bite your goddamn tongues before I cut them off, maggots! This one is reserved for the commander. Keep your heads out of the gutter before they're removed from your shoulders, you get me?"

They wizened up immediately. "Sir, yes sir!"

When they finally got to where they were headed, she was stopped from being carried around and felt herself being hooked to something, arms and legs attached to supports of some kind. It was colder in here- much colder. Her skin chilled and her fur stood on end- she did not like the cold at all. Vaguely, her mind wanted something or someone to warm her up, preferably a big, snuggly tom that she knew.

'But he's not here,' she brooded to herself. 'Then again, he wouldn't have been able to come in time- I was downtown, at home. I couldn't even reach my communicator to call the SWAT Kats before I got knocked out.'

They were good… very good. She got incapacitated before her senses could take hold of the situation, which meant that they had a sniper. Her guess was that they were at least smart enough to send in additional units after the shot had been fired, just in case it hadn't worked or it missed. She wouldn't have been able to escape the building.

'I guess I'll find out who these guys are soon enough. Just as soon as I can see…'

But they had neither removed blindfold nor gag when they were finished securing her to whatever it was they had set up. Quickly, they left the room. She could hear them scurrying out before the door closed. After that, it was entirely silent… too silent. There didn't even seem to be any air conditioning in here- not that she could hear.

'Hearing's useless… '

She tried breathing in, subtly taking in the scents. It wasn't just cold, but the room seemed entirely empty, devoid of smells. What exactly was going on here that she couldn't smell anything, either? She certainly could before… but she kept breathing in through her nose anyway, attempting to clear her mind.

She could get to the point where it happened within the space of a few seconds now, and sure enough she felt light-headed as her intuition took over. She could feel everything now. Her mind's eye began to paint a picture of the room- there were cabinets and places to hold things here. A table in the middle… and she figured out at that very moment that she was secured to one of the walls.

'Oh, no…'

But what was worse was that she sensed someone in the corner to the left of the door, staring right at her. He didn't seem fazed by the cold- in fact he didn't seem fazed by anything at all. She couldn't tell what color his eyes were, but she could somehow tell they were dull and lifeless. She simply stared back, and her eyes would have been wide with fear had she been able to see.

He could tell that she was afraid anyway by the way her teeth bit harder on the cloth that was in her mouth and the way her body tensed.

"So you can't see me, but you know I'm here anyway. That is very impressive." The tom had a voice that was dark, and not in the way that reminded one of melted milk chocolate. He had seen much, and none of it was pleasant. She couldn't help but shiver as her mind immediately pictured what this tom had gone through… she had a vivid imagination, after all.

He chuckled. "Mmm… whatever you're thinking, I assure you that it is much, much worse. That's enough about that. Do you know where you are?"

Callie shook her head. Was he dense? Of course she didn't know where she was! She was hoping he would tell her, but he simply nodded and asked the next question. "Do you know why you are here?"

She had no real choice but to shake her head again. She wasn't exactly brave enough right now to start spitting acidic comments, nor was she in a condition to do so. He chuckled and said, "Good on both counts. While I cannot explain at length the first question, I can inform you of the answer to the second."

He began walking towards her, footfalls heavy. The itch between her shoulder blades intensified the closer he got. Something was wrong… wrong in the worst way possible. He did not mean well for her- for anyone, in fact. Her hands tightened as she strained against her restraints to no avail. Oh, she was very, very afraid, and right now she could do nothing about it.

"You are here," he said as he got close enough, "Because my employer believes you are important, vitally so, at least to his plans. Of course, it goes without saying that since you are the Deputy Mayor, you are indeed important to many. But it's not just that… it's that you may have information for him. This knowledge that you may have would secure those plans if he knew it."

Callie shook her head. She knew nothing, and whoever had ordered her brought here had made a mistake. He laughed and said, "So modest! But of course, you may be lying about that. I will have to make sure that you are not."

She hadn't realized how close he was until she felt a sudden, stinging pain in her right side. Through the gag in her mouth, she screamed as claws dug into her short ribs, threatening to tear a chunk of her out. "Ah, there we are. I certainly wish you could see how you looked right now, that exquisite pain that is on your face. You know… I don't think I'll make you talk just yet."

The claws retracted and the screaming turned to sobs. Of course, it wasn't long before another splinter of agony shot along her spine. Her toes curled and another scream shot from her. Her leg… the claws had gone deep into her thigh on the right side! She didn't know what she had done to deserve this, but whatever it was, she begged for absolution.

He picked his areas at random, not bothering to stop in one place for a few seconds after a while as he switched from claws to fists. But no, he didn't break anything on her. Not yet… that would be reserved for when she didn't talk. Soon, he was finished with his excursion and sighed contently. "Mmm… there we are. I'm sure he won't mind me having a little fun."

With that, he pulled up a stool and removed the gag from Callie's mouth, sending her into a fit of coughing and sputtering breaths. "Now that you can speak… let's get down to business. The question I will ask is a simple one, and I want no bullshit from you, Ms. Briggs. It only comprises of three words and three words only."

He paused for a moment as he wiped his hands clean of blood, taking a moment to admire his handiwork. And then he began that one, single, simple question.

"Who are they?"

Callie would have blinked had she been able to open her eyes. "Excuse me?"

He repeated the question. "Who… are they? You know, the two kats who happen to be there just in time to save your city when it is in trouble? Who come to save _you_? I'm certain you must know a name behind those masks. So I'm going to ask again… who are the SWAT Kats?"

Then she understood. They thought she knew, didn't they? They thought that she was trusted enough for her to know their real identities. Now what had given them that idea? "I don't _know_ who they…"

Her answer was cut off by a scream, and this time anyone outside would be able to hear. He certainly knew what he was doing all of a sudden- he had targeted one of the same places that he had punctured earlier, only this time he pulled slightly. Just that slight tug was enough to send all-new pins of agony through her skin.

Ten seconds later, he stopped. "You are lying. As much as I hate everything else, I hate liars most of all."

Callie had to catch her breath for a moment and grit her teeth as she did so. This was ridiculous! "I'm not lying, I really don't know who they-"

She shrieked as the pain shot through her again. "WHO ARE THEY?!"

'I'm going to die here, aren't I?' With that thought, she gritted her teeth again as fear turned to anger. If she was going to die, she would fight it for every step. "Go to _Hell_," she screamed at him.

He stopped again and got right in her face, so to speak. "I can see that you are not cooperating. And here I thought we could get along. Shame, that… because the simple methods are over. I only wish you could see the look on your face when I try one of my more… creative methods."

A tear ran along the right side of Callie's face. When had all this gone so wrong? Never mind when- the question was, when was she going to get out of here and back to her house, her life, and back to Chance? She said without thinking, "Someone is going save me, you know. Sooner or later, they'll come for you all."

The assassin chuckled. "I'd love to see them try. The cold hard truth, Deputy Mayor, is that you may not be leaving this place alive… and if you did, I don't think that would last for long. Now then, where were we?"

He stalked towards her with a switchblade, twirling it expertly along his left hand. "Ah, yes. I was just about to ask you something…"

* * *

**Chapter 28: Bed of Nails (Part 1) – **_**Thieves in the Night**_

Oh, noes… This is not a good situation. And it's only going to get worse when I reveal what Dark Kat has in store. But first… first, I will leave you hanging by a thread, with the threat of cutting it with a pair of quite sharp scissors. Stay tuned for part 2, when I unleash the roller coaster ride that is sure to define this entire series!

On that note, it's time for Reviewer Appreciation! **inferno1** is our first subject. Now I know that you thought that last chapter was a bit much, but apparently… you are being outmatched on that subject. I will say this though- sometimes I do tend to get a bit carried away. Unfortunately at this point, I am stubborn enough to keep what I've set in. Next up is **RaidenSilversword**. I'm glad I reminded you of that- I certainly hope it was somewhat good role play. And yes, I do try and put the details in without being overbearing. And of course, **Raiden Snake**! Yeah, you're right on the money on that. You can bet that Jake will get teased on that for days on end. But as stated, that is indeed enough downtime for the heroes. Time for more ass-whup, starting now!

Thank you all for sticking with me here- I appreciate it. I tried to get this chapter done in one day, but couldn't quite pull it off… perhaps next time, eh?

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	29. Bed of Nails Part 2

The she-kat in this cold, heartless torture room several miles underground sported several broken ribs, multiple laceration wounds and punctures, several first degree burns, and one hell of a headache. And now, Calico Briggs was being treated to electrocution at a good twenty-five thousand volts with a shock stick. Her throat was run ragged with the constant cries of pain, so she decided to grit her teeth and endure it.

She just didn't know how long she could do so. And on top of that, though she didn't know it, she was damn near naked, with nothing but panties and a bra on. After all, she had been captured just the other day. Today she was still blind, still entirely clueless as to where she was, and still believing that she would die at any second. At least, that was what she thought.

Hell, she was waiting for it by now. 'Just kill me and get it over with, because I know nothing that you want.'

But once again, she was denied.

"If you're waiting for me to kill you," the disembodied voice said slyly to her, "Forget it. I have been ordered to keep you alive via any means necessary. Of course, once your usefulness has expired, _then_ you will die. Not necessarily by my hand, but you will die all the same. It is best therefore that you cooperate. Now then, the question is presented again. Who are the SWAT Kats? Or will you pretend not to know for a bit longer?"

Callie did not say anything back, she did not scream, she did not make a sarcastic remark. No, she had done something worse… she had retreated into herself. The Deputy Mayor had become entirely silent, as if she were a crab in its quite natural, quite tough armor. She had already told them what she would, and that was that she knew nothing. It was true after all… she did not know who T-Bone and Razor were behind the masks.

If they didn't want to believe her, then they were at an impasse. And there were only two things to do when at an impasse… turn back, or punch through. She was hoping for either one- the first one meant that she got some rest for the day. The second meant that the pain would end, but not before the same answers would be coming forth from her all over again- she knew nothing.

'And even if I did, I wouldn't tell _any_ of you!'

Were she not blind, her green eyes would shine forth with a kind of clarity that was unseen in these kinds of situations. She knew the truth, and they continually assumed that she did not. Her face was remarkably calm for someone who had gone through such insanity, but somewhere within, she was slowly breaking down… the shell would only last for so long. Once it was gone, only the soft interior would remain, and once they started picking at that, it would be all over. That was, if she had any relevant information in the first place, which she did not.

It all went around in circles, and that was the way she liked it right now.

"This is going nowhere…" He raised the shock stick again, but just before he put it to her, the door opened. The assassin lowered his weapon and said, "Finally, you've arrived. I can't get her to talk at all… she keeps on insisting that she doesn't know who those two jokers are. I was hoping you would persuade her in a more effective manner."

The other figure that she could hear walking in said nothing. Her preternatural senses kicked in again as her body tightened defensively. If her tormentor was bad, this kat was worse by _several_ degrees. Pure, untainted malice radiated from him- it was almost a tangible thing that reached out to suffocate her. There were few that had this unmatched amount of hatred for… everything.

A name sprang to her mind, and the thought became words almost immediately as an image appeared in her head.

"So you finally show yourself, Dark Kat," she intuited. "I should have known you were behind this. Those uniforms that your infiltration team sent in were familiar. So are you going to kill me and get this over with, or do we have to go through this whole questioning thing again?"

The kat in question chuckled and said, "Impressive. You cannot see, and yet you know who I am, where I am, and why I am here. Thus, you no longer have any need for this blindfold- I believe it was useless to begin with." He took it off, and lo and behold, standing before her was the dark-hooded shroud of death that was Dark Kat.

"But rest assured, I will not kill you. Not yet, at least. Indeed, you have proven that you know absolutely nothing about the SWAT Kats, despite being in constant communication with them. They do cover their tracks well… as befitting of warriors of their caliber." Wait, was that… respect? But she had no time to contemplate this as MegaKat City's greatest menace continued speaking.

"But they do have a weakness. Despite all their cunning and all their techniques and tools, they have one glaring chink in their armor. That, my dear Deputy Mayor, is you. But no, that is not the reason I will kill you. The reason is more elegant than that." He placed a hand underneath her chin to get her attention, though he already had it by now. "That bumbling Mayor Manx does not have a shred of competence. He is, as you perhaps have seen, capable of nothing but holding his office and playing golf. But you… you are the heart of the city. You are the central cog in the machine; the lynch pin."

He smiled. "Once I pull you out… MegaKat City's political structure will be left to an utter _fool_. And when that structure falls, I will step in to take its place. I figure, why destroy the city… when I can run it instead? Ah, but that is too much talk for your ears. All you need to know is that first, you will be bait. And then… then you will die. And there is nothing that Mayor Manx, the Enforcers, and especially the SWAT Kats can do about it."

She was about to protest that when she suddenly felt herself falling asleep again. Damn it, why did these things always have to happen to her? But of course, the more important question was this: where was she going this time?

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**"Come on, Chance, you haven't gotten a moment's rest! Could you sleep for just a moment so we can all get some peace and quiet?"

Fists rammed into the heavy bag, pounding it into oblivion. Or at least, they tried to. The bag was just plain made of tough stuff. But both Felina, who had spoken (and been ignored) just a few seconds ago, and Jake, who simply watched in awe, knew that it had been put through its paces. In truth, Chance Furlong had been awake all night, having been entirely unable to sleep.

It was partly because he didn't want to hear that terrifying scream in his head again. Chance didn't like voices in his head- he didn't like anything that he wasn't used to. But then again, that was Callie's voice… and she was in trouble right now, even as he stood here, punching a bag, ramming his fists into it to keep himself from feeling absolutely worthless.

The other part was that he couldn't stop worrying about Callie in the first place. Sure, she was alive, but she was also not at her home, either. His mind continued playing out scenarios, each one worse than the last, until he could no longer sleep with the thought of her being in danger. So he trained.

'I don't need you two to tell me what's best! The only thing I _need_ now is…' WHAM. His right fist almost went through the bag. Jake winced and said, "I wouldn't wanna be the kat in the way of that. But seriously dude, you're going to burn yourself out like this, even before the mission starts. I know we've gone all day multiple times, and all night too. But you haven't gotten _any_ rest, _at all_."

Chance was breathing hard, adrenaline fueling him. Truth be told, he was afraid and angry more than he was tired. Desire and sheer force of will drove him onwards, even when there was nothing to do but wait. Chance hated waiting, and it showed as irritation rose in his voice. "You think I don't know that, Jake? But that's the thing…" He hit the bag again, the attack carrying damn near equal force as the last one. The chain that held it to the ceiling rattled dangerously as his left fist slammed home, penetrating four inches in. "I _can't_ sleep! I can't, not when Callie's in trouble. Knowing that she's not safe, I can't rest for an instant, you get it?"

Felina responded this time. "I know… I understand perfectly well, Chance. But there's nothing we can do for now. You're going to run yourself ragged at this pace, and when it does come time to save her, what then? You won't have any more fight left in you from having to punch at shadows."

Chance growled and channeled his frustration into his next attack to keep from hitting his own team member, and the next right straight almost tore the bag in half. "I hate feeling so damn useless! I should be knocking the shit out of the ones doing this, not out of some _fucking bag_!"

Jake and Felina looked towards each other before they each placed a hand on the big tom's shoulders. "We know, and it sucks," Jake said softly, "But something will turn up sooner or later. I just hope sooner comes before later, because you're on the verge of tearing apart our heavy bag!" He was always the joker, even now.

Felina laughed and said, "Yeah, and that's gonna be no fun at all, because you won't have anything else to punch when you get pissed off, now will you? Come on, let's get some ice cream and avoid the garage for now, then get you some sleep."

Chance sighed to himself and said, "Yeah, you got a point… I could use some fresh air anyway."

Of course, when they left the room, it wasn't exactly to good news. The first thing they saw when they headed to get their jackets from the couch was Scaredy Kat, which of course tempted Chance to stay where he was. Other than that, it started off normal… and then Felina noticed that the signal began looking as if it were scrambled.

"What the… is something wrong with this thing?"

Jake looked towards the top-of-the-line television and frowned in puzzlement. "I dunno- it looked fine to me. I might have to check the insides- see if there's a wire loose or something. Hopefully, Chance didn't hit the thing while we weren't looking or something…"

The static overtook the screen for a moment, which made Chance look back at the television. "Awww, crap… what the hell is wrong with this thing? Didn't we just get it a couple of months ago?" And then it happened.

A very familiar face appeared on the television. Apparently, he had the technology to hijack broadcasts from a remote location as well. Chance gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he gave the visage of Dark Kat such a glare that one would swear he had killed him dead on the spot. Jake simply narrowed his eyes while Felina crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited.

"Citizens of MegaKat City… I trust I need not introduce myself. I am calling simply to check on you all and see that you have not grown complacent. These days, I hear you are missing something important. Well, I am happy to announce that I have what you are looking for. Unfortunately… she is not in the best shape."

The camera panned towards a victimized Calico Briggs, and Chance's face went pale. 'No… I'm not looking at this right. It can't be.'

The rest of the city was in an equally shocked condition as he continued onward. "And there is a price for her retrieval, no? I expected as much. That makes this all the more interesting." The camera turned back towards him as he said, "Of course, you will find her perfectly safe and sound… except for one minor adjustment. But I'm not going to reveal my entire hand just yet. Just know that she will be in MegaKat General Hospital."

Chance wanted to go over there and intercept her immediately, Enforcers and Dark Kat be damned, but the transmission continued. "But know this as well- should the Enforcers attempt to intercept her mid-course in the hopes of capturing me, they will not only be disappointed, but they will have one less Deputy Mayor. Once again, how she will meet that end is my little secret."

If Chance had something in his left hand right now, it would be ancient history as it tightened further. His claws extended, digging into the skin beneath the fur. That calmed him down, just a little. They needed to hear what he wanted…

"Of course, this would mean that I wanted something in exchange for the life I hold in my hands. It's simple, really… Your mayor is a bumbling, incompetent fool that has no skill other than his political savvy. He is unfit for the office he sits in, and must be removed. Mayor Manx has forty-eight hours to abdicate his position before I am forced to make the Deputy Mayor suffer in a worse way than simply torturing her."

The transmission cut… and Chance was entirely silent. He didn't even notice when Scaredy Kat came back on. He quietly moved to the training hall, his coat still on and his left hand still bleeding. Felina and Jake, not used to him being so entirely silent, looked at each other for a moment before following him. As soon as they stepped into the room however… they were just in time to see him put the claws of his right hand to the bag, puncture, and tear with a cry of sheer rage.

Utterly destroyed was the phrase of the day. They'd have to buy a new one anyway. But it wasn't enough… not enough. It would _never_ be enough.

"To _hell_ with ice cream," he said in a growl of a voice. "We're suiting up, _now_. Put all equipment to maximum performance. We are going to find Dark Kat and beat his ass to the point where he'll be breathing through a tube for the rest of his days. Jake, get some electronic counter-measures ready, see if we can't block his attempts to do whatever he's going to do. Felina, did you get the call from KatGuard yet?"

She nodded. "I did, but I just might get another one after this."

Chance, his features still hard, said "Answer it when it comes and ask for some damn good support. We're gonna need it. Either of you got any complaints, you know where to shove 'em. I don't care if he fucking bites it … no one does that to Callie and gets away with it. Not on my watch. SWAT Kats… _move out_!!"

They both saluted. Because when someone assumed control like Chance did, one just didn't argue. The SWAT Kats were mobile. Of course, they were still in the dark, but mobile all the same. That alone meant something, and for now it was good enough.

* * *

Commander Feral gritted his teeth as he watched the broadcast from his office. Somehow, he knew. It wasn't like he had too many clues, but he knew all the same. When one thought about it, someone vanishing without a trace, only to pop up in the worst scene they could ever imagine themselves in was perfect for Dark Kat.

While the transmission was being broadcast, Feral had the idea to track it- identify its source. That way they wouldn't have to go after the Deputy Mayor- they would simply go straight to the heart of the matter and capture Dark Kat once and for all. Yet and still, he knew that was what the SWAT Kats would be after as well…

'Not this time,' he brooded to himself.

"I want that signal tracked," he yelled over his phone, "And I want it tracked five minutes ago! We will not allow Dark Kat to escape this time, no matter what the cost! All units are now placed on standby until the location of the transmission is pinpointed. And one more thing- I want those SWAT Kats shot out of the air as soon as you see them! They will _not_ beat us to this one!"

With that, Feral hung up the phone and sighed. It was good to be at work again… took his mind off of Felina. Despite her tactics, she was the best Enforcer he had- and to be honest, he would feel a lot better if she were here. Instead, he would have to rely on Lieutenant Commander Steele… which was not a good idea any day of the week, especially not now.

Feral put on his overcoat and helmet and began to exit his office, when he almost literally ran into the tom in question. He had a surprisingly serious look on his face. "Sir…"

Feral almost had the inclination to walk past him. "_What_? If you're asking to take part in this, you'd better have a damned convincing story for me. I'm already on the verge of firing your ass for your conduct with the Deputy Mayor. Start talking, or start moving."

Steele tried not to look crestfallen. Not only had he guessed right about the first one, but he was still angry about the second. "Well, sir… I had a suggestion. Why don't you leave the anti-air role to me? The TurboKat will no doubt be there in the middle of everything, and rest assured, I'll be ready for it. I'll make sure the SWAT Kats don't interfere with the operation."

Feral raised an eyebrow, highly skeptical. "You are certain you can do this? I don't need to stress the importance of this role. I will be the one to take Dark Kat in, not them. I won't have another one of these mad kats handed to me on a silver platter…"

Steele nodded excitedly. "You can count on me, sir! Our new F-35s will handle anything that's thrown at them."

Feral paused for a good long while, considering Steele's track record. He was still green, still ambitious, and still… well, not the best of officers. But he wanted to prove himself, and at least that was worth something. "All right, we'll give it a shot. But this is your last second chance, do you hear me? You fuck this up, and I'll shove my foot so far up your ass, you'll remember the taste of my combat boot. And then, only then, will I send you packing. You get me?"

Steele gulped and saluted. "Sir, yes sir!"

'I can't be humiliated again,' he thought to himself, 'Not again! Come on you idiots, please be stupid enough to fly in the air today. I'll take personal pleasure in shooting you down…'

But of course, he didn't even notice that Feral had moved on, heading towards the flight deck. While he was busy plotting his revenge, Feral was busy getting some actual work done. By now the transmission was over, but the signal data was already being interpreted. He should receive a response soon, but in the meantime, it was time to start beating feet for once.

After all, they had forty-eight hours to find Dark Kat… or Calico Briggs would be in an untold amount of pain. Or worse… she could be dead. The megalomaniac did have a point- Callie was the only one who did any real work in the city. As far as he could tell, Manx truly was an incompetent fool. If Callie died… the entire city would fall to pieces. He couldn't let that happen.

'Hold on, Ms. Briggs… the Enforcers are on the move!'

But before he could get two steps towards where he needed to be, he got a call on his radio. Lo and behold, it was none other than Mayor Manx. "Feral, did you see what was on the television? He wants me to step out of office- me!! The mayor who held this post for ten terms, going on eleven! I won't stand for it, do you hear me?"

Feral grimaced as he had his right ear yelled into. "We're working on that now, Mayor."

"You'd better be," Manx said in a huff, "Because if Callie is gone, my files will be a mess, and my golf game is out the window. The resources of the city are at your disposal. Use any means necessary, but I want him found and locked away!"

Feral smirked and mused to himself, 'Must be an election year.' But he didn't say that outright- Manx certainly was frantic about all this. It was just him being afraid, he knew, but he didn't say that either. "Understood. We'll be on the trail in no time flat. You can rest easy- the Enforcers will handle this!"

He hadn't said that in a long time, had he? It used to give him such pride to say it. But these days, the less true it became, the less he relied on it. But this time… this time he was presented with the opportunity to get the glory of his forces back. They used to shine so… but then he shook his head as he remembered why they had glittered so. It was because of those two reckless, insolent hot shots, Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson.

But then, his thoughts proceeded to bite him in the ass. 'Felina is just like them, and she was your best, just like them. You're a fool to just let her leave like that…'

His own mind was rebelling against him, and he growled for it. Oh no, he was going to unleash hell on Dark Kat, now that he had the backing of the treasury and those new strike fighters. No one was going to overturn the Enforcers this time… But then he had forgotten about that reward money that the Mayor was offering. Was it still an open bounty? Had the target changed?

'Damn it! All those mini-mercenaries will want a piece of it… and they'll be fighting each other for who gets what! Most of them don't even have enough information, and they'll still want to fight!'

He could see the situation already, and it was not good. He gave another order as he made his way to his personal helicopter, one that would probably cost him in the end, but it would be worth it to see some of these private military companies go down the drain. There was only one sheriff in these parts, and he was going to clean the rest of them out!

* * *

An unassuming ambulance rolled down the street containing its precious cargo of one very beaten, very broken, but still alive Calico Briggs. Unconscious and with an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose, she lay atop the gurney wondering where the hell she was now. Her mind still worked though her body did not, and that meant she could harbor a guess…

She was on the move, and quickly, which meant she was inside some kind of vehicle. She was strapped to something, a flat surface of some sort. There was the smell of all sorts of chemicals in here, but none of them seemed volatile… then again, she knew nothing about chemicals. They certainly smelled bad though… they smelled like antiseptics and medicines. A light bulb turned on in her head as she realized her location, and ultimately, her final destination.

'Thank God…'

But wait… how did she get here? She knew she had been tortured, beaten, drugged, and then… and then… her mind went into lockdown. What had happened to her? What had they done!? A thousand things raced through her mind- rape, mind control, poisons, more torture… all of them were ridiculous, and yet all of them were possible. They could have done anything…

She was afraid again. He was going to kill her either way, and for the first time in her long history with these kinds of situations, she began to dread. The confidence that someone would save her was fading, albeit gradually. Her training had only gone so far… and while it had proved effective and useful, it was not enough this time. She couldn't help but feel like she had failed Felina and Commander Feral.

But then she shook her head- or at least, she would have if she were conscious enough to do so. No, that wasn't the way to think. Everything would right itself if she were patient. She couldn't help but hope it would be soon, but she would still wait. One way or another, she would get out of this and back to Chance.

And then… she would never leave his side again. Either that, or make it so that he didn't leave hers. As far as she was concerned, this was what happened when she did. But first, the situation would have to be resolved. And in order for that to happen, Dark Kat had to be removed from the picture. Not killed, necessarily- just put in a place where he would not cause any harm.

'What are you thinking?' the more insistent part of her mind screamed 'The only place that a kat like that would be the least harm would be six feet under! Prison is not enough- he has the mindset to organize a riot and break out, then strike again. He doesn't need to be taken down, he needs to be taken _out_, damn it. And you know it.'

The voice was not the one she had expected… not the voice of The Lioness, or that of Felina. It was her own voice in her own head, emboldened by her training. Dark Kat was just one of those kats who had the capacity to roam free wherever he was, jailed or no. He _couldn't_ be allowed to live.

'I guess… I guess that's true. Lioness was right- some kats just need to die.'

It wasn't about to end this way, though. No, somehow she knew that she would be rescued. It was just a shame that she couldn't watch… because quite frankly, there was still the obstacle of being knocked out. And of course, she felt the ambulance stop, and moments later she knew that she was heading to safety… but was she really safe? She couldn't hear anyone talking… and that irked her.

'What the hell is going on?'

Of course, she was sent to the emergency care wing as soon as possible, a team of doctors checking her heart rate, blood pressure, things of that sort, all while being careful not to injure her further. She was not in the best shape of her life, but they had determined that she was still alive. At least, she was for now.

Immediately they began getting to work as soon as they had gotten her into a room and began running tests. Nothing would be taken to chance today, especially not now… But unfortunately, what they found after the conclusion of such tests was not the best of news. In fact, they couldn't help but wonder how exactly this had managed to happen…

"My… God… Get Commander Feral on the line, _now_!!"

Between the third and fourth vertebrae in her neck, there was a small amount of plastic explosive. The scan had also detected something else… something worse than the C4 alone. It was a micro-detonator, and electronic scans had confirmed it to be active and armed. Dark Kat wasn't going to kill her… he was going to exact a fate _worse_ than death.

Callie would, if the Enforcers tried anything stupid, be a quadriplegic…

* * *

Dark Kat sat in his study, deep within his underground bunker in the old Warehouse District. Of all the things he could be doing right now, he was casually sipping tea. The assassin that was so instrumental in his plans sat across from him, a warm cup in his own hands. "So that's what you did, huh? But why not just kill her outright? I mean, that's what I'd do."

Dark Kat shook his head and said, "Come now, you must realize the strategic value of this move. Disabling the Deputy Mayor would be better than killing her, though I have said I would to her face. No, she will be of much more use to me alive and as a figurehead. If the Mayor does not abdicate his position, I will set off the explosives and make her a cripple forever. If he does, I will lock his pathetic carcass away to rot, and then set them off anyway."

The hit kat had a good chuckle at this and said, "Damn, that's kinda mean. Not like I don't approve."

Dark Kat nodded and said, "Not only that, but she will be an excellent deterrent for the SWAT Kats- if they try to attack me, they will watch her die. It's quite simple, really."

The assassin raised an eyebrow and said, "What if they find this place and have a way to disable the detonator? I doubt we're going to see much of your ideal city if they manage to infiltrate this place. You got some kind of contingency plan?"

Dark Kat smiled and said, "First of all, they will not find this place. It is shielded from scanners and electronics. Scrambling radars would just make things bothersome, as they would be able to track the scrambling signal. They will work above ground, but will not penetrate the surface. Second, if they do find this place upon some accident, the SWAT Kats will have to get past the security measures, both at the elevator and inside. The cameras are designed to allow only those with the proper uniform and equipment access into any facility in this bunker."

The assassin nodded and took another sip of his tea. "And if they have ECMs with them?"

Dark Kat shrugged and said, "I could always have _you_ kill her. I haven't ruled that out as a plan, now have I? It will be unfortunate, but necessary for my ideal world. I will inform you of which room she will be in, and then the situation will be best left for you to dictate. It matters not how you kill her- simply do so when you receive the signal."

The assassin nodded and said, "Leave it up to me, then."

Dark Kat grinned and raised his cup. "Then let us toast to our victory. In two days' time, MegaKat City will be mine to do with as I wish, and henceforth it shall be known as Dark Kat City!"

The two teacups clinked.

* * *

**Chapter 29: Bed of Nails (Part 2) – **_**For the Ideal World**_

Whoa. The situation has just gotten much, much more critical. Is there no way to stop the mad Dark Kat from fulfilling his ambitions? Will Steele finally have his day in the sun? Fear not, avid readers! There's always a light at the end of every tunnel, and I promise you it's coming! For now, I leave you to bite and nibble your fingernails to the nub. It's gonna get even hairier from here!

Okay, Reviewer Appreciation time. **inferno1** is, of course, up first. Holy shit indeed, and it just got stickier and more rancid. But hey, at least I'm keeping people entertained, right? Stay tuned- the turning point begins next chapter! **Raiden Snake**, my man! Glad you could make it yet again. I have already taken the TurboKat into account, as you can see… Steele is itching at a chance for payback for his earlier humiliation. He can't be angry at the Deputy Mayor, so he takes it out on the SWAT Kats! Nasty, isn't he? As for the length of the chapters, I sometimes like to believe that much can be said with fewer words. Besides, I tend to aim for the five to seven thousand word ranges anyway in my individual chapters. This is routine for me; sorry. **RaidenSilversword** commented on pain, and pain was indeed the word of the day for last chapter. I honestly, truly hated to do that to Callie, but I wanted something to drive the seriousness of this situation home. And if this chapter doesn't do just that, I'll eat my hat. In fact, I have one sitting next to me right now, with salt and pepper nearby. Oh, and **Purple Kat**! Welcome back- glad you could make it. I do tend to go for the cliffhangers sometimes, and I'm glad it worked out to your liking. Please, review this chapter. To be honest, I've missed you.

And for those that have reviewed in the past, though briefly, I would love to hear from you as well! It's so lonely over in my corner of the earth, and more supporters of this story would be greatly appreciated. Tell your friends and fellow SWAT Kat fans that this story is online- they will _not_ regret reading it.

Right, I'm going to have dinner now. Then I write again.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	30. Bed of Nails Part 3

1000 yards away from MegaKat General Hospital, near room 528, the hit kat prepared his MSG90. By prepared, one meant entirely assembled it from the basic parts. The long, slim suitcase he carried with him before this whole operation started contained the sniper rifle in all its field-stripped glory, and he also carried two spare magazines and a SOCOM .45 as a sidearm, just in case things got dicey.

It was still early evening, which meant that even though he wore black, the tom could still be seen. He had to make sure that no one else was here, and that meant killing a few pests. Not like he cared, he was getting paid to do just that. After hiding the bodies, he took position inside the building, finished setting up his rifle, and… waited.

It wasn't like he minded waiting… that was actually the best part, because he could make his own contingency plans. He figured that the SWAT Kats would be out looking for something, anything… but they wouldn't be willing to kill anyone doing it. He had a few other targets in mind, just in case something stupid happened…. the kats below him, of course.

This building had the perfect field of fire for several miles… he could very well ventilate a few targets from the roof and no one would know who was shooting. Especially not with the barrel silenced. He'd be able to see or hear any approaching vehicle from several miles away, and he had studied the distinct pattern of the Cyclotron and the Thunder Truck by now. If they came, he would fire. Then they would have to worry less about him and more about others.

Besides, they would be too close to the hospital anyway- if something went down, the bomb would be set off. They couldn't approach even if they tried. But the thing was that he had to wait here for two days. It would be the longest that he had ever had to be in a fixed position in a while. Usually his missions moved quickly- fast-paced and high-energy.

'With how easy Dark Kat has made it for me, this is almost going to be boring,' he mused to himself. 'What do I do to pass the time, I wonder?'

Sleep was always a good idea… but then he would be caught off guard. The signal could come at any time- even now, while he was still thinking about it. No, he would have to do something to keep himself awake, hopefully without exposing himself. With someone who killed and spied for a living, it wasn't exactly easy to find something to do for free time.

Still, he had to do it if he wanted to keep himself from going crazy. The deck of cards that he had with him would have helped, but he knew only so many games that he could play by himself… So his options were limited here. He found himself wondering whether this would be his last job or not. Considering the time taken to concoct this elaborate scheme, he figured that it would indeed be the last job.

'It certainly pays well enough to set me up for a good while. That is, if nothing interferes.'

He couldn't be sure enough that this was fool-proof. There was always something that needed to be taken care of, some angle that needed to be covered. The SWAT Kats were formidable adversaries- they had the cunning tactics of a high-grade Special Forces unit mixed with technology that outmatched the Enforcers. No, they could not be taken lightly. If there were even one avenue open for them, no matter how narrow, they would take it.

Thus, the booby traps located on the first few floors and the laser detection grid located further up. There wasn't much to cover in the alleyway to his left without being conspicuous, so he had two kats from Dark Kat's army standing guard, one at either end of the corridor. There was no real reason to have them in plain clothes- they could hide in the shadows anyway.

With that said, everything was staged. Just in case the whole detonator plan did not work, he was ready to do what he had to, and then he would be no more. He'd return to whence he came- relative obscurity. It was lonely, but he was used to being alone. No she-kat would be able to stand what he did anyway, and he had too many secrets to keep.

'Besides, I'll be filthy, stinking rich. I don't need a kitten to spend it on.'

With that, he waited until the long night came.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**Razor was busy down in the lab within the bowels of the secret compound that served as SWAT Kat headquarters. A pair of protective lenses was situated over his eyes as he worked with the wires and microchips necessary to jam a signal from a respectable distance. Respectable meaning that it was within the five to ten meter range as far as effective distance. That wasn't a very large distance, considering.

'Damn, I was hoping this wouldn't happen anytime soon. And we made a plan just for this instance, too… I just never thought we'd have to use it! And then there's the fact that Lioness doesn't know about all this. What would happen if she did?'

While the answer to that was unknown, one thing was clear. They would have to get Callie to agree to it… and that was the difficult part. Still, the fact remained that they would have to execute this contingency plan that they had concocted all those years ago in order to prevent anyone from getting hold of the Deputy Mayor again. In this game of chess, the king was not the most important piece, but the queen.

Razor blinked just then as his mind flashed back to an earlier incident. Much earlier… as in Dark Ages earlier. 'This is déjà vu city. It's just like Callista!'

Just as he realized this, the doors to the lab opened, and T-Bone and Lioness stepped through. "How's it comin' buddy?" The big tom asked, Glovatrix ready to go. "We're almost set, T-Bone. Gimme a few more minutes here, and we've got it locked. This should provide a jamming frequency of a few meters once it's activated. Any electronics in its range will be scrambled, including radios."

"We don't _have_ a few more minutes," Lioness said with that purr of a voice that had become her disguise. "I just got a call from my contact at Enforcer Headquarters- Commander Feral is moving out on all PMCs in the area in an attempt to suppress their movements. On top of that, Lieutenant Commander Steele has set up their anti-air defenses, just in case the TurboKat shows up. Unless we move now, we're deadlocked."

Jake sighed and threw his visor to the floor. "Well _fuck me_! The Enforcers certainly chose a bad time to be on the money!"

T-Bone nodded and said, "Yeah… and we're running out of time to find a way to Dark Kat. Our birds are grounded unless we can somehow get to KatGuard and get our support online. Not to mention Steele is probably hungry for another shot at us- Callie told me what he tried to do last time."

The Lioness placed a hand on her chin and said, "I think… I have an idea." She smirked and said, "Can I step out of this G-suit for a moment? I think it's time that Commander Feral found out where his niece has been all this time. You two think of a way to get Steele off of our backs- I'll RTB as soon as I get Commander Feral off of KatGuard's."

They all nodded before the she-kat headed out. "Sorry to throw this on you all of a sudden, but we're kinda out of time, and too early at that. I know this is not the best of times here, but… we gotta get going. I dunno where to start, but we have to move."

Jake sighed again and moved to put on his helmet, then paused for a moment. "Hey… what if we didn't have to get Steele off of our backs after all? What if we could just let him stick to us?"

T-Bone smirked and said, "You're nuts, you know that? No way are we letting that little power monger clamp onto our tails. Whatever plan you've got, it doesn't have to include him. Let's just get moving, and…"

Razor put a hand on his big partner's shoulder and said, "Just hear me out. If we feed the Enforcers a line, get them to hook onto some kind of bait, the Lieutenant Commander will be too busy glory hunting to notice that he's being tricked. Meanwhile, we head over to where Dark Kat is and pull the plug on his operations."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow and said, "It could work… we've used the TurboKat as bait before. When exactly are you gonna get this plan rolling?"

Razor grinned and said, "Soon. First, let's let Lioness… I mean, Felina, do her thing with her uncle. Steele will just have to be disappointed for the moment. Meanwhile, this gives me time to work on my new toy. See, everyone wins!"

T-Bone scoffed and said, "Everyone but me. I'm getting tired of all this waiting."

The slim kat patted his big buddy's shoulder and said, "Relax, man. At least this gives you time to hit something else other than a heavy bag. Like maybe the hay? Seriously, get you some sleep! You're probably gonna need it soon anyways."

T-Bone sighed in response and said, "Yeah, it's about time I did that… but I just got suited up. It's gonna be annoying if I have to take all this off again. I think I'll find some corner to sleep in or something- try and catch me a few hours. Wake me when you need me."

"Affirmative," Razor said with a smile. "I'll radio you as soon as I have something for you."

* * *

KatGuard was a legally sanctioned private military company that provided services to various clients across the city, including high-profile VIPs and the Enforcers. Their jobs were mostly tied around security forces and support elements such as strike-fighters and mobile artillery, but they were the largest and most successful army for hire in MegaKat City.

This made them the perfect first target for Commander Feral's interdiction team.

They suddenly found themselves raided by Special Operations teams, their operatives robbed of their weapons and held at gunpoint. Apparently, they were being restrained until someone arrived… and lo and behold, it was Commander Feral. And he had that same self-assured swagger in his step as he entered. "This facility is under suspension," he announced, "Until the crisis concerning Dark Kat is at an end. The grounds are simple- the Enforcers are now backed by the Mayor's office, which means the treasury is now on our side. There's no need for you all to get involved. Cooperate, and I won't shut you down."

Of course, at that very moment, a call was being made… one that regarded that very same matter. A familiar black car moved down the street with frightening agility, cutting through the traffic like a fish through water. "Yes, Mr. Mayor? This is a representative of KatGuard speaking… yes. I am calling about the reward. Is the bounty still open? …I see. So you haven't announced it publicly yet. What about Commander Feral?"

The she-kat who was calling held for a moment as the explanation went through. She grimaced as she heard what he had said directly. "Interesting, so they have your backing as well? …No, I'm not complaining. Just curious, that's all. As of this moment, KatGuard is taking the job. Consider that reward out of your hands. How much is it now, Sir?"

As the conversation closed, the car pulled up in the garage and the she-kat exited, unknowingly walking right into the Special Operations team just upstairs. Or maybe she knew and just didn't care. The second one became painfully obvious as she arrived on the main floor, immediately withdrawing the Glock 20 that she had on her and pointing it towards the poor sap that was in front of the elevator. As he leveled his rifle on her at the same time, the tom recognized who exactly it was.

"…Felina?"

She nodded and said one word and one word only. "Move."

He moved, and she began making her way towards the front office. Wearing all black, mostly dressed in tactical gear, and a pair of mirrored shades, she approached the lobby and found that it was covered from all sides. "I want to see the kat in charge here so I can make this perfectly clear- you are to stay out of this, all of you." Yes, that was her uncle all right. Of course, she knew she was being entirely foolish by just walking into the middle of the SpecOps team, but she had to make a good impression.

"Why do you need to see him when you've got me?" she called out as she entered. Rifles turned towards Felina, and then naturally stopped as they recognized the former Enforcer. "That's right gentlemen, best not to do anything too hasty. Now, before you send these chrome-domes back to where they came from, explain why you're here, uncle."

Commander Feral was in shock. He was looking everywhere for Felina, and here she was in the very company that he came to silence. He couldn't help but feel… betrayed, just a little. The bigger half of him was relieved to see that she was all right. But she had asked him a question. "I'm here to make sure KatGuard understands that the Enforcers will handle this situation. I just never thought that I'd have to talk to _you_ about it…"

Felina shrugged and said, "I'm not the one in charge. But I _am_ their best operative, so I do kinda carry weight around here. Now let me tell you about your little raid. The bounty is not only still open, but it's just been doubled, and the target has been changed. You just haven't heard about it yet."

Commander Feral blinked, entirely confused. But Mayor Manx just told him earlier that… his confused expression turned into a marked frown. "That's the entire point. Everyone will be clamoring for that bounty, and will try to shoot each other apart. I don't want open warfare on my streets, and…"

Felina nodded and said, interrupting him. "And that, uncle, is why you will trust _us_ instead of the others. You're a fool if you think we're not working on this. And the promise of one hundred thousand dollars is quite something. I already took the job, so don't argue."

A resounding cheer came from the mercenaries, and Felina folded her arms in defiance. Commander Feral gritted his teeth. What, was he going to be undermined at every turn? Felina raised her hands and the cheers died down. "Right, now then. I think you have two other PMCs to suppress, don't you? Clear your men out of here, now."

Ulysses grimaced and said warily, "And just _how_ are you going to find Dark Kat when we haven't been able to do so yet?"

Felina smirked and said, "What, you don't trust your own niece? I always have an ace or two up my sleeve. Don't worry too much about what it is- you'll find out soon enough. Now, I believe you had an order to give…"

Commander Feral sighed and said, "All units move out and rendezvous at the second checkpoint!"

They lifted their rifles and headed out of the building. Ulysses looked towards his niece with a forlorn expression and said, "Just tell me one thing before I leave… will you at least consider coming back? Whatever happened to make you leave, I apologize for it now. Just…" He sighed and said, "This is the kind of situation I could use your help on."

Felina looked away from her uncle and said softly, "You mean you really don't know? I told you earlier that I hate liars. You don't remember those files I left on your desk?"

His mind flashed back to the time he had the note left on his desk. Those files… he hadn't looked in them, he was too preoccupied with the fact that Felina had left, and it was somehow his fault. But now that he thought about it… what exactly was in those files? He had only given them a cursory glance, and…

Then he realized. "That's why?"

Felina looked towards Commander Feral and nodded. "That's why, and it's a damn good reason. You wanna talk about it? You pick a better time and place. Just not now- I have a job to do."

Commander Feral nodded and began moving out of the building. There were no excuses anymore. He would have to explain everything to her in due time- for now, he had to make sure that the other mercenary teams did not interfere with the operation. KatGuard would be left happily to its own devices, so long as Felina was working on the bounty.

As soon as he left and was safely away, Felina sighed and said, "Well don't just stand there gawking at me, get to work!" The place was once again a hub of activity as Felina began handing out orders. She was essentially in control of the floor. "I need an observation team to head towards the hospital and watch the surrounding area. I mean rooftops, street corners, and alleyways. Approach with as much stealth as you can- we don't want to upset anything. If you see anything out of order, you contact me ASAP, but do not engage unless you are fired on."

As soon as two of them got to work on that, she gave yet another order. "I also need an F-15E on standby, just in case we need a penetrator. I'll pay for it now- let's just get it set up and ready." Of course, it would cost her almost two hundred thousand out of her account, but she was good for it. Mr. Young paid well for her services.

By the time her negotiations were over, it was almost night time. She got in her car and started the engine, feeling quite proud of herself. Not only had she stood up to her uncle yet again, but she had successfully opened up an avenue for the SWAT Kats. Now all that needed to happen was Razor finishing that ECM he was working on.

'I just hope they have a plan for dealing with Steele…'

But she would worry about that later. Right now, her thoughts turned to Callie. 'I'm sorry I can't visit you,' she mourned to herself. 'I wish I could tell you how proud I am that you defended yourself, but I can't due to the fact that Dark Kat has the hospital under surveillance. I promise when this is all over, we'll go out for ice cream and a good laugh, and forget this ever happened.'

On her way back, she decided to call Razor and see if he had that countermeasure cooked up.

"Yeah, It's ready by now," the brains of the bunch responded. "How're things on your end?"

Felina nodded as she drove back to the garage. "KatGuard is free and clear- you have an F-15 Strike Eagle on standby, waiting for my laser to paint a target. Remember that thing you said about using it only once, because I can only call in so many strike missions. How's our best pilot?"

Razor smiled and said, "Sleeping, finally… I swear he's been so worried about Callie that he's been on pins and needles, wanting to get her back. Just shows how much he cares about her, doesn't it?"

Felina nodded and paused for a moment before asking, "Would you… would you worry so much about me? If I was ever in trouble and I needed someone to bail me out, would you stay up nights for me?"

Razor grinned and said, "Oh, I'd be a mess. You couldn't get me to sleep with a _knockout round_. I'd be too busy trying to do all sorts of things at once, just to find out where you were. And then once I found you, I'd go through hell and back to get you out."

Felina blushed. She couldn't help but love it when he talked like that.

"I know you would- just checking."

Razor was silent for a while before he said, "Hey, Felina? I uh… have something to tell you."

The former Enforcer raised an eyebrow and said, "If it's anywhere near bad news, it had better be brief. We've had enough setbacks for one day, and one crisis has already been averted. We don't need another one on top of it."

Razor scratched the back of his head and said, "It's not exactly a crisis, but just something you need to know." He cleared his throat and said, "A few years back, T-Bone and I figured that something like this would happen. As a matter of fact, _exactly_ like this. Callie gets captured, tortured for some kind of information, and has her life threatened. In that exact order, mind you. So we thought of a plan, just in case. It's not pretty, and it has a nice, hefty chance of failing, but if it works, no one's going to be able to touch Callie for a good while."

Felina was silent for all of ten seconds as she mulled this information over. Whatever Razor had to say, it was now officially top priority. "Wait until I get to the garage- we'll talk about it once I'm in."

The slim SWAT Kat nodded and said, "I don't want to disturb you while you're driving. Just let me know when you're in and get to the compound as soon as you're able. Razor, out."

* * *

"Stay sharp, men! They'll be in the air any moment now, and we have to be ready!"

It was the fourth time today that he had said it, and Lieutenant Commander Steele was starting to lose his nerve. The SWAT Kats were not in the air yet… and he had no idea why. They should have been jumping on this as soon as they heard of it, but there was nothing so far. Perhaps if he waited for a while, things would turn out for the best.

At least, that was what he kept telling himself. But the statement in his head was starting to lose effect. Now here it was, at night, and he had kept his anti-air artillery troops awake throughout most of the day. They were tired, they were cranky, and they were just about ready to go home and get some sleep. But orders were orders, even if they _were_ from Steele. The tom in question was currently scanning the skies, frantically looking for any sign of his opponents.

'Come on, come on… I don't want to turn up empty!' This was really his last chance to impress Feral, and it wasn't like he had much to go on. If he had any sort of information before hand on when they were going to move, it would most likely be helpful, but they covered their tracks too easily and hid themselves too well. As it was now, the fact that they had successfully avoided being in the air almost made him tear his hair out.

"_Where the hell are they!?_" Steele finally shouted in frustration, his voice echoing off of the buildings. He was going insane with waiting for these guys. What, didn't they care about the situation at all? Then again… they probably figured they would be targets, even while looking for Dark Kat. Thus, they were in their little hidey hole, waiting for a time to move. 'Cowards,' he brooded to himself, 'Nothing but a bunch of cowards.'

A part of his mind scoffed at this, but it was an often-ignored part. It was a case of the pot calling the kettle black, and frankly the SWAT Kats weren't even cowardly. They were just cunning. Lieutenant Commander Steele gritted his teeth and stewed in his own anger. He couldn't help but feel slighted in this… and it wasn't the first time that it had happened, either.

'Damn you, SWAT Kats.'

This was going to be bad when Feral heard of it- very bad. He had to keep waiting… but even he could tell that his men were as tired of waiting as he himself was. "All units disengage. Not like there's anything to engage anyway… you're dismissed for the evening, but I want you at your stations first thing in the morning, understood?"

They tried not to sigh too loudly as they all saluted. "Sir, yes sir!"

Well now that that was over, Steele decided that he could use some sleep. It was too late in the evening for all this… but he would make sure that the SWAT Kats knew what was up in the morning. Oh, he would make sure. His job was on the line here- he had to!

* * *

Felina had finally arrived at the secret lair of the SWAT Kats. And frankly, she was anxious to hear what Razor had to say to her. It sounded like it was bad news, but she had to make sure. 'Razor said it wasn't bad news, but his voice told me different. If there's anything that he's not telling me, I'm going to make him talk.'

Granted, it wouldn't necessarily be pleasant, but it was not a good idea to keep secrets from her. Especially not with how… close she had become with him. She held back on suiting up for the moment and simply headed straight for the lab. Razor was there, of course, waiting. How long he had been waiting there was anyone's guess, but she didn't care at the moment.

"Start talking," was the first thing she said when she entered the room, "And don't skip the good parts." Ah, so much for a diplomatic approach. Then again, she didn't need one anyway.

To his credit, Razor just nodded. He knew perfectly well how Felina could be. "I'll get right to it, then. Two years ago, when we stopped being Enforcers and started being SWAT Kats, we had to rescue Callie so many times it became a habit, almost routine. It got to the point that we gave her the signal transponder that she usually uses to call us when things get dicey."

Felina nodded. She had always wondered how exactly the SWAT Kats got to the Deputy Mayor whenever she was in a bad spot, and that was a good enough answer. But she said nothing, only waited for the rest of the story. She had a feeling it wouldn't all be good, but she would just have to trust her boyfriend about these things. After all, he was a highly intelligent tom.

Razor simply continued on, for once he started talking, he didn't stop until whatever was on his mind, was off it. "But it wasn't enough. Now that she had a way to contact us, we figured that sooner or later, the time would come when she'd be in more trouble than she could handle. There'd be some kind of situation where she wouldn't be able to reach her communicator, and we'd find out about her being in trouble too late. Sure, it's happened before… but there was a specific situation we prepared for."

Felina raised an eyebrow and said, "You mean the one we're in now."

Razor sighed and said, "Yeah… my best guess is that she was captured not only because of her importance to the city, but because Dark Kat figured she knew who we were behind these masks. Either way, she's been captured and grilled for the information. Since we're too late for that part, but she's still alive, we'll execute our plan anyway."

The she-kat frowned and said, "You haven't even told me what this plan _is_ yet."

"Callie has to go dark," a voice said from the entrance. T-Bone walked in just as the plan was about to be explained, only to explain it himself. "I thought of it, really, but Razor helped with the details. In order to keep this situation from repeating itself, we take the Deputy Mayor underground, and take everything with her. Bank accounts, personal records, any sort of identification. She turns into a specter, but in the process she becomes entirely safe."

Felina's eyes widened, "And just how long are you expecting to do this?"

Razor's eyes lowered and said, "I told you it wasn't going to sound good."

Felina shook her head and smiled. "No… on the contrary. It sounds _perfect_. I just don't want her to be too uncomfortable, she is our friend after all, and T-Bone over here is crazy about her. So I'm going to ask again, how long are you expecting to do this? Assuming she even agrees with it…"

T-Bone grimaced. "Yeah… that last one will be the hard part. Getting her to agree with something that will take the floor from underneath her… if I were in her position, I wouldn't like it at all. But that doesn't mean that her money and everything is just left hanging in the air. We've already got a private account set up at a bank that we trust- we put the rest of that money that we won from our little dogfight in there. Not even the _Enforcers_ can track it."

Felina blinked and said, "Wait, you mean you haven't spent it _yet_? What is wrong with you two? I swear, you could have paid off quite a bit to Commander Feral…" She shrugged and said, "But it's your money. You can do whatever you want with it. But the one part I don't like about all this is that you're planning on erasing her files…"

Razor placed a hand on his chin, performing a quick brainstorm on that one. "Maybe…" His eyes widened. "Maybe we don't have to." He turned towards the others and said, "We were gonna make copies of all the data and erase it ourselves, but maybe we don't have to be the ones to erase it. That hit kat is going to come in handy after all, I think!"

Felina sighed and said, "Yeah, if we ever find out who he is…"

Razor shook his head and said, "Don't worry about that. You said already that KatGuard was on that, right? Or at least, I think you did. If they are, we're one step closer to that one. If not, well… we could at least try to do it ourselves. Not like that's gonna be easy, but we have to do it, and fast."

Felina nodded and said, "Yeah, well we're going to have to get some sleep… because tomorrow is going to be a hell of a day." She turned towards T-Bone and gave him a sympathetic look. "I know you don't like it, but… we're going to have to keep waiting on this one. At the very least, you have your support back."

The big tom nodded and said, "I just hope nothing stupid happens while we're catching up on rest…" This of course, made him want to stay up even more. Still, he realized the value of actually getting some sleep while they could. If Felina had not missed her guess, the next two days would be nothing short of hectic, and without an ounce of rest or mercy.

In short, it would serve as another day at the office for the SWAT Kats.

* * *

**Chapter 30: Bed of Nails (Part 3) – **_**The Worst-Case Scenario**_

Finally, things are looking up! But will the situation hold? Or does Dark Kat have any more backup plans? Well, at least things are moving in a forward direction, and poor T-Bone can finally get some sleep. For this chapter, I decided to elaborate a bit on the plan they had for when they actually rescued Callie. It's a complex issue that could have them entirely busted, but it will pay off in big dividends if it works. Only time will tell!

And thus, the time has come for Reviewer Appreciation. Today, I pick one random reviewer to start off with via closing my eyes and pointing randomly. And the winner is… **GeekGirl2**! Oh yes, the keyboard is on fire with how hot this chapter is getting. Let's hope this chapter delivers in that department as well… or at least, is something interesting to read. If not, the next chapter is sure to be an eye-pleaser, if not an eyeful. **Purple Kat** is our next subject, and though I didn't like to do that to Callie, this is what must be done in order to provide a smokin' hot storyline. But seriously, her head's not gonna pop off. It's just a small enough amount of explosives to disable everything below the neck, or at least all four of her limbs. She's not going to die, but she will never be able to move outside of a wheelchair again… the suspense! **inferno1** is next on the list, and it's once again obvious that much can be said with so little. Indeed, some kats must die, and Dark Kat is one of them. That is, if he dies in this whole thing. Heck, he just might find a way out of all this and strike again. Who knows? All I know is that he's about to be neck-deep in pain. Don't miss it when the SK put the hurt on him! And of course, **Raiden Snake** rounds out the list. Alternate scenes, I'm not planning on. However, plans for the next story are in progress… yes people, this is not the total end of the SWAT Kats, or at least not the end of Chance and Jake. I'm not privy to release the information at this time, but all I have to say is… stay tuned. Watch this story to its conclusion, please! It _will_ lead up to something even better!

EDIT: Damn. I forgot one! **RaidenSilversword**. Thanks for your input, and the more-than-five-star rating. I appreciate it.

To be honest, that was a copious amount of reviews for the last chapter. Thank you all, and here's to more chapters of said caliber! There are two, count 'em, two chapters remaining in this one! Stay locked, because we're about to go critical.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	31. Bed of Nails Part 4

Forty-five hours and thirty-seven minutes remaining.

From midnight earlier this morning, the clock began to tick. Every second counted, and the winner of this little waiting game won everything- money, power, respect, and control of just about every piece of MegaKat City. The prize was one Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs, who was currently in critical condition in the hospital. She had been tortured beyond explanation for information that she did not have. And as if that weren't enough, she was still a VIP.

The problem was simple- she had a bomb in her neck, located just on her spinal column, with just the right amount of C4 to make just about everything below her neckline useless without killing her. Oh no, she was still needed alive. She would turn from the queen on the chess board into the perfect pawn, only able to move in a wheelchair and barely able to speak.

The players in the game were already set, though it already seemed like checkmate. The black side was, of course, Dark Kat and his army of highly-trained, highly-paid shadows. Dressed constantly in black and wearing masks to hide their identities, they were a better-oiled machine than the Enforcers on a good day. Their weapons and equipment were high-grade and highly standardized, and they themselves were organized to a military level.

No better pieces to play this game with than ones like those.

His rook had been taken out earlier. The piece that was meant to penetrate straight down the line without hesitation was stopped at the door. Dr. Viper was his rook, and he took the more direct approach of destroying the city outright, turning it into his own playground. The explosive ordinance came from Dark Kat. He had been captured, and thus had to be taken from the board.

The bishop was Hard Drive. An interesting piece, to be sure, with the same function as the rook but with literally a different angle on things. The only direction that piece could move was on the diagonal, but it made for some interesting maneuvers. Dark Kat had used him to get the plans for the F-22 that was now in the hands of someone he would rather not have taken it. Summarily, Hard Drive had done well for a brief time, but he had turned up cold just like the rook.

Captured and thus removed, there was only one piece he trusted now.

Because he didn't have a queen of his own just yet, though that would come later, he had to stick to his knight, a hit kat with no name. Perhaps because he had no name, none that he would reveal anyway, he was more trustworthy. The knight of course, was one of the more unorthodox pieces in the fact that it moved not only in a strange pattern, but it could jump over other pieces. However, these same unconventional tactics are what make it capable of deep penetration. So far, that trait had been shown in spades as the assassinations and spy runs had proved invaluable.

Now, they had their opponents in check. And they waited.

The white side consisted of the defenders of MegaKat City, who were basically spread out in various regions and with differing agendas. So far, those differing agendas had managed to work in Dark Kat's favor, but there has been a change on the board. The pawns of course, were the Enforcers. And most of the time, they weren't very good pawns. As if a counterpoint to their opponents, they were understaffed, often times outgunned, and had leaders with some serious attitude and anger problems.

Of those leaders, the one with the anger problems that also happened to be overly prideful, was the rook; none other than Commander Ulysses Feral. He was beset by a Lieutenant Commander that wanted his job, foes that were numerically and technologically superior, and most of the time his own hubris. And there was something else… The rook was capable of crushing blows, but only took one strategy- the direct route.

Feral's thinking was just like the rook- he only operated in three planes of movement. Forward, backward, and side to side. And that wasn't even the whole story- because of the aforementioned problems, forward didn't usually work. In order to get something done, he had to move to the side or backward, and neither had an obvious, instantaneous result, which was exactly what he wanted. Most of the time, he couldn't get it.

The bishop was the other leader, and while he didn't exactly have the training for it, he was capable of great things as well if he did. Lieutenant Commander Steele was the ambitious subordinate to Feral, and he wasn't exactly the best at his job besides brownnosing. Sure he moved in the diagonal, but often times worked at cross purposes with the rook. And that was never a good idea, because Ulysses Feral was the kind of rook that did not take bullshit from his own side.

If he failed his current task, he was off the board for good.

The king, the piece that only moved when it damn well wanted to and couldn't move very far anyway, was Mayor Manx, and he was in quite the situation. Give up his throne, or give up his most important player, the one that could move anywhere she wanted. With the king in check, the queen captured, and most of the other pieces useless, it wasn't looking too good.

Fortunately for the denizens of MegaKat City, there were replacements for the old pieces.

KatGuard, the only private military company spared the wrath of Commander Feral, was a force that was almost on an equal plane as Dark Kat's; just as standardized, just as trained. They had their own little support elements, including mobile artillery, close air support, and two F-15 Strike Eagles. Apparently, two was all they needed. They were the pawns, and damn could they ever move now that they had the rook off of their backs.

The fact that they were free and clear was largely due to the bishop; one Felina Feral. Using her quick thinking, she cut across her uncle's decision and cleared a path for the heavy hitters to move in and take over. Now KatGuard had the job, and she had a bounty to collect. Of course, the fact remained that she was not only the Lioness, but had recently joined the ranks of the SWAT Kats. If her uncle knew, things would get hairy from there. Fortunately for her, she had managed to keep him blissfully in the dark.

The replacement rook, and yes, there was a replacement needed, was yet another SWAT Kat. The bigger of the three and definitely built like a fortress, T-Bone also had three options of movement. Forward, backward, and to the side. The thing about T-Bone was that he didn't mind moving to the side first. It was just that he moved forward when he could help it. And due to his tactics and training, forward was a damn good decision for him. Still, he moved backwards when he couldn't move forward, and moved to the side when the opponent thought he was going to move straight ahead.

Sometimes, he even did a dangerous thing and acted as bait, something that a rook normally wouldn't do, due to its importance. But ninety percent of the time, it worked.

As for the knight, yes, it was another SWAT Kat. Interesting how all the incredibly useful and tactically sound pieces were together in one place. In the case of Razor, he was almost _literally_ a knight, as far as his chivalry towards she-kats. He was not only one of the most skilled tacticians and weapons experts in the city, but he was also a genius inventor, a skilled infiltrator, and a charmer to boot. But as of recent times, he had only one she-kat to charm and keep safe.

Not like that was a bad thing.

Thus, the situation stood… unbeknownst to anyone on the black side, the white side was recovering from the self-inflicted wounds and redoubling its forces. Today, the real game would start, and there would be much battle. By the end, someone would come out worse for the wear.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_To be honest, it wasn't really fair to say that the assassin was oblivious. He had, after all, made every precaution necessary. One could call him being… satisfied, really. He had done everything he could, and now all that was left to do was hold out up here for some kind of signal. The MSG90 was set, loaded with one bullet in the chamber. Hell, it was all he needed for this kind of shot.

For the moment however, he was content with watching.

'I have to admit,' he mused to himself, 'she is a beautiful she-kat. To see such a flower wilt is almost cruel, but I have long since lost care for flowers.'

He watched her breathe through his scope, the oxygen mask that covered her nose and mouth fogging with every breath. Her blonde hair was unruly, a fine mess. Though her eyes were closed, he knew by now what color they were. It was entirely strange, those green eyes of hers. They could mystify one simply by looking at them. She was such a reserved and tough she-kat, but one that was ultimately soft within.

Not like he cared… it was just his observation. And he continued observing other things- the streets below, for example. From here, he could count the hairs on one kat's head that was passing by, and observe the intricate play of colors in the eyes of another. They were, for better or worse, all targets for the next two days. He held them all hostage with his rifle at the moment, and if anything stupid occurred, he would start firing indiscriminately.

With that on the table, so focused was he in steadying his aim that he did not notice that two others were watching him. Not the two kats guarding the alley, but two more that were farther away. They weren't exactly looking through sniper scopes as they were looking through high-powered, military-grade digital binoculars.

They were at a range of seven hundred meters, far enough away to avoid detection. Seeing as they had scoured the city's rooftops for hours on end last night, they hadn't expected to see much of anything for the rest of it, but continued looking anyway. Lo and behold however, their search turned up now of all times as their night vision focused on the tom in question.

And they both saw that he was packing, hard.

"Bingo," one of them whispered. "Target acquired. I see one tango on the roof, aiming in the general direction of the hospital. It looks like he's got… an MSG90 from here. Can't be sure at this distance, could be just a normal PSG-1. Should we get closer?"

The other shook his head and said, "Negative. We report to Felina with our information, and retreat. If there are any other threats, she will assess them on-site. Get on the horn with her, now. I don't necessarily care if she's asleep- orders are orders."

Roughly fifteen seconds later, Felina Feral was awakened in one of the spare rooms located in the MegaKat City Scrap Yard's garage by the annoying buzz of her cell phone. Of course, it got to the point where it had become irritating enough that she wanted to throw it against a wall, but that meant it was important.

"This is Feral," she said groggily. Some things never changed, did they?

"IFF confirmation code 122-520."

Felina blinked sleepily. Great, just what she needed. Someone was requesting a secure line. It was KatGuard, all right. She managed to get a hold of her encrypter and plugged it into the bottom of her phone, entering the numbers in the keypad. For a moment, there was nothing… then three green flashes from the leftmost light.

"Friendly signal confirmed. This line is now secure," Felina said grumpily, "And you had better have a damn good reason to wake me up."

"We do ma'am," The tom on the other end said quietly. "We found a mark, and he's hot. He's on a roof, one thousand yards away from the hospital, aiming at a specific window with an MSG90. He could have backup down there, but none that I can see. And before you ask, we can't get any closer without compromising the mission, and for that matter, the VIP."

Felina's energy seemed to pick up out of nowhere. "I'm activating a video feed directly to your binoculars- give me visual confirmation of the target, ASAP. I'm getting ready to leave now. Continue keeping tabs on him until I arrive."

And indeed, even as the uplink began, she began heading towards the underground lair. Hell, she was already dressed, and the G-suit fit well over her clothing. In any event, she was finally on a lead, and was about to be one step closer to getting paid. But she couldn't think about that… this was for Callie. Thus it was that she headed down the ladder and towards her own personal locker marked with a quite regal-looking capital l and opened it to reveal what could not stop making her grin.

Even now, she still couldn't believe she got to put this on when shit went down.

But before she could touch it, the uplink was finished. "Are you receiving, Felina? That's what the contact looks like…"

She took a moment to look at her phone, her eyes squinting. After peering for a little while, she nodded. "Received and confirmed guys. I need the coordinates of his location, or at the very least, yours. Depending on where you are, it'll be a good while before I get there. Trust me though; I'll be as fast as I can."

Before they could get her those coordinates, she was fully suited up, helmet and all. There was a new addition to her G-suit however, and that was a cordura sheath strapped to her right thigh. Contained within that sheath was the panga machete that she had used in her duel against Jake. To be perfectly honest, she figured that along with the Glovatrix, it would make a fine sidearm.

But of course, that left the question of what to take out. Maybe she should have woken the other two up, just in case. Never mind though, the question was quickly answered for her as she took note that one of the Cyclotrons had an option for silent running. It wasn't all that bad really, but she had to wonder how Jake had pulled it off.

No matter- she would use it. With that, she opened up the false floor and prepared to haul ass. Soon, her phone buzzed, and she took a look at it. Sure enough, coordinates. She smiled and said, "Sure hope you two aren't slacking off over there, because I'm comin' through." She plugged the phone into the back of her helmet- a little addition she had requested from Razor- and sure enough, the coordinates were transferred towards her in-helmet HUD as a waypoint marker.

With that, The Lioness lowered the visor, started the engine of the single-seat motorcycle, and took off. Seconds after she had left the area, she turned on the silent running. Even with the jets active, it sounded like there was no engine what so ever in the damn thing. The only sound she heard was from the exhaust as its trademark blue flame burned brightly.

'Holy crap… poor bastards won't hear me coming.'

She grinned to herself as she made her way towards the hospital, or at least towards the last known coordinates of that transmission.

* * *

Mayor Manx was a wreck. Well, not that he wasn't usually one, but he was something more this early in the morning. The one thing that really kept this city running, the one person that handled everything that he couldn't (or at least, everything that he was afraid to), was now in the hands of Dark Kat. She could be dead for all he knew, though he had been told entirely of the situation.

'Still, with that thing in her neck, she might as well be,' he thought to himself.

The fact still stood that he was a politician, not a fighter. Hell, the very notion of fighting made him lucky he was sitting there peacefully in his office or bed or whatever. Then again, there was that one time with the Red Lynx's ghost… he smiled to himself at that. It was something to be proud of, for once. But that was one specific situation, and it was only on threat of not being re-elected.

'Well that's exactly what's happening now, isn't it? Except it's not the people who will be forcing me out of office, it's Dark Kat!' Well, that wasn't helping- it was only making him more afraid. Part of him though couldn't help but be somewhat frustrated over this whole thing. He was supposed to be the one making the demands, damn it! But without Callie, he had zero control over the situation and no advance knowledge of what was going on.

He would say that he would not negotiate with terrorists, but that would only get Callie, and a whole bunch of other kats killed. This wasn't the time for courage- it was the time for giving out orders. Not this early in the morning, though. Right now, he needed sleep so he could deal with the situation in a proper manner.

'If only I could,' his thoughts countered. 'But I don't know what to do about this.'

It was certainly a conundrum. He had to get someone on the phone that could take care of things… and since Commander Feral hadn't exactly been trustworthy in these situations, there was only one kat to call at the moment. He just hoped she was awake as he picked up the phone. Strangely enough, she was… he felt much better when he heard her say her uncle's line. It was odd how the same words coming from a different individual could have a more profound effect.

"This is Mayor Manx. Do you have any leads yet?" Yes, he knew whose voice it was on the phone since the last time they spoke. He might have been a coward, but he wasn't stupid. When Felina answered that she was following one of them at that very moment, the Mayor had to keep himself from sighing in relief. "At least someone is doing something about this! If Callie is gone, I won't know what to do with myself…"

That was true enough on most counts. The only things he really wanted to do were play golf and look important for the cameras. Even he knew that the only thing he was good at was getting the voters' support. Callie was, in effect, the real mayor, and Dark Kat knew it. And because he knew it, this was the result.

"Well, keep working on it," he said in the calmest voice he could muster, "The city is depending on her safety. Use any means at your disposal, just make sure that Callie is in one piece when this is over!"

He had told the same thing to Commander Feral, and that hadn't worked as far as he had seen on the news. He had instead gone after those who would be after the reward instead of just trusting the first person who called in. Now he had to do this the hard way, and yet it was so much easier than relying on the Enforcers. Sure, they did a good enough job with common thugs, but when it came to situations like these, against an actually organized or entirely ruthless foe with tactics that didn't go by the book… well, to put it mildly, they sucked.

'My question is where the SWAT Kats are. Shouldn't they be on this by now?'

He didn't dislike them, really. On the contrary, he appreciated them saving the city. But he didn't exactly publicly acknowledge them. After all, he had a reputation for upholding the law, and if he actually gave his thanks to the SWAT Kats for helping out all those times… well, he would be endorsing vigilantism, wouldn't he? That would make him look bad, and that was what he was afraid of. Not actually giving his thanks, but looking bad.

Yeah, he wasn't really a good mayor. But it would be best if no one told him that.

Still, he wouldn't give up his position any time soon, though even he could admit that if he did, he'd be able to focus more on his golf game and less on being captured or targeted most of the time. Though there was the fact that he was getting far, far too old for it. But once again, don't let anyone tell him, a Manx, that he was getting too old for anything. No, he was going to get himself elected for another term, and that was that.

Unless of course, someone who was politically superior ran against him, in which case he would be absolutely defeated. Politics and propaganda were all he knew. If someone had the equipment and the drive to outlast him in the slugfest that was the election race, and managed to actually do some work in the office…? Manx shivered to think of it. He hoped that Callie didn't get any bright ideas after she was rescued…

* * *

It was still in the midst of the all-too-early morning when she found them. They were still atop the roof top, taking a look at their target while he looked through his scope. It was starting to get boring, seeing as they had been doing this for an hour now. But then, they heard it… the sound of their radios buzzing. "You all still up there?"

What a relief- for a while, they figured she had outright abandoned them. "Yes, ma'am. We've got a visual on the target, and he's a good distance away from us. What's your position?"

They could almost hear the smirk in her voice as Felina responded, "I'm where I can see you. I have the coordinates locked in- both of you are to pull out and get to a safe distance, ASAP. I'll take it from here. Whoever this tom is, he's not getting away from me all that easy. Rendezvous back at headquarters. I'll call in for transport of the suspect once I have him good and locked, copy?"

They were relieved, actually. They could go back and get some rest. It wasn't anywhere near pretty, what was about to happen to this poor sap, but whatever. Better him than them. "Roger that, we'll RTB immediately. Give 'em hell, ma'am."

The transmission was cut. Immediately, they began disengaging their target and moving as quietly as they could from the rooftop. Neither of them noticed what was below them. Dressed in black, red, and blue, was The Lioness, and she had a ferocious grin on her features. They had no idea- and it was best that it remained that way. The Cyclotron was parked somewhere else for the time being, but she could call it by remote.

With that said, it was time to get to work.

'I don't know how many others are here, but I should expect some resistance. Not like it matters. I'm too quiet for them anyways. And as for their radios… well, at the very least, I have something prepared for that.'

With that, she approached the building atop which the sniper was located and opened the cover of her Glovatrix. Above the keypad, there was another set of buttons, three of them. She pressed the leftmost button and sure enough… she saw static. Felina grimaced as she deactivated her visor. Oh yes, the ECMs on the Cyclotron were working perfectly… both to her advantage and disadvantage.

'It took out their radios, _and_ my HUD. Guess there's gotta be a trade off somewhere…'

Still, it wasn't like she needed it now. Silently, she closed the cover and slowly peeked around the corner. She had to retract her head almost immediately as she saw two figures clad almost entirely in black, wearing masks. They were dressed like ninja, but carried _very_ modern weapons. Only one personal army had that characteristic, and she knew right away that she was in the right place.

'Not to mention it smells like blood everywhere… whatever these guys did, they either didn't have time to clean up, or figured it would be a nice detractor for intruders.'

She'd have to distract them somehow, and not just by throwing a rock at them. It would be easier if someone else was here to help, and now she was beginning to regret her impulsive decision to go out alone. She just hoped one of them was awake. Still, she was here, and now she had to do something. Already tired of sitting around, she considered her options. Of course after considering them for the briefest of moments, she immediately decided on one of them.

She whistled sharply. Now the truth of the matter was that she was good at that since she was a kitten, but didn't think she could do it anymore. Then again, she didn't think she could purr, either. The whistle was clear and loud, echoing through the alleyway. They all heard it, including the kat high above. Sound happened to travel pretty damn well in an alley.

The assassin moved himself towards the alley and peered down through his scope… and he saw nothing. He checked the corners of the building adjacent to his own… and saw nothing. Whatever it was, it was none of his business. Down in the alleyway was a whole different story. They had turned the corners to check the origin of the noise, only to find nothing…

But of course, the one that had made the noise was already on her way to the top of the building. The amount of energy she had once again showed itself as she stealthily hopped from one wall to the other. The grappling line or the fire escape would be too loud, and thus she had to do it the hard way. It would also take her much longer, but it was the only way she could think of. Within the next twenty minutes, she was atop the roof adjacent to the one that the sniper was on top of.

'Hoo… part one, finished. No one knows I'm here just yet…'

That was fine with her, though she could have done it the messy way. There was a ventilation shaft that she could hide behind while she planned her next move, and as quietly as she could she moved towards it. Thus far, this impromptu plan was going quite well. Once she made it to her spot of cover, she looked around it… and lo and behold, he was still there, and still oblivious.

Good… this would make things easier. But with him aiming at Callie or any other of the kats below, it wouldn't do well for her to just jump across the roof. So the question was… what now? Well there was one thing… she did bring along a few special-purpose grenades with her. Just one would make her day a bit easier. With that said which one?

'A flash bang is too loud- I still don't know how many of these guys there are, or where. Could be just those two, could be more.'

There was no way to find out… but there was a way to distract them all further. Lioness grinned as she stuck a pair of plugs in her ears, opened up the cover again, and almost immediately hit the second switch, whispering "Better cover your ears," as she did so. Immediately, the sound of a blaring car alarm came from the Cyclotron, which was parked closer than one thought.

The immediate result as she looked back behind cover again was the assassin gritting his teeth, letting go of his gun, and covering his ears. Oh, that was excellent. She suspected the same thing below her. 'All right, now or never!' She pulled the pin, held her breath, and threw. With the assassin effectively distracted by the sonic assault… he never knew where the smoke had come from until it was too late.

'He's blind, deaf, and helpless. It's time to move.'

Felina didn't use her grappling line… she just plain ran towards the gap and jumped it. There was little to no time to get going anyway- it was the only option she had. And it would have worked, too- if she hadn't almost fallen. Barely catching onto the edge, her feet almost slipped from their traction on the wall.

'Shit!!' But she made her way up anyway, leveling her Glovatrix toward the cloud of smoke. More bad news hit her though as she heard the report of gunfire, right at her feet. Hopping to her left, and then rolling in said same direction as three more shots came towards her (she could tell from the flash sightings inside the cloud of smoke, the shield popped open as she rose to one knee. The rest of those shots were immediately caught by the metal plate, some of them deflecting off.

While he shot, she moved forward, shouting, "This was a bad night to go kat hunting, you know!"

Of course, the mercenary thought to himself, 'Damn, how did she sneak up on me? How the hell did she even _know I was here_?' Neither question mattered at the moment, because his sidearm was quickly running low, and he only had one clip, seeing as it was a backup weapon only. 'Damn!'

The smoke wasn't going to clear any time soon- in fact, it would only spread over the roof of the building. The others would probably be coming up the fire escape soon to aid their trump card, but by then it would hopefully be too late. Either that or they were heading over to investigate the noise, and once they found it, she'd be in a world of hurt.

'I have to finish this quickly!'

What she didn't expect was the bastard to leap out of the smoke, abandoning the gun for a bowie knife. With what sounded like a growl, he descended upon her, only to have his knife contact her shield and to feel something cut into his right boot. It was fortunate that he was wearing military-grade leather; otherwise she would have effectively torn into him.

As it was, she moved backwards to reveal… well look at that. She had a machete and a big one. The markings on her flight suit were clear as day now… "_Tch_. I should've known a SWAT Kat would be here. You're not half bad, to get the jump on me. But your little diversion will soon be destroyed… and the Deputy Mayor will die anyway."

Lioness grinned and said, "I wouldn't be too sure of that. Besides, you'll be too sleepy to call in the favor anyway. Now let's finish up before the Enforcers get here, shall we?"

The assassin charged towards Felina again, stabbing towards her face. That was an unfortunate move, because she had her shield- wait, no. He went low, sweeping towards her lead leg to take out her ankle. She was tripped, and he was airborne, ready to descend. Felina's legs came up just underneath him, and he was sent right back where he came from with a powerful kick!

The wind was knocked clean out of him as he flew backwards, but that wasn't the case for long as Felina hopped back up on her feet, retracting the shield as she did so. Soon enough, the hit kat felt something snag onto his right boot. That did not feel too good… and soon he knew why as he came crashing down forcefully back onto the roof again. But Felina was not finished… she began using the newfound leverage she now had to swing him towards the nearest object, which happened to be the ventilation unit.

Before that happened though, he had recovered from his stunned state and cut the line that held onto his right shoe. Sure, he was still sent flying, but she would stumble backwards, possibly fall. And fall she did, dangerously close to the edge. The hit kat recovered in mid-air, his knife ready to play. Lioness sprang up again and whirled her machete dangerously before getting into a fighting stance.

"Okay, now that the warm-up is over…" Lioness said with a grin, "Let's get to it!"

They apparently both had the same idea, because they ran towards each other at the same time and leapt in the middle of their collision course, weapons aimed to cut into the other. Sparks flew as the knife hit the edge of the machete, but when it came to footwork, Felina was faster. Her boots rammed into the assassin, stopping his momentum. She forced him downward and hopped off before she suffered any cuts, getting a good stomp to his face in before she moved away.

That stunned him, again, but he managed to get up.

'I have to get rid of that knife…' And there was only one way to do that without cutting a limb off. While he was recovering, she quickly put her machete away and assumed a defensive stance. She was going to try and disarm him.

He didn't ask why she had put her weapon away- he just moved forward, cutting to Felina's right side. Instinct took over as she moved inside his attack, trapped the arm, and gave him a short right knee. His air was gone yet again. She followed up immediately, moving underneath the arm and putting it behind his back, resulting in a hammer lock. Pain ensues. One final twist of the wrist, and…

"RAAAAAGH!" Yes, that was his reply to that as the knife was dropped. But he rammed his head backward as well, and she got clocked hard. After stunning her effectively, he managed to get himself turned around and ram a fist straight into her face. Well, that would leave a good bruise in the morning. A second punch followed- a right hook. BOOM, she was hit again. He turned with the hook and came in with a side elbow, left arm. Unfortunately, that didn't go anywhere. Felina was fortunate that she was required to wear a helmet at this moment, because the hook had brought her out of the daze she was in. Elbow thus avoided, the hit kat received a right straight to the temple. Oh… and the fact that the Glovatrix was on that had doubled the force.

It wasn't quite lights out yet, but it was a start. The assassin was sent flying, and thus hit the ground quite hard. Unfortunately, he was visited upon immediately after by a kick to his floating ribs. The bad news was the kick easily had enough force to break said ribs, and thus… well, did. His right side would not be in a happy place for the rest of this encounter.

The car alarm still blared- a good sign.

He held his side painfully, willing the burning sensation to just go away for a while so he could kill this bitch. But no- it persisted. Having one's ribs broken was not exactly the most pleasant thing to happen… and neither was having a combat boot pressing that temple that had just been hit into the roof of a building.

"Not bad… but it's over now," Lioness said as the smoke cleared and she deactivated the simulated car alarm. "Whether you like it or not, you are coming with me. There's a lot to discuss…"

But of course, there was always something as he laughed harshly. "You think this is over? It's _far_ from over. I still have my radio… And when Dark Kat hears of this, your little friend in the hospital will be done for. We'll win this anyway."

Lioness grinned yet again. "Maybe I should let you do that. Go ahead, reach for it." She still had her boot on his head, but she let him go for the radio. When he did, and turned it on… "Code seventeen, code seventeen! Activate the countermeasure, now!"

He waited for some kind of response… anything… ten seconds, fifteen, twenty. "Do you read? Answer me, damn it!"

Lioness chuckled and said, "Shame, that… I guess they figured you weren't reliable anymore. Or maybe it's because someone happened to be smart enough to jam your signal." She shrugged and said, "Either way, you're not calling anyone."

She smashed her right foot onto the hand that held the radio, and the hit kat screamed in pain. Not only was his line of communication gone, but he wouldn't be holding anything with that hand for a while. "Don't worry; I'm not going to kill you. I have questions, you have answers. But if you don't answer, I _will_ kill you. And I will make the process… excruciatingly slow."

The last thought he had before Lioness knocked him out cold was that karma was indeed a bitch.

* * *

T-Bone and Razor woke up the next morning to… well, a phone call. It wasn't all that unfair to say that a call at roughly seven in the morning was disturbing, to say the least. Neither of them were technically awake before nine. T-Bone blinked sleepily as he stumbled towards the phone. It wasn't like he had a choice, did he? Any call could be important right now.

"This better be good…" He did not exactly reserve his politeness for this early in the morning. As he picked up the phone, the most he could get out was, "Hello?"

It was Lioness, of all kats. "Awww, what happened to the business-like greeting you usually have? That's a real shame."

T-Bone scoffed and said, "Yeah, well it's too early for that crap. I'm not about to go all nice-tom on someone who calls me this early in the morning. Anyways, this had better be good, or I'm going back to sleep and not answering anything until I get a proper amount of-"

"I got him," was her immediate response. "I've found our assassin."

T-Bone blinked sleepily. Part of his mind was trying to register what she had said, while the other was suddenly wide awake with the news of some kind of progress. "What? I didn't catch that. Say again, Lioness?"

She chuckled and said, "I've_ found_ the tom that's been rubbing out the baddies. He won't tell me who he's working for, but we're far along enough that we've got him to talk about that. He's here at KatGuard, being questioned now. Of course, they've left the ass-kick to me, and I haven't had to go that far to get what I've just told you from him."

T-Bone was wide awake now. "Could this guy be in league with Dark Kat?" That'd be just what they needed. If he was, and he was this far into the game, he _had_ to know something big. But he was never that lucky, at least not when it came to their greatest foe.

However, apparently that wasn't the case today.

"You could say that," she said with a grin, "seeing as I found two of Dark Kat's soldiers with him on the scene. Not to mention his sniper rifle was aimed at a specific trajectory- a certain window located at MegaKat General Hospital. The Enforcers have the ninja kats in custody now, though I doubt they'll get much of anything. Still, if that's not enough incriminating evidence, I don't know what is."

T-Bone snarled and said, "I sure as hell do, though. Find out what he's been up to, and if you can, get him to talk about where Dark Kat is. In the meantime, Razor's found a way to deal with Steele. We're gonna need you again pretty soon, but not until we know where the cocky little bastard is hiding. Soon as you find out, RTB. We're executing the next step of this plan immediately."

Lioness nodded on her end. "Understood… but why aren't you telling me this plan now instead of later?"

T-Bone shrugged and said, "What, you don't trust me? Just get the info out of him by any means necessary, and then get back here. Just as long as you do it before time's up, we'll be good to go. We're one step closer here- and if we get what we need, we can deal with everything at once."

Lioness shrugged and said, "I'm on it. But remember, you promised to fill me in…"

With the conversation over, T-Bone clinched his fist and headed back towards his bed- the one underneath the garage. Oh yes, they had a few spare rooms in their base as well. They were, after all, prepared for just about anything. They were one step closer… now the only question was, how long would the interrogation take?

'Hopefully, it won't take long… because he could stall for _major_ time here!'

The only thing he could do now was trust Lioness… and rest for a bit longer. His rest however, would be much, much easier to come by this time.

'We're almost there, Callie…'

* * *

**Chapter 31: Bed of Nails (Part 4) – **_**Mercenary vs. Mercenary**_

Oh, yeah. That was another dose of awesome from your Fanfiction Mercenary. Dig it! It looks like we're nearing the close here, so I'd like to take this time to thank all of my readers for choosing this story. Couldn't have done it without you guys, and to be honest it's been quite a ride… so far. But listen to me; I'm talking like it's all the way over! No, it's not… I haven't even covered the Metallikats, or Turmoil! And who knows if Dark Kat will survive or not? Time has the answer, and for now time has run out!

Awrite, it's time for some Reviewer Appreciation. Ah, and what's this? New person, new person! **Kodachi Claws**, welcome to the fold! Yeah, it's amazing how there are fans, even now. I couldn't believe the amount of SK fics on here… and many of them were _not_ done well. I decided not only to make a good one, but one that would serve as both an ending to the original, and the beginning of something else. The issue with the TurboKat will be answered soon, I promise. As for the scenes… well, I thank you for being kind enough to tell me this without biting my head off. Come back soon, y'hear?

And now, for the regulars, starting with **Raiden Snake**. I'm sorry that I couldn't get this chapter up quickly enough- my apologies. I hope the opening will be a testament of my… creative writing skills. And yes, let me repeat, this is not the end of the end, but the end of the beginning. And hell, it's not even the end of _this_ story! Next up is **RaidenSilversword**, and woes betide if you think this is the best chapter here. Oh no, it's going to get better. I have ten tons of things cooked up for the SK, and this isn't even the worst of it. Just watch- it's going to get even more explosive! Last but not least, we have **inferno1**. Guy, let me let you in on something. The MSG90 is the military variant of HK's PSG-1. It's _not_ made up. I'm not trying to hate, but you make it sound like I haven't done my research. As for the fillers, you know they're coming. Regardless, thanks for your comment about this being my best arc. Yes, I _will_ find a way to top it. Trust me.

And with that, I leave these final words- DO NOT GO ANYWHERE. We're nowhere near done… I expect this to take quite some time to finish, seeing as I have had SWAT Kats on the brain recently. Yes, the TurboKat will make an appearance in this arc, and in others! The reason, ladies and gentlemen, that I wanted to use it sparingly was because I wanted to pave some new ground. Give the big guy some room to breathe for a bit. Yes, I wanted to test its capabilities against something that was equally bad-ass (see StealthKat), but I wanted to put the emphasis on the characters and not their hardware. Fear not though- the bird of doom will be back in the saddle soon. In fact, it'll be back in the last chapter of this arc! Hold tight!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	32. Bed of Nails Finale

Twelve hours.

It was twelve long, relaxing, satisfying hours of pain. In itself, the statement was a contradiction, but that was the best way that Felina Feral could describe it. She could have literally done what she was doing to the assassin all day. But even she had to get some lunch. With that said, it wasn't all that fun to hear him say go to hell every five minutes she asked, so she made the spaces in between her questions longer. That meant more pain, which meant, psychologically, that he was being assaulted from all sides.

She was just as patient as he was in this kind of thing.

However, after a total of twelve hours, she had cracked the code. He was talking, and what he told her was not good. She managed to retain her facial features, knowing that revealing any trace of shock or worry would destroy the whole process. He told her how the plot to assassinate both Dr. Viper and Hard Drive was elaborately planned since the beginning. He told her what they had been used for, why they had been funded. He told her where Dark Kat was… and how getting in would be near-impossible.

'Clever bastard has taken everything into account, hasn't he? I just hope the guys have something they can glean from this… I already destroyed his radio, so there goes his contact with Dark Kat. Since his signal was jammed, the sound of the signal being cut off wasn't heard on the other end. The only saving grace we have right now,' she thought with half relief and half despair, 'Is that Dark Kat has no idea what the hell is going on up here.'

But it was little consolation. It was one of the most elaborate security setups she had ever heard of, and it wasn't even the half of what this tom wasn't telling her. Still, it was enough to make good on where he was. But with how T-Bone was at this point, it wouldn't be an arrest- it would be a massacre. The only thing he had on his mind was the image of Callie's bruised figure, tortured and barely alive.

He was usually a gentle, understanding, patient kat. She knew that. But as long as that image stayed in his head… it was like putting a red cloth in front of a bull. Best to move out of the way and do not impede his progress.

'Dark Kat may very well die soon.'

Was it all that bad? They would be rid of the worst threat the city had ever known, and the armies that he had built would collapse with the head cut off. That was saying nothing about the criminal underworld- there would be a power vacuum. Someone would have to fill in the gap, but before that took place, it would be quiet for a while. The Enforcers wouldn't have to be so swamped. In essence, the SWAT Kats would be doing their job.

'_I_ would be doing my job,' she added to herself.

Some kats just needed to die.

She was on the phone in less than five seconds, but not before saying, "He's cracked. Return this son of a bitch to his holding cell and contact the Mayor. Tell him to have that reward money ready by tomorrow- we've almost cleaned this one up. Oh, and inform Commander Feral of the situation, would you? I think he's going to want to know why he needs to stay away from that building."

Just as soon as she was out of the main hall and headed for the elevator, she heard T-Bone. "Mission complete," she replied. "The suspect informed us of all there is to know. I'm returning to base ASAP with the information- let's hear this foolproof plan of yours while I drive."

The final stage of the game had begun.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**"You're planning to WHAT!?"

This was what Felina said upon hearing what exactly their brilliant plan was. Brilliant was not exactly the word she would use, but crazy. That was a more suitable word- at least, she thought so. "This is ludicrous. You guys have really gone off of your rocker if you think this has a remote chance of working. And that's not even mentioning how much damage the TurboKat would suffer if we got our ears boxed. There _has_ to be a better way to deal with the Lieutenant Commander!"

T-Bone shrugged and said, "You got a better idea, now's the time to tell me. You and Jake are the ones with the quick thinking- I like my moves to be slow and calculated. Besides, I use what works, and this'll work, crazy as it sounds. Look, we need a distraction- something to get the Enforcers off of our asses while we get to Dark Kat, wherever he's at. What better and bigger distraction than the TurboKat? Of course, we're going to need someone to pilot it…"

She rolled her eyes and said, "And that's where I come in, I know. But honestly, handing ourselves to that waste of space on a silver tray is gonna make us look bad. Especially if their triple-A is on the mark. Those auto cannons are no joke, after all, and if they start using SAMs, the TurboKat is as good as done… that is, if they hit."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow and said, "You make it sound like you can't handle her. Well, are you scared of the cannons, or the jet?"

Felina smirked and said, "Neither. This is just the most insane plan I've ever heard. I wouldn't be surprised if they sent their new F-35 Lightning IIs after us. Not like they'll beat me, but I've seen the specs on one of those. They'll give even the TurboKat a run for its money, and it'll still be a good jet for the Enforcers. It's a shame that there are so few of them. I don't want to wreck their new toys any time soon… toys that could be mine one day."

T-Bone raised his eyebrows and said, "Wait… don't tell me you're planning on going back to the Enforcers someday. I mean, didn't they do something to you too? Besides, your uncle is a real hard-ass, and he's going to be very, very difficult to serve under. But of course, you know that."

Felina said, "I _do_ know. That's why when this is all over, I'm going to work hard and take his place. And when that happens, you two will be free and clear from all debts. I promise. Sound like a good enough deal?"

The big tom smirked and said, "Yeah, only I don't know when it'll ever be over. Still, I'll keep it in the back of my mind. Tell you what- if you still think this plan is crazy after it works, I'll give you a week's worth of ice cream, all on me. Don't ask me what's going to happen if I win- I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

Felina laughed and said, "That ice cream is going to be gone in a few days instead of a whole week! But hey, I'll give Jake the benefit of the doubt on this one… since it was him who thought of it. If the TurboKat crashes though, you owe me more than just ice cream. I'll be there in five- then I'll let you two in on what I know. See you later."

* * *

Commander Feral was not a very happy tom right now. The other two PMCs had been easy enough to silence, but recent reports and the arrests that had been made earlier did not yield anything of importance. The two kats garbed in black had, for better or worse, gone entirely silent once their radios had been stripped of them and deactivated. Since they were not talking, he would have to leave them in the holding cell for some time until everything was cleared for their trip to Alkatraz.

But it appeared that things were not at a close yet.

Immediately after the interrogation came to a close, as per Felina's orders, Ulysses was called and informed of the situation. And to be honest, he didn't like what he had heard one bit. He was angry enough already, but this just plain old added a note of hopelessness to it all. The conversation started out well enough, actually.

"So… he's the one who's responsible for this..." He wanted to beat his ass to a bloody pulp out of principle, were it not for the fact that he already looked like he had seen better days. "What information does he have? Did he tell you where Dark Kat is? If he did, you would do well to speak up… because I could always change my mind about closing down KatGuard."

The two mercenaries looked at each other, and then at Commander Feral. "You don't wanna know what he's been up to… but if you say so. However, it'd do well if you spoke with a bit more… tact. Otherwise, we'll let the operative on this bounty know about your conduct. She won't like it, at all."

Feral gritted his teeth, but hid it behind a neutral expression. Oh yes, he was eating his share of humble pie recently.

"Do… forgive me. The situation is causing some undue tension. Please, tell me whatever you know."

As the explanation began, Commander Ulysses Feral found out why the Enforcers were entirely fucked over, starting with Dark Kat's location. As the conversation progressed, he discovered that their common foe had successfully planned out every step, every single act, and this final maneuver was essentially the end. Or at least, it would have been, were it not for the capture of this very, very vital kat. Which they refused to turn over until this situation was at an end.

But even now, when things were looking up… he was forced to accept the inevitable- Dark Kat was too far gone now, and anyone that approached that location would end up forcing the game to a close. It was just what Dark Kat had planned for. The Enforcers, once again, could do nothing to stop him.

'Well, dammit all to hell…'

He wanted to throw the phone across the length of his office, but he couldn't destroy such a vital piece of hardware. So he sighed, thanked them with a rather kind saying, and hung up. He still wanted to shred something, anything, but damned if he would wreck his own building out of anger. There were just some things that one didn't do.

'Give me a straight-on fight instead of this subterfuge any day. I need Felina back... she handles these situations better than I do.'

If only he knew that she was working on the problem at that very moment.

* * *

Razor was eerily silent as the information was passed on to him and T-Bone. They had been up all day, fine-tuning the TurboKat for Felina's arrival. Indeed, they had thought of this plan earlier, and were getting her ready for her temporary pilot. But now that they heard of that, all action stopped. This was not the best news of the day, and it tied a close second to the worst they had ever heard. "Shit… that's a pretty fortified system they've got. If the Enforcers even manage to get close enough to the elevator, the alarm goes off due to their quite obvious uniforms. Not to mention they don't have the equipment for it, either."

T-Bone sighed and said, "They mostly carry M4A1 carbines and Browning M1911 pistols. That's not gonna fly down there- as far as you've told us, most of the baddies carry HKs. Our Glovatrixes aren't exactly going to be useful down there… And neither are the G-suits." He looked towards Razor and said, "We're gonna have to get ugly."

Razor nodded and said, "Yeah, _really_ ugly. Not like the situation isn't already bad enough. But hey, we've seen worse than this, right? Besides, we used to be Enforcers. Conventional weapons are still good for us- at least, I hope so. We haven't had to use 'em in quite some time."

Felina shrugged and said, "If you two are gonna do it, now's the time. Of course, that means I have to give the Enforcers my display soon. Just hope I don't get any SAMs thrown at me, or else you're going to see one torn-up TurboKat. Not like they'll hit, but it's always a possibility. In any case, what are you two gonna do if this doesn't work?"

T-Bone grimaced and said, "Once again, we're gonna need you for that. You know that Strike Eagle you had in reserve? We're gonna need it just in case things get dicey. This place is a hardened complex- we're gonna need a bunker buster. When things aren't going the way they should, I'll give you a call. You get out of the air, on the ground, and paint the building with your laser designator. The rest will be up to that F-15E."

Felina blinked in confusion. "What? Wait a minute, you guys sound like you want to do this with you still inside… please don't tell me that's the case."

Razor scratched the back of his head and said, "Hey, we're just full of crazy plans today." Felina was about to say something when Razor swiftly intercepted her. "Look, if this whole thing goes south… you're gonna have to get it done with or without us outside. Hell, we just might lay the damn thing to waste anyway, just to spite Dark Kat. Not to mention if he lives through all this, he'll have one less place to run to."

The former Lieutenant bit her bottom lip. She was now convinced that they were both entirely crazy. But there was no way around it, was there? She had her job, they had theirs. And besides, this was an excellent way to prevent this compound from falling into the wrong hands.

"It doesn't have to come to that. You'll make it- I know you will." Felina smiled as she headed towards her locker. "Never thought I'd be flying the TurboKat… but hey, if it'll get the Enforcers off of us, then why not? Besides, squaring off against all those F-35s will be a fun time. That is, if I can get them to play with me."

T-Bone smirked and said, "Just hang around for long enough so we can get in. Once we do, shake your pursuers and RTB. We'll call you again just in case we need the air strike."

And with that plans were underway. In the first time in recorded history, Felina… no, the Lioness… would fly the TurboKat. To be perfectly honest, she was excited, nervous, scared of the jet that cast an ominous shadow over her. But as she put her helmet on, her brown eyes narrowed to slits. No, she was not going to be scared of it… it was another jet, just another jet. It handled like one, it flew like one.

Except that it had an extra engine, tighter handling, was capable of a maximum of… last she checked, enough speed to escape the planet's gravity? No, she wouldn't think about that. Her bravado was quickly ebbing. 'What am I doing? This is the craziest plan _ever_!'

She shook her head to clear it of the worries that were starting to build up and simply leapt upwards into the cockpit. If one is afraid, that means they have hesitated too long. At least, that was her philosophy. But she wasn't afraid of any foe… she was afraid of losing; of failing. If she failed, the Enforcers would be free to exert their efforts where they certainly were not needed.

'I can't let that happen. I have to stall them!'

As the lift reached the hangar proper, all systems were active and set and she cycled through the auxiliary weapons panel. The weapons load out wasn't all that bad, really. It was just that most of them were still non-lethal… well, most of them. There were a few that were promising, at the very least. Maybe she could very well use them to her advantage.

'Right… I can do this. I think…'

Lioness was now down at the staging area. She could see the false floor opening just at the end, and tried to relax. She had never flown this damn thing before, but she'd make the most of it. At least, she'd try to… With that thought, the she-kat punched the throttle to full. "TurboKat is lit!"

She prayed that she wouldn't crash the damn thing as the engines came to life. As it charged forward like the hungry beast it was, she had to fight the urge to close her eyes. It was just like that roller coaster… and then, her eyes widened. That was it… that was how she should think of it. The grimace turned into a grin. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

'That is, until I get to Enforcer Headquarters, where they'll be _shooting_ at me.'

But whatever, that was just part of the ride.

* * *

Callie woke up that evening.

Everything was still in a haze, and for all of fifteen seconds, she didn't know where she was. In fact, she could almost swear that she was back in her house, in her bed, sleeping happily next to Chance. A small smile made her lips curl just before she came to, and the pain came back. The smile turned into a twisted expression of pain, though that only lasted for a moment. Painkillers were such a wonderful thing, weren't they?

'Oh, now I remember.'

She wanted to forget, and go back to that feeling of momentary peace that she had just fifteen seconds ago. As it was now, she was feeling crabby and didn't want anyone visiting her. The last thing she needed was noise. But of course, something always came up. And around her, it was mostly something bad. So it was that when she moved her head slightly, she felt something strange.

The itch between her shoulder blades fired up, and her eyes widened.

'What… what the hell is that!?'

Whatever it was, she decided that she did not like it. Part of her had to know, but the other part thought that it was best left a mystery for a good, long while. She slowly turned her head back towards the ceiling and quickly formed a mantra in her mind. 'Go back to sleep, go back to sleep, go back to sleep…'

Problem: The more she chanted, the more awake she was.

'Ugh… okay, okay. Just clear your mind of thoughts. Don't think about what might be underneath your skin, possibly crawling its way up your neck. Just breathe. Don't think that it might be a needle or anything, or some kind of…'

Damn, the itch between her shoulder blades again. Her mind was a mess as her body informed her that yes, that's exactly what it was. To keep herself from outright screaming… she did not think. She breathed. It was far more difficult this time, seeing as fear coursed through her veins. She wanted to run from this room, but she couldn't move. She wanted to beat the shit out of something, but she couldn't move.

So she breathed.

Her inane thoughts continued darting about, her fear giving them hummingbird wings. She breathed, and one after another, they stopped moving. Two minutes later, they began to disappear. Finally, after five minutes, she was calm again. Well, not calm… not yet. Neutral was a better word. She was in control of herself, and that was a good step forward.

Now… what to do about this bomb in her neck…

The answer immediately came to her after she had asked. It wasn't too odd for her anymore. There was _nothing_ she could do. For some reason or other, she was not bothered by this. It was inconsequential in the long run, and so she didn't worry about it. She decided to give herself, not a thought, but a command. It was simple, easy.

'Go to sleep.'

Ten seconds later, she was asleep again.

The mind was an amazing thing, really. If one could train it to the point where the running commentary was silenced, eliminate the thoughts of the past and future, anything was possible. One could plan, strategize, do whatever needed to be done before hand, but when it came time to act, one could act without hesitation.

Callie wasn't exactly in the mood to think about anything right now- she was too busy sleeping. And to be honest, that wasn't so bad. She felt that she would need it. But as soon as the trepidation rose, it melted away again. No, everything would be all right if she waited.

No matter how long it took.

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Steele was just about fed up with all this waiting. It was the second night that he spent hopelessly searching the skies for the TurboKat, when he could just as well be asleep. Not to mention that he had heard about the news with Dark Kat just a few minutes ago. 'What the hell are we doing then? We're just sitting ducks out here for him!'

Still, the order to hold off the SWAT Kats had not been rescinded yet, and he planned to take his current frustrations out on someone. Of course, just as soon as he thought that…

"Sir, we got a hit!"

Steele's ears perked up. "What is it, soldier? Did you actually get something on radar this time besides a fly?"

The technical officer at the radar nodded vigorously and said, "Oh, we got a fly all right… but it's a big one. Whoever it is, they're heading here fast-"

And just as soon as he began, his sentence was cut off by the noise of engines overhead. Steele looked upwards, the wind tearing past his features. It was said that evening that he could be seen with a manic grin on his face. "So they finally show up… ready air defenses! Prep all fighters for takeoff! I want that damn thing shot down, NOW!"

Unfortunately for Steele, he wouldn't be getting what he expected. There was only one SWAT Kat flying the TurboKat, and she was not about to get caught any time soon. Looking behind and below her, Lioness smirked and said, "Amazing what a pompous ass like you is capable of, Steele. You don't even know what's really going on." And then, her alarms began sounding off as she was painted by radar.

She grinned. "Guess there's no time to brag… let's party!"

A pair of Phalanx close-in weapon systems rose up from the flight deck, aiming towards the TurboKat. Once again, a pair of 30mm auto cannons began spraying fire towards the black jet. And seeing as the Enforcers were technically the good guys, she couldn't fire back. Still, this was a good time to prove, once and for all, that the SWAT Kats were indeed better than the Enforcers.

"Entirely clueless," she said to herself as she darted around like some kind of deranged fly, the vectoring nozzles of the F-119 engines working as they should. "I suppose they'll want to bring out the bigger guns for me now? Those aren't going to hit either. Come on, Steele… make it interesting."

And on the ground, the Lieutenant Commander's grin turned into a ferocious snarl. "What the hell… Why won't you fire back, damn you? Sit still and die if you're not going to fight!" He turned towards the radar chief and said, "Ready the big guns! I'm going to pulverize the TurboKat, and this time for good!" With that, he looked towards the sky again and muttered, "You're going to pay for humiliating me…"

With that, the pair of 40mm anti-aircraft cannons were loaded and aimed. Pretty soon, both barrels of both guns were firing, attempting to track the TurboKat as it moved through the air like a bat out of Hell. Arguably, a few shots got close. "Mmm… those aren't too bad, really… or maybe it's just Steele trying to be impressive." Of course, she saw one of them fly dangerously close to the cockpit and grimaced. "You're starting to piss me off…"

It was all of two minutes before the guns stopped firing. Lioness smiled and said, "Out of ammo already? Shame… it's going to take you a bit to reload…" Then her alarms went off again, and what she saw did not make her happy. "Crap… I knew that would come sooner or later. "A SAM battery was painting her… and soon, her radar warned her that they had opened fire.

"Shit, just what I need!" Two missiles were inbound, and they were coming in hot! "Fine, you wanna play that way? Then let's play." With that, Lioness turned the throttle to full and started hauling ass. Apparently, they had either reloaded, or decided to continue firing, because she was alerted once again. "These guys just don't quit, do they? They must think this is their lucky night," she said with a sly smirk as she pulled into the vertical.

The guns tracked her, but she was moving out of their range quite quickly. Of course, those missiles were still an issue… but she didn't hear anything from her warning receiver until… "Oh, holy hell… they're a couple of Fox Threes!" Knowing what that meant (and also knowing that the ECMs in the jet would do jack shit), Lioness immediately hit the decoy button on the flight stick and sliced left, trying to break off. Three chaff packages were cracked open as she pulled some Gs… and laughed as she watched them zip right by her, exploding as they hit the chaff areas.

"Oh, this is _fun_. But I think it's about time that I wrapped this up…"

She just hoped that they had made it in by now. Lioness didn't know how long she could keep this up… and of course, she found that the radar warning receiver went off again. "I don't think I'm going to get much sleep this evening." With that, more missiles were on their way...

* * *

They had decided not to go in by any conventional means. No, that would only get them killed and Callie as well. There was a way, but it would require getting rid of all their previous tricks. The first thing of course, was to insert themselves behind enemy lines. This would mean acquiring two enemy outfits and their weapons. Not to mention they had to fit, too.

Discomfort would ruin the disguise.

But who was there with their exact size and build? Well as far as they knew, there could be no one, so they had to come close. With that, the first step was to get within range of their base of operations in the old warehouse district. The bad news was that they had to do this without the Cyclotron, the TurboKat, or any of their other vehicles.

It was a good thing then that the Delta Pack was not a vehicle, per se. They had quite a few of them, and this one happened to have been used twice: the jetpack that they were using now. Flying high over the city, they both had their visors over their eyes, heads-up-displays activated. It was fortunate that the fuel reserves could last for several hours- two days in total, if the flying was non-stop.

"We're coming up on the coordinates now, T-Bone," Razor said though the built-in radio in his oxygen mask. "The landing zone is just a ways from the target. These guys could be everywhere, though… Lioness only gave us the coordinates; she didn't give us the troop movements or size."

T-Bone shook his head and said, "Well that's the best she could do, circumstances permitting. It's good enough- we have a building to infiltrate. Now all we have to do is do it. Get ready to increase altitude and cut engines on my mark."

What they were going to do, of course, was entirely insane. There was a reason they had oxygen masks on. Not to mention they were connected to the Delta Packs, which happened to have oxygen reserves inside. They weren't within range of the LZ yet, but they didn't know whether or not there were radars in the vicinity. Since they were a mile high, radar couldn't touch them, but… they had to be sure. Thus, the Delta Packs were once again about to be tested to their limits.

"You sure they can go that high?" T-Bone asked again. "I don't want 'em to break apart!"

Razor nodded and said, "I'm sure. Let's get moving!"

And thus, they went vertical. One mile turned into two within the course of three minutes, and then two turned into three. Within the space of under ten minutes, they were fifteen thousand feet in the air… and then went higher. Five minutes later, they were at twenty-five thousand feet, and the Delta Packs had not suffered just yet. "Not bad," T-Bone said, "But now here's the tricky part. Once we're near the insertion point, cut the engines."

"I know," Razor said with a grimace, "And I _still_ don't like it! We're doing a HALO without a jet or any kind of plane, just because we know jack shit about their radar capabilities. What's more, we can't take the Cyclotron, the Thunder Truck, or anything else because of that same fact. It's both a good idea, and the worst idea I've ever thought of!"

T-Bone grinned behind his oxygen mask. "Crazy is _good_ for us! No one expects it! Prepare to cut power in ten seconds…"

They were close now… close enough for radar to smell them. That was, if there was any. If there were radar installations, they would have a hell of a welcoming party at the LZ. If not, or if there were very few, their insertion would be relatively silent. Either way, the plan was pretty much set. There was no turning back.

"Four… three… two… one… cut the engines!"

They did, and then they aimed themselves straight down. For the next two minutes, T-Bone and Razor would dive head first into hell, literally. Reaching approximately one hundred and thirty miles per hour within seconds, they were attempting what no one else had dared try. Fortunately for them, not only were there no air defenses to speak of, but they were also virtually undetected by the radar placements. And yes, they were there. Were they not, any ol' aircraft could just fly over and bomb the place without notice.

At three thousand feet, they leveled off and began subtly navigating themselves towards the landing point. From there, it was a matter of deploying the parachute and steering it home. And look at that. Just below them, no one in sight. Then again, it was night time… they might not see these goons until it was too late.

When they were right above their drop point, they disengaged the parachutes and landed solidly, skidding a ways on the moment of impact. Slowly, they rose up from their crouched positions, making sure that no one had heard them, and began moving over to the nearest warehouse. Without their Glovatrixes, it would be difficult to defend themselves against multiple opponents- or at least, more troublesome than usual.

Still… they were in, and so far, they were undetected.

They began making their way toward the nearest empty warehouse- or at least, they hoped so- activating their night vision instead of the HUD. With near-silent steps, they checked the corners, the boxes, and behind everything they could. As far as they knew, this place was clean. With that, they began undoing their gear- the Delta Pack first, disconnecting the oxygen masks before taking them off. After that, the masks themselves were taken off as well, and thrown almost carelessly to the ground.

Finally, their radios were activated, and the call was sent.

"Lioness, the surprise package has arrived," Razor whispered. "Disengage, ASAP."

"A little busy here," an irritated she-kat responded, "But I'll try my best. They're shoving SAMs up my ass, and I'm running out of chaff. ECMs are out- they're using Slammers. Shit, hold on-"

They heard gunfire over the radio, and T-Bone wanted to cry out, see if she was all right, and then had to hold back his sigh of relief. "Fuckers… I have half a mind to shoot 'em, good guys or no. I'm aborting engagement and returning to base now. Hope Steele has a good-sized headache when he hears the news…"

T-Bone responded this time. "Copy that. We're going operational- radio contact is zero. Weapons and equipment are now procured on-site. Take care of our Glovatrixes, will ya? As soon as we get a stable communications position, we'll contact you again."

Lioness, in the TurboKat, nodded and said, "Just let me know when you get lonely. I know I sure as hell will be without Jake here. Give 'em hell."

The transmission was cut. With that, they left their helmets on. They couldn't exactly get to the marked position without them, could they? And thus, the hunt for a decent uniform and a pair of good HK weapons was on. But it was strange… the first few places they checked, there was nothing. Absolutely no one to be found…

Razor checked the ECM device that he wore on his right wrist, and it was working. That was good. If it fucked up now, they were all done. The small wrist watch looking scrambler that he had hastily built was the lynch pin. If it failed, Callie was dead.

But thoughts about that had to be silenced for the time being, as T-Bone raised his left fist. Razor stopped immediately as they both halted at a corner. The big tom peeked around and quickly retracted his head. Ah, there they were. He turned toward Razor and put two fingers up, then pressed his back against the wall again.

'Wait for it…'

They had just about rounded the corner, when it happened. T-Bone and Razor ambushed them, quickly landing several strikes to their opponents. In a matter of seconds, the two ninja kats were disabled entirely. After checking their weapons and equipment, they found that they had gotten lucky. "These will do for now… come on, let's get them out of the way."

And with that, they had successfully gotten themselves a pair of outfits… well, at least one for Razor. T-Bone was a bit of a problem… they hadn't found anyone for him yet. Still, what the guy had on him was good enough- an HK 416 with a fourteen inch barrel, a SOCOM pistol, and a nice handy radio. The 416 had a laser sight and an IR scope- two things which were needed this evening. The SOCOM had a tactical light attached to it, which wasn't half bad in any situation.

"Cover me, I'm gonna try this on," Razor whispered as he backed around the corner again, giving his big buddy the handgun. T-Bone tested it out in his right hand, feeling the weight of it. When was the last time he had to use one of these? It had been a while… and he wanted to fire off a few rounds just to see if he still could. Realizing what he was thinking, he shook his head and laughed.

'Listen to me, thinking like an old kat. I can do this.'

After all, twenty-seven wasn't old yet. Just as the thought came to him, a voice behind him said, "I'm done here. It's good to go." T-Bone turned around and his automatic reactions almost kicked in, but then he remembered it was only Razor in disguise. "A bit too convincing, guy…"

Razor would have grinned if it weren't for the mask he wore. "Then it works." He took the hand cannon from the big tom and holstered it, then said, "We're gonna have to get you one. Unfortunately, that's not gonna be easy. And we can't exactly kill anyone yet- it'd be a mess if someone found something wrong out here."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow and whispered, "You mean you don't mind that we're here to put some caps in skulls? Thought you didn't want to kill. I mean, neither do I, but…"

Razor shook his head and said, "We used to be Enforcers, T-Bone. Never thought we'd have to use all that training again, but it looks like it's coming in handy. Besides, it's us or them, and I'd prefer us, and Callie, to get out of this in one piece."

The bigger kat nodded and said, "Then let's get this over with so we can get the hell outta here. You still got it?"

Razor lowered the glove on his right hand slightly, revealing the ECM. "I still got it. And it's still in working order. Once we get enough info to find out where Dark Kat is holed up down there, we turn this little sucker on when it's in range, and anything electronic will be fried. Including…"

T-Bone grinned. "…Detonation switches. What would I do without you, Razor?"

"Die several times over," the slim tom said in an almost matter-of-fact tone. "Now let's move, before someone spots us- I mean you."

Two minutes later, they found their second victim, another two-kat patrol. Before T-Bone could act, Razor raised his right hand in a signal to hold back. Apparently, he had an idea.

The two ninja kats finished their patrol section, but when they turned around, they were surprised to find someone behind them. However, they were neatly fooled by the disguise and relaxed visibly. "What's the status of the perimeter?" One of them asked.

Razor replied smoothly, as if it were another routine patrol. "Status is green. No activity whatsoever… for now, at least. I expect something to go down soon, however. You can never be too careful." If only they knew. The two of them replied in agreement… and then, one of them noticed he was without a partner. "Where is your patrol mate?"

Razor, in disguise, shrugged and said, "Went to take a leak… at least, the last time I saw him. He's been gone for far too long, however. I doubt that it's interference from anyone, but it's best that someone come along with me, just in case."

After looking at each other for a moment, they nodded and the bigger kat (the one that was closer to T-Bone's proportions), said, "Understood. We'll both come, just in case."

Well that was good- hopefully, the big guy wasn't adverse to concussions, because he was about to get a good one. Since the slim, thin kat wasn't exactly needed, Razor had to figure out what to do with that one… but before that, first things had to come first. So as they all rounded the corner where T-Bone was at, that was the point where he attacked. The target of course, was the big tom that was his size, weight, et cetera. But he went for the skinny one first, out of principle.

Thought it took a bit longer than the first engagement, they were both taken out. One radio was entirely disabled while the other was left intact, and soon two more unconscious kats were put somewhere that they couldn't be easily seen. Extra time was taken to dismantle a few weapons and destroy a radio, but all in all it was a good night thus far.

T-Bone had a standard G36 rifle, with a USP as backup. The G36 only had a red dot sight piggybacking the standard optical sight, but it had the firepower of an under-slung grenade launcher. As for the ninja garb… well, it was good enough for him. At least the whole damn thing was working…

With that, they made their way towards the building in question, without the use of their heads-up displays. Of course, it made it difficult to get there… but difficult was not an issue. All they had to do was walk around in the uniforms they had stolen and with the weapons they had procured, and they were good to go.

After about twenty more minutes of searching for the proper building, they saw two ninja kats guarding a specific warehouse. Apparently, this was the place… but the question was how to get past. No one could just walk in, apparently, even if they were on the same side. But then they noticed that their radios were being turned to a specific frequency… and as Razor checked through a pair of binoculars that he had stripped from the guard that this suit belonged to, he took note of which one it was.

"They're doing an IFF check. Switch to channel seven on your radio," he whispered.

He did so without a word and the two of them approached the guards. The check was passed with little trouble, and almost no words. The warehouse that they were in was mostly empty, devoid of even boxes. Still, there was a cargo elevator at the back, and just above it, a pair of cameras. Watching closely as two kats approached, they noticed that the elevator automatically opened when the proper combination of equipment and uniform was displayed, a green light above the car blinking before the doors parted. Someone down there had control of that elevator…

But it didn't matter. What did matter was that they get inside.

And so, as the car vanished from view, they waited for their point of entry…

* * *

Commander Feral stood in front of Steele, his arms folded and his right foot tapping impatiently. "I need for you to explain to me what all that noise was for if the TurboKat is not in pieces. I was counting on you to keep that damn thing out of the sky… and you come up with nothing?"

Steele couldn't come up with a good enough excuse, really. He stood at attention anyway and said, "Sir, they took extreme evasive maneuvers and deployed countermeasures... To be honest, I've never seen any jet move like that before. The thrust-to-weight ratio on that bird has to be through the roof. And I swear, they've upgraded their engines, too… they were just too dodgy, sir."

Feral placed a hand on his forehead and said, "Had I not known about this fact myself, you would be fired right now. But where are they now? Did they just run off or something? And why is there not any property damage? I've come to expect that from them by now."

Steele smirked and said, "They ran off, sir. We seem to have chased them away, at least. Just proves that they're a bunch of cowards, anyway. Next time, they won't run."

Feral raised an eyebrow and said, "You mean they just… gave up?" Alarm bells went off in his head. The SWAT Kats never, ever gave up… something was wrong here. "How long did it take for them to break engagement? What time did you cease fire?"

Steele began to sweat. Where was he going with this? "Um… approximately 10:47 PM, sir. They arrived about… I dunno, one hour earlier? Didn't return fire, just dodged and played chicken with our missiles. I don't see where you're going with this, sir."

Feral growled and said, "Did you give chase?"

Steele cringed and said, "No, sir. Didn't think it was necessary. They were moving away from the combat zone at too high of a-"

His sentence was cut off with a hand around his throat. Ulysses was pissed off once again, and yet his mind was perfectly clear. "I changed my mind… clean out your locker."

Steele managed to croak out a confused, "Sir?"

Feral got right into his face and said, "The reason is quite simple. You did not use every means at your disposal to rid me of those vigilantes. I said to keep them out of the sky, and I damn well meant it. I don't pay you to think- I pay you to _follow orders_. I try to be nice about it and not tell you how to do your job, but I expect you to actually DO it. Apparently, nice does not work with you."

'Not to mention,' he brooded to himself, 'That you haven't realized yet that you've been duped.'

The TurboKat was a distraction. He knew it now… otherwise, they wouldn't have shown up when they had. Apparently, they were afraid that the Enforcers would catch on to whatever they were doing, and so decided that if they wanted the SWAT Kats, or more specifically the TurboKat, they would damn well get it. Not to mention that whoever was flying, engines or not, upgrades or not, was a damn fine pilot to successfully evade the formidable air defenses of Enforcer Headquarters.

'They found a way in… shame that we can't follow them. Shame I have such a piss-poor Lieutenant!'

"I'll say it again," Ulysses Feral said with narrowed eyes, "Clean out your locker. You have half an hour before I kick you out on your ass."

Steele had been humiliated again. As soon as Feral let go of him and he regained his breathing, the disgraced Enforcer slowly stood, snapped to attention, and saluted. "Yes, sir." His heart wasn't in it anymore. And with that glare that he was being given, his heart was starting to falter even more. He couldn't help but be angry at the SWAT Kats yet again for this, and as he headed down towards the locker room, he had the sourest expression on his face.

'I'll never forgive you for this.'

* * *

When T-Bone and Razor had finally gotten into the elevator, they were amazed at how expansive the underground complex was. It was an elaborate network of tunnels from the central area, and here they could see at least two cameras in the area. "Damn… so much for the loud route. And here I was hoping that we'd be able to make some noise. Too bad we don't have silencers yet," the big tom whispered with a grimace.

Razor shrugged and said, "Then I suppose that we'll just have to get some. There has to be an armory somewhere around here. In the meantime, just act like you usually do. These guys won't notice a thing when we're wearing their suits and carrying their ordinance. There could be some commanding officers amongst them as well though, so act accordingly."

T-Bone would have rolled his eyes, were it not for the mask. "Yeah, yeah…"

The elevator was down on the ground floor. It was recon time. As they approached each camera, they were constantly tracked and monitored, mindful that every corner may have an eye looking from it. Anything that was strange or unacceptable would be punished with discovery, and then death. They had to get moving, and quickly, to somewhere that had a layout of the area. And the closest place to that would be the security room.

However, it wasn't quite as simple as that…

As they walked in, they were pretty much surrounded by ninja kats at their monitoring stations, each observing the situation in the various hallways. Apparently, they had no idea of what was going on up top, as far as T-Bone and Razor saw here. Still, there were a lot of them. Quietly and without hesitation, they looked for something that served as a map.

'Can't rely on the screens… is there something around here that would make for a good…' T-Bone placed a hand on Razor's shoulders and pointed towards the far end of the room, where there were no screens at all. It was a floor plan of the bunker- and man was it an elaborate one. Still, the more detail it had, the more information they could get.

What was odd was that there was one room called the study…

'They have a library down here? What the hell…'

Never mind that though- they found the armory pretty well, and Razor took the time to memorize the path they had to walk. It only took all of fifteen seconds before he nodded, and the two of them began exiting the room again. The ninja kats were so busy monitoring the various cameras that they hardly noticed them walking out again.

With a bit more confidence now, they headed towards the armory, walking as they normally would in their own base. So far, the casual approach was working. These guys certainly felt safe in their own back yard; though it wouldn't be safe for long if the SWAT Kats had their way. The armory of course, was guarded- but it appeared that those with a proper reason for being there would be let in.

"State your business," The guard to the left said in a deadpan voice.

T-Bone answered with that same deadpan, which he used often with other kats, "Re-arm. We also need suppressors for our weapons- we've noticed a few odd things during our patrols up top and want to make sure no one knows we're here."

The guard to the right nodded and said, "Head in, but make it quick. You have five minutes."

The guard to the left hit a button on the wall, and the door opened up. They walked in and were met with a veritable paradise of rifles, handguns, shotguns, ammunition, and attachments. They didn't take much time to admire the scenery, though- they got themselves one silencer each, extra magazines for when things got ugly, and a pair of night vision goggles. They would probably need them sooner or later.

With that, they exited in no more or less than sixty seconds, looking armed to the teeth.

"Thanks," T-Bone said in that same deadpan voice. "We'll report our findings as soon as we're done."

They didn't head toward the elevator right away, however… no, that wasn't their goal in the first place. What the goal was, to be honest, was to neutralize Dark Kat. And with that, they began heading towards the study, looking prepared to go all out. First however, they had to get in… and that was a more difficult task than entering the compound.

There were no cameras, but there were two security measures in place. The first was an id scanner. Apparently, the proper security clearance was needed for this room, which told one something already. The second was, of all things, a retinal scanner. There was a security room- why not a computer database?

And wouldn't you know it… that place had an id scanner as well. Just not a retinal scanner, so they were good to go on that. And look at that, their cards had the proper level of clearance. With that, the doors opened, and they were in a dimly lit room with, surprise, surprise- no cameras. There was a multiple-screen console near the far end of the room, as well as several ninja kats patrolling the area.

They each moved behind a mainframe and checked their respective corners. The time for being socially stealthy was over now- they were in tactical mode. It wasn't going to be pretty if they ended up capturing one and the rest of them radioed in. All but one had to go down.

"What's it look like, Razor?" T-Bone whispered. The slim tom responded with, "Techie at the end of the room has gotta be our guy. Guards so far are three… no, five. I count five on my end."

T-Bone nodded and said, "Same on my side… ten plus a possible CO. No problem. This'll be a good time to test that ECM emitter you've got on you. Weapons free, haul ass on my go."

Razor nodded and activated the wrist device. Of course, the computer began fouling up, and the techie jumped in surprise. He looked bored as hell for a moment, but now he was wide awake. "Shit. Work, you stupid piece of crap… If this damn thing fucks up, we lose all our data."

T-Bone didn't shout, but he did make it clear it was time to move. "Go!!"

They moved. The first two guards didn't even know what hit them as the sound and flash suppressors did their assigned jobs. There wasn't much that was heard besides the sound of the slides working back and forth, and before a reaction was triggered, kats were dead. Of course, by the time the others realized what was going on… four were down and seven were left.

They tried their radios. Radios were disabled. Someone was using ECMs.

The rest of them immediately went into tactical mode, including the techie. From there, it turned into a game of hide-and-seek amongst the mainframes. The only bad news was that social stealth came in handy here… because they were wearing their uniforms, T-Bone and Razor were damn near undetectable.

Example: they were seen scouting the area and told to halt their progress. "Freeze! Safeties on and turn around slowly." They complied, and the ninja kat lowered his weapon. "Huh… reinforcements, I see. You two certainly were quick about it… safeties off and listen up. We got four down and an unknown assailant. Radios are jammed, so we're on our own. Stay alert at all times, copy?"

They both nodded and Razor replied, "Copy that. We'll gun 'em down and report to Dark Kat immediately."

The ninja kat nodded and said, "Good tom. Get to work."

And then, as soon as he turned his back… a three round burst was buried in his head. There was no talking from him during this- he just died quietly. T-Bone and Razor then split up, the ECM device still going strong. The door was also electronically operated… and it was automatically locked when the device was activated. No way out, no room for error.

One kat was suddenly attacked from the front as he rounded the corner, the sound of a silenced SOCOM pistol the last then he even heard. Six remained. Two more were cut down by a spray of automatic fire, and then executed while they were down. Four remained.

"What the hell is this!? They're fucking _everywhere_," The technical officer whispered as the other three ninja kats surrounded him in a defensive triangle. The room smelled of blood now, but somehow the mainframes were unharmed. It was something out of a horror story or a war journal- someone was in here, and they were highly trained, armed to the teeth, and out for blood.

"This is bullshit… Find them and kill them, whoever they are. _Go_!"

Eleven had turned into four, but now they were in desperation mode, which meant they were extremely organized, very wary, and knew by now that there could possibly be two kats in their own uniforms gunning for them. However, so far there was nothing… which was strange in itself. Two kats were patrolling on the outskirts, slowly making their way through the string of lifeless bodies. They had paid attention to every detail.

Of course, something always goes wrong… and when they passed over a certain dead kat, they soon found out that the tom wasn't dead as he slowly got to his feet behind them. T-Bone aimed the silenced G36 at them, peered through his scope, and fired off two quick three round bursts. Two more tangos down.

As for Razor, he was somewhere else entirely. Not on the ground, but somewhere higher up. During all the commotion, he had managed to get on top of one of the mainframes and hang out there. He didn't dare breathe for not wanting to be found as the two remaining ninja kats finally passed underneath him. Neither of them looked up. They were both checking the corners, the angles, the front and back.

Easy enough to get a silenced round into the very top of the guard kat's head, and now there was one left. "Pretend you're a sculpture for a minute, guy." He stopped cold, and realized that it was quiet- far too quiet. He was the only one left- the only one still armed, and yet he could do nothing about it.

"Who the hell…"

T-Bone pressed his silenced rifle against the back of the ninja kat's head and said, "We're nightmares, vengeful ghosts that are here to take back what's theirs. Follow me?"

The ninja kat nodded as Razor checked his id card. "Yeah, this is the one. For a second there, I thought we'd have gotten him during the firefight. Not like it was much of a fight…" The gun was pointed right back at the tom's face. "Don't move now… that pesky radio has to go." And it went quickly as T-Bone utterly crushed it in his left hand, disabling it handily. Good thing they were wearing gloves, or that would have hurt.

"Now listen up," the bigger tom continued whispering. "You're gonna get us to Dark Kat, one way or the other. You cooperate, you're not dead. You don't and we'll make your last few seconds painful. Are we on the same page here?"

The ninja kat nodded again. He was too scared to talk at the moment.

T-Bone nodded. "Razor, I need you to cut the ECMs and contact Lioness via that computer there. I'm sure our good friend here won't mind. Make it quick- the other radios will be active and someone will more than likely be checking in. We have to get this done, now."

Razor nodded and deactivated the wrist ECM. The computer had rebooted itself successfully, and within ten seconds it was online. "Fucking password security… there's always a way, though." With that said, Razor began to brute force his way through the password protection. "This might take a while… we'd better split up from here. Take that guy to the study and get him to open up those doors. Here…" Razor took off the ECM and tossed it to his big buddy. "Just press that red button there to activate it. It's up to you to take Dark Kat down while I call in that air strike."

Upon hearing this, the ninja kat's eyes widened behind the infrared goggles. "What? Did you say air strike!?"

T-Bone smirked and said, "Like I said, we're vengeful ghosts. This place is goin' bye-bye either way. Get on it, Razor. We'll rendezvous at the elevator when we're done, copy?"

Razor nodded, his fingers working furiously. "Copy that. I'll work as fast as I can here… just kick his ass!"

With that, they parted ways. T-Bone made his way back down the hallway, once again looking rather normal. "Act like you normally would, or I'll ventilate you," he whispered into the captive kat's ear. "Now, let's go pay Dark Kat a visit, shall we?"

* * *

Lioness was busy in the Reflex Room, moving through the various obstacles and attempting to better both her time and her score. Vaulting and flipping this way and that, avoiding mechanical arms and spikes, the she-kat was a blur as she executed maneuvers and fired her Glovatrix at the various challenges that came her way. It wasn't too bad, actually- her time was indeed improving.

'Just a bit more and I'll be able to beat my personal best…' Or at least, that was what she thought she would be doing. However, her phone went off just then, and the radio in her helmet buzzed happily. "Bad timing, whoever the hell you are…" She ran through the gauntlet of needles, hoping that she wouldn't get impaled as she activated her uplink. The heads-up visor came down over her eyes, even as she crossed the balance beams.

_Razor to Lioness,_ her heads-up display flashed, _Foothold established._

She almost slipped and fell, but managed to be aware of what she was doing. As she crossed the tape and took a look at her time, Lioness clinched her right fist in victory, both at her comrades getting in and at her new personal best. "Damn, this is a good night."

She pulled her phone out of the holster it rested in and replied with, _Roger that, Razor. What luck?_

_Status is green_, he replied, _but we need a fire mission, pronto. T-Bone's got the package and is heading for the drop-off point and I'm over here sending this message. Might not be here for long- give me the ETA on that fire mission once you call it in. I'll try and hold my position here for as long as I can._

Lioness nodded and quickly keyed in her response. _Wilco. I'm expecting it to take anywhere from ten minutes to five, depending on prep time. I'm calling it in now, so once the HVT is neutralized, clear out of there, ASAP. The big one is gonna be raining down, and I don't want you two to get caught in it._

Razor smirked as he replied. _That's a major-league affirmative, Lioness. I'll hold position until you give me an ETA. Out._

Immediately, Lioness dropped what she was doing and made yet another call. This time, it was directed towards KatGuard headquarters. She had a Strike Eagle waiting to make its big appearance. "KatGuard One, this is Tiger Six- the Ace of Spades is in play. Requesting an ordinance drop at the following coordinates, over…"

* * *

The ninja kat that walked in front of T-Bone tried not to do anything suspicious. To be honest, no one knew that T-Bone… was T-Bone. They would find out soon enough as the ID scan took place. The biometrics was next, and so far everything was nominal. As the doors opened, T-Bone let loose the ECMs. Of course, the door itself wouldn't be affected… but that wasn't the point.

There was a pair of chairs next to the fireplace, along with shelves lined with books. The two soldiers walked in and the doors closed behind them. For a while, there was nothing… and then, Dark Kat spoke in that rolling baritone of his.

"I thought I specifically asked not to be disturbed. Why must I have such poor examples of help these days?" He sighed and said, "No matter- it is inconsequential in the long run. Report whatever it is you need to, and make it brief."

A disguised T-Bone nodded and said, "Reports have confirmed that the Enforcers have warded off an attempt by the SWAT Kats to fly over MegaKat airspace. So far, they have not attempted to fly again."

Dark Kat chuckled and said, "Those fools are acting exactly as I had predicted. To think that they would be working to my advantage instead of at cross purposes with me. I should do this more often. It's going to be quite a glorious day for MegaKat City when I assume control of the political workings. The only law will be lawlessness, and the only set rule autonomy. And you all will be a part of it, of course."

The big tom shrugged and said, "Just as long as we get paid for it at the end, it doesn't matter what you do. Our services are yours to do with as you wish."

The ninja kat beside him shuddered. He was a bit too good at this, no?

Dark Kat shrugged and said, "If you say so. An army needs proper funding, after all. In any event, I'm certain if there is nothing else, you could leave me be?"

T-Bone smirked behind his mask and said, "Actually, there is one thing…"

Dark Kat didn't bother to turn around as he said, "And what is that, pray tell?"

Two silenced rounds went into the ninja kat who had so kindly let T-Bone in. Dark Kat was, for the most part, expecting something like this. He smirked and said, "You have made a grave error, whoever you are. I suggest you think more about what you are doing before you act." He pressed the switch on the detonator… and waited.

And waited some more.

Then he pressed it again. "What's wrong with this confounded thing? Why won't it fire?"

"Your plans," the remaining ninja kat said as he took off his mask, "Have a bit of a flaw in them." The mask, goggles and all, dropped to the floor, revealing the trademark bandanna over the eyes of the SWAT Kat who had just successfully infiltrated into the inner sanctum of his archenemy.

Dark Kat quickly stood and turned around, eyes wide in shock. "Impossible! My defenses were supposed to be impenetrable! Even _you_ could not have broken through with the threat of the explosives!" He grimaced and said, "It's no matter. She will die once I kill you and your partner. I have won, regardless of the situation."

T-Bone cracked his knuckles and said, "Don't be so sure about that, Dark Kat. I have a backup plan, even on top of this. But hey, since you said something about killing me, let's see if you _can_!" Silenced gunfire sprayed in the criminal mastermind's direction, forcing him to tuck and roll out of the way. Just above the fireplace, there was a Glock pistol, model 21. He quickly grabbed it and took aim through his cloak.

As soon as he moved for the weapon however, T-Bone was already on the move, getting well out of the way even as the shots fired. He responded in kind, his G36 happily sending rounds over in Dark Kat's direction. There was only so much cover in the room to use, so it definitely was not spray and pray. However, Dark Kat was faster than T-Bone gave him credit for. Taking cover behind one of the chairs, T-Bone got ready to strike again.

'Could've used the Glovatrix right now… but fuck it. I can only use one clip in here anyway, so I have to disarm him quickly.' And even as he thought, bullets flew just above his head, through the couch. 'Shit, REALLY bad cover!'

It wasn't like he had any other options.

There were only a few shots left in that Glock, though… the 21 could only hold thirteen rounds. They were all .45 caliber though, so it had quite the stopping power. Eight had been spent trying to shoot him down- wait, hold on. T-Bone rolled out of the way as three more shots were fired his way. That made eleven.

"You don't have another mag to use, you psycho! That means you're running out of options!" He fired again, still being conservative about his ammunition. He had only so much that he could use as well. Not to mention that these ninja suits didn't exactly have body armor. This sucked. T-Bone got a move on immediately, attempting to force Dark Kat to expound his last two rounds…

And that was when it happened. The incoming pistol strike to the right side of the SWAT Kat's head. T-Bone barely blocked the arm that headed in for the strike with his rifle, and immediately countered with an attack to the gut with the stock. WHAM, out of air. A left front kick later and Dark Kat was sent flying into one of the book shelves, the contents of which toppled right on top of him.

T-Bone grinned fiercely and said, "You're done. This time, you're not getting away."

Apparently, the mad kat begged to differ as the arm holding the pistol immediately shot out from the pile of books. T-Bone had a momentary look of shock on his features before he began hauling ass, just as two shots were fired his way. The magazine was spent, no extras in sight. Dark Kat sprang forward from the books, got a bead on T-Bone's position, and threw the Glock at him.

T-Bone batted the incoming gun away, but was just in time to receive a nice shoulder charge to his chest. Both kats were sent into the wall, and the breath was painfully knocked out of the SWAT Kat as his back and shoulders rammed into the barrier.

And then of course, he felt even more pain as Dark Kat began ramming his fists and knees into his body. That was not very pleasant… the villain had some military training as well. But T-Bone returned the favor, moving his head to his right in order to have Dark Kat break his fist on the wall before giving him a roundhouse with the left shin. Sciatic nerve hit. Dark Kat buckled as his left leg was visited by a sharp pain, but it wasn't anywhere close to the pain he felt as that same right leg was brought to bear in a side heel kick.

The evil mastermind was sent flying into the wall at the other side of the room, near the fireplace.

Stunned and trying to get his bearings again, he didn't notice when T-Bone put down his rifle, field stripped his sidearm in less than ten seconds, and began walking towards his opponent menacingly. That was when the SWAT Kat noticed the detonation device halfway across the room. "Hmmm… I guess you won't need this any time soon. Any idea on what I should do with it?"

Dark Kat spoke even as he caught his breath. "You... can't hope… to beat me."

T-Bone picked up the detonator and frowned distastefully at it. "Is that so? Well I suppose I can even the odds a bit, right?" With that said, he flicked the hot button towards the fireplace.

"NO!!"

With a surprising burst of strength, Dark Kat leapt for the trigger from his current position. The arm that was outstretched was dangerously close to recovering the damned thing when he was suddenly and violently visited by a flying knee strike. The last thing he heard before the world around him faded to black was the hissing and popping of the electronics as his last bid for control was destroyed.

T-Bone raised Dark Kat against the wall with one hand on his neck and gritted his teeth as he remembered the image of Callie, brutally tortured and broken. His grip tightened. "I should kill you… I really should. For everything you've done, death isn't enough for you. But it's a good start…"

As he raised his right fist to finish the job and make sure Dark Kat no longer had a face for anyone to look at, the doors opened. "T-Bone, we got issues!"

The big tom looked behind him and said, "What is it? I'm a little busy right now."

Razor nodded and said, "I know what you mean, but we gotta haul ass! The sky is about to fall all over this place in ten minutes, and we have to get as goddamn far away from here as we can! Drop him and let's go!!"

The big tom gritted his teeth and said, "We drop him, and we lose him. Just let me do this… I have to get back at him for Callie!"

Razor walked over and placed a hand on T-Bone's shoulder. "I know, but the air strike will take care of him, along with this whole damn base. It won't matter, man… so just let it go. Callie's all right now, right? So let's get the hell outta here, because the clock is ticking, and I'm not about to go down with this ship."

The big SWAT Kat sighed and almost carelessly dropped his foe.

"If you say so, then let's get a move on. We might as well shoot our way out now- everyone's gonna know who we are. Take off that mask- it looks ridiculous," he said with a laugh.

After Razor did so with a smirk, he said, "_Now_ can we go home? I'm starting to get tired of these guys."

Speak of the devil- here they were now. They could hear them approaching down the hallway. "Well they certainly like us now." T-Bone headed towards one side of the entrance, picking up the silenced rifle on the way. "You ready for the last part of this operation?"

Razor grinned and said, "Am I _ever_," as he hefted the 416. "I've been waiting forever to use this thing!"

T-Bone made with a grin of his own. "Then let's _go for it_!!" He took off the silencer as Razor withdrew a flash bang and pulled the pin. They were coming, all right- and they were running full tilt. Too bad for them, because they were about to have their progress impeded. Razor tossed the grenade into the hallway. All of one second later, a collective of shouts and curses were heard as it went off, and that was their cue to go to work.

T-Bone took the left side and Razor took the right as they exited the study, guns blazing.

* * *

Calico Briggs was immediately being prepped for surgery.

The night's electronic scan had successfully shown that the explosives in Callie's neck were completely disarmed. No radio signals came from the C4, no traces of the green light that flashed faintly, showing that it was active- nothing. It was as if it had never been armed in the first place. Thus, that very same night, she was rushed to the ER.

The problem now was this: They could very well be responsible for her quadriplegia if they were not damned careful. And then the city would be without a driving force. As Dark Kat had explained earlier, the Deputy Mayor was everything that the city had. If she was gone or disabled, it would all be over, regardless of how anyone felt about it. It was probably the most important day of the hospital's long tenure.

Hopefully, it would not be the last.

Yet another call was made to the Enforcers, addressing the state of the micro bomb. The Commander had informed them not to do anything until he got there, but since when had anyone listened to Ulysses Feral? No, he would probably do something drastic. This was delicate work.

They didn't need someone fixing a problem with a sledge hammer when all that was needed was super glue.

With that, they began the arduous task of removing the explosives from one Calico Briggs… and prayed that they didn't fuck up.

* * *

The F-15 Strike Eagle was what was known as a strike fighter. What this meant was that it had the main role as a ground attack aircraft, built to deal with destroying structures and tanks via the deployment of explosive ordinance, but had the capacity to defend itself in an air-to-air engagement. But they didn't have to worry about opposing fighters at the moment.

In less than ten minutes' time, the Strike Eagle, one of two owned by KatGuard, would be doing its job and doing it right. One of the bombs that it carried was the GBU-28, also known as a Bunker Buster. Able to penetrate more than six meters of reinforced concrete, it could find any rat hole and completely obliterate it in a matter of seconds.

At the current moment, the F-15E was cruising at its combat elevation of fifteen thousand feet. From the time it had left the base, it headed towards the coordinates that had been set for it via GPS. Now usually, someone would be on the other end with a laser designator to paint the target in question.

Not this time.

This time, the F-15E was equipped with two LANTIRN targeting pods underneath the wings. If one thought of them as a pair of eyes with night vision, they would get the picture. Not only that, but they also had laser designators of their own… so no one else was needed for targeting.

"Eight minutes until target designation," The WSO said into his radio. "We are clear for weapons hot as soon as we're in range."

The pilot nodded and said, "Hey, you think that the Ace will be able to get out in time? I mean, we are movin' kinda fast… if they get caught in it, I don't wanna be sued by anyone, y'know? Then again, they are professionals. Hell, I can't imagine how many times they've done this."

The WSO smirked and said, "If you like 'em so damn much, marry 'em. For now, keep your eyes on the HUD and your mind on the mission. Six minutes and closing, target coordinates are in sight. Laser on."

The big one was coming, and no one could stop it.

* * *

The SWAT Kats were pinned down; the elevator area was packed with ninja kats at strategic locations. They hadn't forgotten about those that were up top- they just didn't figure that they would be down here so quickly. Fortunately for T-Bone and Razor, there were several instances of good cover, and the big tom still had not used that grenade launcher yet.

Oh, but it was being put to decent use now as he fired the miniature artillery piece behind the cover of his foes. In groups of three or four or five, they exploded, pieces of them flying everywhere. And yet, more and more came out to play. As it stood, they were gaining little to no ground, and were running out of time.

"Five minutes," Razor shouted over the suppressive fire. "We're fucked if we're pinned here for any longer! Got a plan?"

T-Bone grimaced and said as he loaded yet another grenade, "Yeah. You got any flash bangs left?"

The slim tom pulled out yet another stun grenade and grinned. "I got one right here! Are we goin' for it?"

The bigger of the two nodded and said, "We're goin' for it! I'm not about to be buried alive down here with Dark Kat! Toss it on my mark; we're breaking through, come hell or high water!" With that, he got himself set and waited for a lull in the suppressive fire. It had to be enough so that they could get off their combined diversion and rush headlong into the awaiting troops.

Wait, what?

Never mind, there it was! Without warning, he shouted, "_Mark_!" T-Bone fired the grenade, and it was shown to be a smokescreen. Razor, without thinking twice, without thinking at all, pulled the pin and threw the flash bang at the same time. Two seconds later… BANG. The entirety of the group was stunned, most of them holding their ears, others dazed by the sudden flare of light. Those that were outside of the range of the stun grenade couldn't see shit anyway due to the smoke screen.

The SWAT Kats charged forward, their impossible odds suddenly made much easier. T-Bone reloaded and fired another smoke grenade as the two of them plunged into madness, and he heard the satisfying sound of a kat being hit in the face by the smoke grenade. Anyone in their path was shot, stomped, kicked out of the way. They began cutting a clean path toward the elevator within the five seconds of disorientation, and by the time the daze had cleared, no one knew what was what anymore.

"Move out of my way, dammit," T-Bone growled as he continued his relentless assault, scrambling for the elevator. Razor however, took the more subtle way out and simply made his way through the crowd, shooting the imminent threats and ignoring the others. It wasn't long before they had successfully reached the elevator car. Then, he remembered.

"_Shit_, the security measures! We're not gonna make it!"

Razor pressed the call button for the cargo elevator anyway, and the doors opened. "There's nothing like a little database hacking to pass the time. Get in and hang on, we got three minutes to bug out!" With that, and several parting shots, Razor hit the button that sent the elevator back up again, and as kats fell to the ground in pain, the SWAT Kats were on their way out.

"Damn… that was sickeningly close," T-Bone said, "But we made it."

Razor grimaced and said, "We're not out of the woods yet. Now we gotta get the hell away from this dump before we get dumped on. And I didn't take the time to find out how long this elevator takes to get topside, so we'll be cutting it close. I wouldn't be surprised if we bit it this time…"

The big tom shook his head and said, "Not without saying goodbye to Callie and Felina. That's unacceptable. We've gotta do it, Razor, no matter what. We have to come out of this alive, because if we don't, it's all for nothing. Read me on that?"

Razor nodded and said, "Copy." With that, he heard what sounded like an incoming fighter. "That must be them… we don't have much time left. I'd wager we have about two and a half minutes, tops, until the big one comes down. This elevator had better be damn quick to open…"

Ding.

T-Bone looked over towards Razor and grinned. "You have such good timing."

They moved, and moved damn fast. Two minutes was not enough time to get back to their LZ, but it would be enough to clear the blast zone. From there, they'd have to gather their belongings and get moving before the Enforcers locked them up. Thus, they sprinted like they had never sprinted before in a dead run that tested their endurance. They heard the incoming Strike Eagle, could almost feel the bomb coming down on the building which they were trying so desperately to run away from.

"Sixty seconds!" Razor shouted.

"You gotta remind me _now_?" T-Bone responded in exasperation. "I take back that good timing part!"

They could have used the Cyclotron at that moment, or their Delta Packs, but they didn't have them. So they ran. And as sixty seconds turned to thirty, one could almost look up and see the Bunker Buster coming down from the heavens. But there was no time to stop now- they were almost out of range. Now all they had to do was find a big rock to crawl under.

Twenty seconds. Razor didn't need to say it anymore- he was too focused on getting his scrawny ass away from the big boom that was about to befall the hardened complex. By the time fifteen seconds were remaining, T-Bone remembered the part of the old warehouse district they were in. "My G-suit! We're close by!"

Razor nodded, knowing exactly where they were. "Yeah, and just in time, we get to watch the fireworks!"

They scrambled into the warehouse as T-Bone snatched up his original uniform and ran towards the stairs that led towards the roof. At that point, the only thing that was audible was the crash as the bomb connected with the reinforced concrete… and then went straight through. Indeed, nothing could stop the big one.

Just a split second later, the explosion rocked the old warehouse district, and the SWAT Kats were lucky they had brought their ear plugs with them. Yes, they had prepared for everything. "That," T-Bone shouted exuberantly, "Is one _big fuckin' hole_! Lioness is gonna be paid well for this one!"

Razor laughed and said, "She'd better damn well be- that was one of the best things I've seen all week!"

* * *

The sun rose over MegaKat City as Chance, Jake, and Felina gathered together inside of the garage's lounge. They had long since doffed their G-suits in exchange for real clothing this time. "That was nuts, you guys," Felina said sternly. "You could have been killed outright if you were a second later. Do you always have to cut it so close? What would Callie say if you had gotten yourselves hurt?"

Chance shrugged and said, "I think she would have trusted me enough not to, and even if I did, she'd be there to patch me up. Not like I couldn't do so myself, but she wouldn't listen- she'd do it anyway," with a laugh as he cracked open his can of milk.

Jake nodded and said, "Besides, we got held up at the five minute mark. There were tons of 'em- ninja kats as far as I could see. We had to blast our way out of that mess- it was like a miniature war down there. But hey, we're all right, right? And before you kill me, take note that you did drop the hammer anyway, even when we said explicitly that we'd probably be inside or nearby when it happened. Doesn't that show trust as well?"

Felina blinked for a moment, and then pouted. "Damn it, defeated by my own logic. I'll get you someday, Jake Clawson."

They all laughed as they turned on the news.

"In other news, Calico Briggs has made a full recovery from her surgery, although she is expected to spend the next week in the hospital for further tests and treatment of numerous injuries from her harrowing experience," Ann Gora said to millions around the city that watched the report. "One can only be thankful that the intervention of numerous parties, including KatGuard and what some sources claim to be the SWAT Kats, helped to avoid a major catastrophe. Commander Ulysses Feral left no comment."

Chance laughed and said, "Yeah, that's because when you kick that much ass, there's not a damn thing to say."

They raised their cans and toasted to that before Jake said, "How's that reward money coming along? Did you get it yet?"

Felina nodded and said, "Just got the call about an hour after the bomb was dropped. It's already in my account now. All in all, that wasn't too bad of a night." She took a sip of her milk and said, "You know that once Callie's out, we're going to have to explain to her why she can't be out in the streets for a while, or even at her house, right?"

Chance sobered up for a moment and said, "Yeah… but I have a feeling that after all this, we'll be in good standing with that one. We've never let her down before, and we won't let her down now. It's gonna be a big change, especially around here, but we'll stick with it. We have to, for her sake."

The other two nodded, and then Felina yawned. "Well, that was fun… but I'm going back home now and taking all my dirty, sweaty clothes with me. We do have to do that again sometime. Oh, and guys- I beat my previous time in the Reflex Room, or at least the first section of it."

With that, she got up and got ready to go, leaving the two toms with their jaws hanging towards the floor.

"She didn't…" T-Bone said in disbelief.

Razor smirked and said, "Well, why are you surprised? She could be just that damn good. There's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

With that, they both scrambled towards the Reflex Room to check her time… and then try to beat it. There was simply no rest for the SWAT Kats. But then again, when has there ever been? Always on call, always ready, and always one step ahead. It was what made them the elite, the supreme; better than even the Enforcers.

And the best part was that it was all in a day's work.

* * *

As the Enforcers searched the ruins and wreckage that was the bunker in which Dark Kat held his operations, they found that it was completely destroyed. Bodies were everywhere, as expected from an explosive of this magnitude. But there was something strange going on that they could not quite explain.

There was one missing. One that should have been utterly destroyed after it had happened.

That wasn't even the most eerie part of it all- there were no footprints, no drag marks, nothing that suggested that anyone had left the area, much less survived. And so the question remained for all to ponder over- to wonder and to fear, and to perhaps, prepare for. Was Dark Kat alive? Did he survive, or was he buried under too much rubble to distinguish him from others?

One could only hope that this was the last of him…

* * *

**Chapter 32: Bed of Nails (Finale) – **_**The Sky Is Falling**_

Hells yes. Climactic, ultimate, and final! Well not really final, but final for this one. But seriously, I want to thank everyone who supported me through this one. Damn guys, this has to be the most anticipated finale of them all, thanks to you. And I ain't even done yet- there's plenty of action, romance, drama, and other goodies left!

Before this chapter's Reviewer Appreciation, I will take time to explain a few military terms and abbreviations that have shown up. HVT means _high-value target_. The capture or destruction/death of this target or individual is crucial to mission success or failure. Considered the lynch pin of the whole operation. Wilco, for those who don't know, is a response that is used in military radio transmissions. It's short for "will comply", and it means that the message was received and the directive will be carried out as best the recipient can manage. I'd explain a few others, but I don't have much awake time.

Okay, down to business, starting with **The Dark Lord Redrall**. Welcome. I figured you'd be looking into this one as well. Don't worry about LionHearts- I might have put it on the back burner, but it's still cooking. I'll serve another chapter of that up nice and fresh for ya soon. Next in line (in no particular order) is **Kodachi Claws**. Nah, Manx is too used to his seat of power to leave now, but trust me- he'll want to do so soon. In the meantime, enjoy the sheer and utter ownage that the SK lay down on DK. Okay? Okay. Oh, and I hope you like the TurboKat action. Number three is, by random lottery, **Raiden Snake**. Now I've already responded to you and hope that you got my message, but all I'm going to say here is thank you for standing by your fic writer. I can't stress that enough- fic writers live, breathe, and die on their fans. You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. But what RA would be complete without **RaidenSilversword**? None, I say. Amazing? Thank you very much. I mean seriously, you are too kind. I'm hoping that this chapter exceeds your already high expectations of me. And yes, explosions are pretty. There are quite a few of them here; do enjoy.

Well, this was an ambitious undertaking, wasn't it? I'm going to have a victory glass of milk now.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	33. Revelation

Seven days had passed since then.

The hospital had become a sort of second home over that week as she healed from her injuries. It was over that period of time that she made more friends than she had in her entire life. Perhaps it was just because she was the Deputy Mayor, but Calico Briggs managed to make more connections in her downtime than she had in walking around. But over time, it became tiring, receiving all those flowers and well-wishers.

In the end, there was only one kat she wanted to rest her green eyes upon.

There were so many things she wanted to ask him, to tell him… but she knew that they would all be jumbled together and meshed into a big mess by the time she saw him. With that said, the important thing would be what came before thought, outside of thought. Whether she cried on his shoulder or kissed him, there wouldn't be a doubt in her mind as to what she was doing.

Or at least, she hoped there wouldn't be.

And so she meditated, even as she recovered from her injuries, and simply observed the days passing by. For that entire week, whenever she was eating, drinking, sleeping, or whatever else, she was constantly mindful. Not a thought entered her mind, no doubts, and no obstructions. By the third day of this, something strange began to happen. Whenever she was asked a question, a sudden flash would enter her mind, like a bolt of lightning. Without a second thought, she answered the question in a calm, soft voice.

It didn't happen often, however; in fact, it was only for that day.

By the end of the week, those few who had asked her questions returned shocked. She had given answers with almost frightening accuracy. When asked how she knew, the only thing she did was smile and say, "I don't know. If I did, I doubt I'd be able to explain." She could have said something else, but that would have been a result of her mind trying to explain it.

She could have sworn that somewhere in the distant past and yet in here in the back of her mind, a she-kat that looked just like her smiled. But the smile faded as soon as it had come.

Callie was released from the hospital that same day, all expenses having been paid for in advance by Mayor Manx. It might have been a ploy at keeping himself in office, but she couldn't seem to get herself to care this time. She simply took the gesture as it was presented and reminded herself to thank him for it later. With the mayor's own limousine outside waiting for her and her pink business suit on her slim, sexy figure once again, the Deputy Mayor looked as if she were ready to return to business as usual.

"Take me home," she said wearily as she stepped into the limo.

Hmm, that was odd. Even stranger though was the clear, distinct feeling that there was something waiting for her there.

But of course, what she expected was not immediately seen when she had entered her domicile. The carpet had been cleaned and the yellow police tape had been long since removed. She reminded herself to get a new door for her bedroom, but other than that, everything was as it should be, save for one thing. The air itself seemed to be charged with a sort of intensity; a feeling more than a thought.

It wasn't anything she could name- an emotion beyond definition, just at the edge of her senses. Almost subconsciously, she headed toward the balcony, ignoring everything else besides her own instincts guiding her. There was an absence of discursive thought, and only one name sprang to her mind from the depths.

As she opened the balcony doors, she spoke before she even saw who it was.

"What brings you here, T-Bone?"

The big, handsome tom turned around from looking out at the city, one eyebrow raised. "You knew I was here?"

Callie nodded and said, "From the moment I stepped into the house. Matter of fact, I think it was even before then. But I digress- to what do I owe the pleasure of having a SWAT Kat in my home?" And it was most certainly a pleasure. As far as she had heard, her life had been saved yet again. And as usual, there was a big explosion behind it. Then again, she didn't mind that, just as long as they were all right.

T-Bone smirked and said, "You're getting better at this intuition thing, Ms. Briggs." Then he adopted a serious expression on his face and opened the cover of his Glovatrix, pressing in a few buttons on the keypad. From the roof, Callie heard the sound of engines being started. "The TurboKat's on its way here. Once it arrives, hop in and buckle up. We got some things to talk about."

He pulled out a blindfold and said, "Oh, and you're gonna need to wear this… pays to be cautious, after all."

Callie's eyes widened. Immediately, she knew exactly where they were going, and yet had no clue at all. The first thought that entered her head was, 'I could die right now and be very, very satisfied.' The second thought, which came immediately after the first, she gave voice to. "Give me that and let's go."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**Callie gaped as the tour of the underground lair went on. She was really here… it wasn't so much a dream of hers like Felina, but it was a need to be closer to her two favorite vigilantes. And now she had the chance. "How long did it take you to do all this? I mean, this has got to be a major project that would take-"

"Years," T-Bone finished. "That's exactly it. It took months to get the TurboKat operational, but first we had to get the hangar set up, and training facilities, and all that other good stuff. Not to mention all those vehicles and things like that. There's probably a logistics trail that's a mile long behind us, but no one's been able to trace it yet, to my surprise."

Callie smiled and said, "I'm not surprised at all. You have to be somewhat careful when you're trying to outperform the guys who fired you. So then what's this place supposed to be?" They were stopped in front of one of the doors, and as soon as T-Bone entered in the pass code, they opened for him. What she saw was confusing at best, but she said nothing for the moment.

"This," the big tom said grandly as he led her through the doors, "Is the Reflex Room. I said earlier about training facilities- well this is ours. It's turned off for now, but there's usually a bunch of things going on in here that could really put some hurt on a kat if they're not careful enough and fast enough. I'd give you a sample of how it works, but it'd be rough for someone new."

Callie shrugged and said, "I don't mind. So then, the Reflex Room… I'm guessing Razor had a hand in making that up?"

T-Bone scratched the back of his head and said, "Um, yeah… he's the gadget kat, I'm just the kat that knows engines and jets. Nothing special compared to him."

The Deputy Mayor placed a hand on the big tom's right shoulder and said, "You must be out of your mind, T-Bone. I've never seen a better pilot in the air than you. If it weren't for how you drive and the way you fly, I wouldn't be down here talking to you, and the whole city would be worse for wear."

Suddenly, he remembered why she _was_ down here talking to him in the first place. The solemn expression on his face returned, changing from bashful to granite carving before her eyes. "See, that's the whole reason I brought you down here. Come on; let's talk somewhere a bit more comfortable."

Callie nodded and followed him out of the training area. "By the way, where's Razor?"

T-Bone shrugged and said, "Who knows where he's at? For all I know, he's probably out doing a patrol. He's been on his lonesome for a while now- I'm a bit worried about him." Of course, that was the cover they had practiced. She was indeed here for a specific reason, and the closer the time came to talk about it, the worse T-Bone felt about telling her.

But it had to be done. This plan could no longer wait.

* * *

Jake Clawson and Felina Feral were eating ice cream at a parlor somewhere in Downtown MegaKat City. They had decided beforehand that it was best if Callie and Chance (who was currently, as far as they knew, T-Bone) were alone to talk about what would happen. Whatever went on after that was up to how she reacted, and depending on how she reacted… well, it was probably a good idea to stay away from her for a few days.

It might not actually go that way, but as the old adage went, better safe than sorry.

"Hey," Felina said as she watched Jake, wondering what exactly he was thinking behind those brown eyes, "Are you sure this is the right thing to do? I mean, it's sneaky and underhanded, what you guys are planning. Callie might not feel any better about it than you or I do. And I can't even imagine how Chance is taking this… he understands _exactly_ what's going to happen; how much she loves her home and her security."

Jake shrugged and said in a rather diplomatic tone, "Doesn't matter what I think. It's a good plan, and it's a necessary one. All the crazies out there will know exactly how important Callie is by now, if they don't already. We'll have to stand on guard twenty four seven if she's out in the open, and that'd stretch us too thin. While I'm positive she can take care of herself, we've gotta make every precaution we can."

Felina shook her head solemnly before saying, "Still doesn't make it right. She's probably going to feel like she doesn't have a choice in things… I mean, we're practically taking it away from her." She looked towards Jake and said, "Can't she at least stay at my place? No one knows where that is."

Jake placed a hand on his chin and said, "We already figured that into this, but it's worth trying, I guess."

The former lieutenant smirked and said, "Oh, like someone's going to find out where I live."

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "What if they do? I dunno, someone could get lucky, and then she'd lose her cover. We can't risk that. And if anything happened to you during all that, I'd feel even worse." His ears lowered slightly and said, "This is the only plan I could think of that could factor in everything. If there were a better way, I'd have thought of it by now."

Well that was great. Now Felina felt bad about speaking her mind. Why did Jake have to look so cute, even when he was sad? She reached over to scratch behind his right ear and said, "I didn't say it was a bad plan. And I see the logic of it… but it still feels wrong."

Jake sighed as a bit of the tension bled from him. "I know. But now's not the time to have doubts." His eyes opened, and Felina was reminded all over again why she loved him as his fierce, determined expression was displayed. "A vigilante has to do things that feel wrong sometimes in order to do what's right or keep someone safe. We can't back down now." He ran his fingers through Felina's dark hair, causing her to purr softly. "But I'll say this: In the highly possible case that she doesn't take well to the idea, she can stay with you- but you keep her low-key, got it?"

At this point, Felina would have agreed to anything, just as long as he kept playing with her hair like he was at that moment. "I'll keep her under the radar as best I can," she said as she continued purring. Such a simple action was starting to turn her on in the worst way, but for now she simply enjoyed it as it was. "Aren't you going to finish your ice cream?"

Jake blinked for a moment and looked down at his double scoop of vanilla mint before cursing. "Awww, shit!"

Felina laughed as her lover began eating his melting ice cream in quite the hurry.

* * *

"You guys really are prepared for everything," Callie said as she observed the spare rooms that were displayed for her. There were at least six here- how many other little hidey holes did they have? But that wasn't the point. This room smelled like him, so it belonged to him, that much was for certain… wait a minute. That was odd. The smell that was in the air triggered something in her mind, a memory.

A memory that made her blush a bright red beneath all that peach fur.

"You okay there, Callie?" T-Bone asked before he closed the door.

She shook her head and smiled to herself. "Yeah… just that this room makes me remember something." Before he could ask what she meant, she continued speaking. "But never mind that. What did you want to talk to me about?"

T-Bone sighed and said, "I need you to be honest with me here before I say anything."

Callie nodded, knowing exactly what the question he was going to ask was without him even speaking. But she let him ask it anyway. It was a silly question, and one that needed no answer in the first place, but he expected one.

"Callie," T-Bone asked, "Do you trust me?"

"With my life," She said immediately. "I could be falling down from the sky, out of nowhere, and you would be there to catch me. It's that certain. Why do you even need to ask?"

T-Bone shook his head and said, "You might not be so sure of that after I tell you about what you're here for…" He sighed and said as he scratched the back of his head, "When we started this whole thing, you were getting into so much trouble with all sorts of baddies that it became routine to save you. Not like I minded," he said with a smile. "It'd be a shame not to."

Callie smiled, but said nothing in response. Apparently, this was important.

T-Bone's smile faded as he continued. "But the thing about that was, just giving you that communicator wasn't enough. There'd be a time when we wouldn't be able to do anything to help. When you were knee-deep in shit and we didn't have a big enough shovel to get you out… a time like last week."

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "I can probably tell where you're going with this, but I need you to keep talking."

T-Bone shook his head to clear his thoughts. How could she even know what was going through his head? But never mind, he had to finish. The train wouldn't stop now. "There was a specific situation we had in mind- you had been captured by someone, and we had absolutely no way of reaching you, communicator or otherwise. We added a bunch of stipulations to the list, since that's happened before, and we've pulled you out before. It became like this in the end…"

He took a big breath and began laying out the scenario. "The situation was that you were captured, without your communicator or any sort of methods of contact, and whoever had you in their claws wanted something that they thought you had. Being who you are, you wouldn't give any kind of information to anyone who took you by force, so they would have to… coerce you to give it up. Whether you had it or not, they would eventually have to make a demand of some sort…"

Callie stopped him there. "You planned for this exact situation," she said softly. "It's some kind of counter for everything that happened last week, or as a result of it. I figured so." She placed a hand on her chin as her mind put together the pieces that remained. "You probably figured that Dark Kat, or whoever else would be in his place for the… scenario as you call it… would have covered their angles. The Enforcers wouldn't be able to lay a finger on them, and whether I was there or not, you'd have gone in and stopped whatever was going on to free up the works." She smiled and said, "I figured that part out as soon as you mentioned last week."

T-Bone smirked and said, "No hiding anything from you, huh?" He leaned forward to take a better look at the blonde she-kat before saying, "When it happened at first, I was so pissed off. Not because you were captured or tortured, though that had a lot to do with it." Well, it had everything to do with it. But he couldn't let her know that. "What pissed me off was that we were gonna have to execute our contingency plan after all. And trust me, it's not gonna be pretty."

Callie smirked in response. "I'm a tough she-kat. And I said before that I trust you. So whatever plan you have, you can go ahead and tell me."

T-Bone nodded and said, this time with a bit more confidence, "The plan was that in case any of that happened, that you had to go dark."

Callie blinked in confusion. "And that means…?"

T-Bone nodded and said, "I figured you wouldn't get that. Here's the deal- we're gonna have to wipe everything clean. I'm talking records, bank accounts, identification; the works. Hell, someone might know where you _live_, too… That might not be the case, but we're not taking anything to chance."

Callie was entirely silent. Well… that didn't sound good at all. Going dark was most certainly not good… but not for the reason he thought. "The mayor… he doesn't know a _thing_ about running the city. What will he do without me if I vanish?"

The big tom blinked. 'And here I was expecting her to freak out about not having a house to stay at.' Of course, he had planned for that as well. With a smirk, he said, "Well I'm sure you've been thinking this yourself, but I'll say it anyway. I think it's time he learned how to do his job quick, fast, and in a hurry." His face turned serious again and said, "Aren't you the least bit worried about going away from everything?"

Callie smiled sadly and said, "I couldn't be more afraid in my life. But I can see the logic of what you're saying. Everyone _will_ be after me, won't they? They won't stop coming. The only way for them to stop is if I'm out of the way or dead." She looked up towards T-Bone, her eyes bleary. "But I know you've got a plan, right? I mean, that's not all there is, is there?"

T-Bone could hear the pleading in her voice and smiled reassuringly. Moving over to place his hands on her shoulders, he said, "Of course that's not it. We just make copies of your identification and records before we wipe 'em, transfer your bank account to a more… discreet location, and have you stay somewhere where no one can find you. Then again, you have to feel safe there too…"

She wrapped her arms about T-Bone, cutting off whatever else he was going to say. "I don't know why I worried. I'll go along with it, but you have to do something for me first."

T-Bone closed his eyes and replied as he pulled Callie closer, "Anything."

Callie took another deep breath, and thought for sure that smell, that distinct scent was familiar. It made her feel entirely safe, warm, and happy most of all. An image flashed in her mind, but it was blurry, somewhat faded. She had to know for sure.

"Take off your mask," she said timidly.

T-Bone's eyes snapped open. "Wait, what?" So great was his shock that he almost let go of her before he recovered. "No, no I can't do that… if you knew who I really was you'd be in a whole_ heap_ of trouble. I can't put you in that much danger, Callie, not even for the sake of my plan."

She let his words stir in her mind for a moment before breathing in again. She wanted to argue, to be angry, but she couldn't. Her mind was too clear. Within the space of an instant, she knew his identity without having to take his mask off. "You asked me if I trusted you," she said softly, "Now I ask you. Do _you_ trust _me_?" She moved back from him, but just enough to look into his green eyes- the green eyes that she knew so well. "I have to know… whose hands I'm placing my future in. So take the mask off, or no deal."

T-Bone's ears lowered and his eyes searched her own. She was a tough she-kat… she could handle the weight of his true identity, couldn't she? A thousand questions ran through his mind- would she be surprised? Would that surprise be pleasant or disturbed, or even angry? Would everything change after this, or remain the same? He desperately wanted it to stay the same, for so many reasons.

"This is gonna be awkward," he muttered to himself.

Callie chuckled and placed her nose on T-Bone's. "Yeah, like it isn't already. So are you gonna do it, or can I go home now?"

T-Bone shrugged and said, "Hell with it."

Since they were so close together now, he took the initiative and kissed the Deputy Mayor, one hand behind her head. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before they closed slowly, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. The purr that came from her throat was long and luxurious, as if she had just gotten out of a hot bath and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. Oh yes, it was that good. While her eyes were closed, T-Bone began undoing the bandanna that covered his eyes.

With that said, by the time they were done with their little match of tongue fencing, she would open her eyes to the sight of the real T-Bone. And she grinned, not surprised at all. "Hello there, handsome."

The smile had not left Chance Furlong as he said, "You're not shocked or anything. Somehow, I'm not surprised, but that leads to the question of why." He raised an eyebrow and asked, "How did you know it was me?"

Callie placed her head against Chance's neck and took in a better sample of his scent. "The room… it smelled familiar, like I told you. I don't forget a scent, Chance, especially not yours. And to think, the knight who had been saving me countless times was right under my nose." She pulled away and locked eyes with her savior, her lover, the only tom she would ever need.

"This means that I get to do something that I've wanted to do for a while," she said as she looked through her eyelashes, something that she knew he couldn't get enough of.

As expected, Chance was entranced when her eyes darkened like that. "What would that be?"

Callie grabbed the front of Chance's flight suit and whispered huskily, "Thank you," before she pulled his lips on top of hers in an almost desperate display of passion. And just to demonstrate exactly how mindful she was at the time, she managed to pull him down towards the bed…

* * *

It was early in the evening when Felina and Jake returned to the garage, and they immediately headed down into the lair for a damage assessment. What they expected was a mess… so it was a surprise when they found the place sterile, neat and orderly, just as they had left it. Apparently, she was either too heartbroken not to have utterly destroyed the place, or had fainted from shock.

"Clear," Jake said warily, "And that _worries_ me. Check the rooms."

The two of them began a systematic room-clearing, being careful not to open anything too loudly. If someone was hurt, it'd be bad enough, but if there really were one room that was entirely wrecked, the plan was null and void. Right now, they both felt bad enough, but the possibility that they had been rejected outright still hung heavy in the air, like a cloud that was about to burst open. If she were going to go her own way, things would get very ugly, very quickly.

'I'm really starting to like that last-ditch plan that Felina and I came up with earlier,' Jake thought to himself as he opened another door. "Clear here. That just leaves the spare rooms. Careful- we could be looking at a SNAFU down there."

"At best," Felina replied, just as worried. "At worst, we could have a major catastrophe." And yes, one was significantly worse than the other in this situation. One after another, they checked the rooms to see what was what, but when Jake peeked into one, he tried to close the door as quietly as he could.

"Holy shit," he said softly.

Felina's ears perked up as she said, "What? Did you find something? Is it bad!?"

Jake blushed and said, "I uh, think that we should leave Chance alone for now, let him center himself. We're gonna have a lot of work to do over the next few days. Um, shall we head back upstairs and get something to eat?"

Felina blinked for a moment and said, "Not until you tell me what you saw. It can't be that bad, right? I mean, it's not like the room is a mess or wrecked or completely dismantled, right? So let me see… before I _make_ you." With that, she began walking towards the door that Jake stood in front of, her head declined slightly as if she were going to ram the damn thing. Being the wise kat that he was, Jake moved out of her way.

She turned the knob, just about threw open the door… and closed it approximately five seconds after. Everything was silent for a good while after that as the blush seemed to intensify on her own features. "Oh… that's what happened," Felina said timidly. Then she grinned and said, "I am _so_ going to tease her about this for a week."

Jake sighed and said, "I'll be upstairs if you need me. All this stress just made me even hungrier."

Felina laughed as she followed him, and wondered to herself what would happen now. The plan had been pulled off without a hitch, or at least, this part of it had. Now the difficult part was coming. They had to execute, or everything would be for naught. Then again, this had happened before- the kind of thing that was a do-or-die type of thing.

'Well we aren't dead yet, are we?' Felina mused to herself.

No, not yet.

* * *

They happened to wake up later that night, the warmth in the room heavy and thick. The scent of passionate lovemaking was in the air, mingled with the earthy, heady scent that she loved so much. She most certainly felt like she could stay there forever, but the reality of the situation pressed on her. For a brief moment however, Callie savored the newfound knowledge that she was now privy to. She also savored the set of teeth that gently pressed against her neck, moaning softly as they did so.

"Stop it," she said with a giggle, "You're insatiable. I have to get home and get my things together, and I can't waste time playing bedroom hide and seek." She purred and added, "I'm not implying that that doesn't sound nice, though…"

Chance sighed and said, "Yeah. But I see your point. Let's get outta here."

After taking their time getting dressed, sharing a few more silent caresses and gentle kisses as they did so, the TurboKat was in the air again. And this time, Callie got the chance to look down behind her at the scrap yard. 'All that, and it's just underneath the surface. It's kind of like them, in a way.' She smiled as she looked back towards Chance… well while he had that mask on, he was T-Bone now. She was determined to keep the two personas separate for as long as he had to be a SWAT Kat.

The question was how was she going to do that when she was so deeply entrenched with him? Perhaps she would figure it out on the way back to her loft. But of course, by the time she had gotten there, she still did not have an answer. Maybe she never would… but then, she thought with a smile, that was where Chance came in. When she didn't have a plan, he did. When he didn't, she gave him inspiration.

It was one of those things that just worked.

After guiding her back onto the balcony, T-Bone prepared to head back towards the hangar. But before he did, he caught Callie looking at him with a longing that he had only seen a few times from her. He smiled and said, "So close, but so far away. I think that's the term for this, right?"

She nodded and sighed dreamily. T-Bone grinned and said, "Won't be that way for long. I'll be in touch- you take care, Ms. Briggs."

She grinned and said, "You damn well better be in touch, T-Bone! I want another ride!"

He laughed as he closed the canopy, pulled away from the balcony, and swept the wings before launching himself forward. Callie watched as the TurboKat executed a split s, effectively turning it back in the direction from which it came. As T-Bone flew past again, she waved farewell, hoping that it wouldn't take too long to get all of her things in order.

This would be her last night in this place… and by heaven and earth, she would spend it well. Callie had a feeling that she'd need it.

These feelings of hers were seldom wrong…

* * *

**Chapter 33: **_**Revelation **_

AWRITE. Now that's what I call some professional-grade writing. I was in the zone when I wrote this, can't you tell? But seriously, thanks for sticking by me, everyone. Regardless of the reviews I get this time, I am walking away one happy critter. But still, give Scooby his snacks anyway and review, okay?

With that on the table, let's execute Reviewer Appreciation mode! **Kodachi Claws**, I figured you wouldn't be satisfied with that piece of TurboKat action. I understand, and I've got just the band-aid for you in the next story arc, so don't you worry. Oh, and if my writing serves as an anesthesia to a bad week, then I have done my job. **Purple Kat**, thank you for sticking around for this one! I'm glad you're hooked again, and hope you stay that way for a while. And now you see how Callie has reacted to finding out that Chance is T-Bone. Good or bad? You be the judge! Overall, I think that was a rather realistic reaction, considering who she is. And let's not forget **RaidenSilversword** (like anyone could). Yes, that was the reaction I wanted to draw from you. I figured you would love the ending where I brought it down to the wire, when all Hell was raining down on the SK. Truth be told, I loved writing it!

Reviews are what a fic writer lives for, guys. So once again, Scooby needs his snacks. Review, please. And now is a perfectly good time to place a shameless advertisement in this here author's note. You like Final Fantasy VIII? Wait, what am I saying? Of course you do. And even if you don't, _**Final Fantasy VIII: LionHearts**_ will still be a good read. Chapter 17 is on deck right now, even as I type. Read it and review.

Here's hoping no one kills me for putting that in. I'm going to hide somewhere now.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	34. Out with the Old

Three inches into the bag, no more or less. Relaxed, focused, in tune. Her body was a machine, the mind was the engine. Wearing a pair of open fingered grappling gloves and a pink track suit, Calico Briggs worked the heavy bag in the training room, a light sheen of sweat covering her forehead. Holding the bag just behind her was Felina, and they had gotten to work on their usual training regimen again.

"That's right. Don't try and hit the bag, try and hit the wall behind the bag."

Callie almost wanted to huff in exasperation. That had to be the tenth time she had heard that. But her mind was too empty, too clear. She had done these drills so many times now that it became an almost unconscious thing. The punches were simply done correctly, without thought, without words. She knew what Felina meant without having to hear it, and her left cross came in solidly, only tapping the bag loosely. But as her hips turned and her back leg straightened suddenly…

"Whoa!!"

Felina was thrown backwards as the energy traveled in a straight line through the bag and into her forearms. The force alone almost made her ram into the wall behind her. Fortunately for her, it didn't go as far as it should have. Still, that was exactly what she was talking about as she fell right on her ass. Rubbing her backside, Felina opened one eye and grinned. "That's perfect. Do it again."

Callie smiled softly and said, "All right." She got into stance and hit the bag again, without a thought or word behind it, and while the bag trembled slightly and a pop was heard, Callie could feel the energy ramming into the bag in a straight line. Before she knew what was happening, there was a light knock heard on the wall behind the training device.

Felina nodded and said, "Now you're getting it. How did it feel to you?"

Callie didn't answer right away, taking time to revel in the energy that ran through her. After a few brief moments, she replied, "It felt like… nothing." She laughed and said, "Not _that_ kind of nothing. It felt like a floating kind of nothing. I felt light and free. There were no thoughts, no emotions. I just hit, and it happened."

Felina nodded and said, "Well then, there's nothing more I can teach you on that, besides trying to reduce the amount of surface area needed to do it." With a small grunt of exertion, Felina got up from where she stood and said, "Here, watch this." She raised two fingers and got into that same stance, although more relaxed. It only took a slight push, just a bit, and her fingers shot forward. They penetrated a good four inches into the bag, all by themselves. Callie simply watched and observed. "I see what you're doing there. You're using the same principle, but with less space."

Felina nodded and said, "Yep. It's going to take a lot of practice to do it though, and you can only use it on soft targets. Best not to do too much of that on anything that's not easy to penetrate."

Callie nodded and said, "I understand." And for a moment, it seemed like she really did.

It was three days after she had moved into the SWAT Kats' place of residence. Though it was far from her home, she didn't mind. In fact, she felt at home here, in the very same place that her lover and best friends stayed. Felina of course, could still roam around freely and had her own apartment, but that didn't bother her either. Home was where the heart was, and this was her home now.

Three marked changes had been made, however.

The first was that her long blond hair was much, much shorter. Well, not that much, really- it was shoulder-length instead of down to the small of her back. This was Razor's idea, and while Felina was sad to see all that hair go, she volunteered to give her a cut. It hadn't turned out too badly, and when she looked in the mirror, Callie was happy with her new look.

The second was that she had intensified her meditation routine. She wanted to have that kind of mind that she had in the hospital all the time. The kind of abilities that Callista had might not have been within her, but the same mindset was. Last week had proven it. And she found that the more she used it, the stronger it became. Besides, she was proud of her ancestry, and wanted to live up to it.

And finally, she began using the Reflex Room, taking her firearms with her. Over the past three days, she had been moving like nothing else, trying to keep herself ready for whatever was thrown at her. At first, her times and scores were slow, and since she had preferred to use actual guns instead of the Glovatrix, the score had to be monitored another way.

She ducked, rolled, ran along the walls, swung along the ropes. Clearing her mind of what she had to do in each situation did not happen right away in here, and it took some time to adjust. However, that was because she had opted on the side of caution. But that was about to change very soon… because without her notice, she was being watched.

That she had opted to begin training here, simply to train, was odd enough. The fact that she was getting better at it with every run however, was a sign. Was the Deputy Mayor seriously thinking about becoming a SWAT Kat, or did she have absolutely nothing in mind save for being prepared? There was only one way to find out.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_Jake Clawson sat in his lab at a multi-screen workstation, looking over the Deputy Mayor's copied records to make sure that everything was there. He was good at a multitude of things, one of which was hacking into a computer database. Those which were especially secure and could not be accessed directly, he used this sucker on. And sure enough, he was able to recover the records of Calico Briggs, including identification, birth records, driver's license and registration, and other things that people could use against her.

'Including bank statements,' he thought with a grin. 'But that's Chance's thing… I already gave him the account number and any other information he would need to transfer the funds.' All that was needed now was to secure the copies and destroy the originals. They needed her to vanish, not die entirely, and this was the way to do it.

However, destroying the originals would be the hard part. It would mean that they would have to go to the site and get rid of the records without having it traced back to them. Doing it from here would have it traced towards this computer, and it would be over before they even knew it.

'Wouldn't want the Enforcers to come down on our heads,' the slim SWAT Kat thought to himself as he began storing the records, making at least two backup discs of them, just in case. As the process worked itself, he leaned back in his chair and wondered if Chance was doing any better. Of course, he couldn't think about that- he'd just have to trust his partner on these things. With that said, the only thing he wanted right now was a glass of milk and a nice kat nap.

It was an important job, sure- but it was boring as all hell. He knew that his big buddy would rather be using that assassin friend of theirs than something as simple as switching her bank account. But whatever got the job done. Besides, it was all for Callie, so it was worth it.

'Still bored, though,' Jake thought with a yawn.

Something covered his eyes just then, almost sending him out of his lazy state. Of course, laziness turned to contentment when he felt Felina nuzzling against his left ear. "You look tired, handsome. Do you need me to put you to bed or something?"

Jake grinned and said, "Maybe. Or maybe I just need a distraction to keep my mind off of all this. It's boring as hell." He placed his hands on the she-kat's, gently prying them away from his eyes. "You got anything in mind? Or did you just come to play peek-a-boo?"

Felina chuckled and turned the swivel chair so that he was facing her before sitting in his lap, making herself comfortable. "Sadly, I have no remedies for that. Then again, I could be persuaded to provide some… entertainment." Of course, this entertainment would involve them heading towards one of the spare rooms afterwards. To be honest, she was a bit randy after what she had seen last night, and right now all signs pointed towards needing a good snuggle.

'Or a good round of sex,' her mind decided to add, 'whichever comes first.'

So she decided to flirt. Sure she knew that he was busy with the plan, but to be honest the plan could wait. She wanted something, and by any means necessary, she would get it. So she began scratching behind Razor's ears, which made him purr and, in an almost reflexive action, begin running one of his hands along one of her thighs.

"I have a feeling you want something from me," he said playfully, "But I'm not even going to try and guess. It could be anything, after all."

Felina smiled and said, "You're a smart tom- go ahead and try." For all intents and purposes, working was the last thing she wanted him to be doing. Hell, working was the last thing any of them should be doing right now- they should all be taking it easy and having fun. But here he was, doing… something. She raised an eyebrow as she looked over his left shoulder and said, "What _is_ it that you're doing, anyway?"

Jake waved it off and said, "Something that pertains to Callie. Those are just the copies of her records- I'm saving them to my hard drive for recovery later. Then after that, I'm backing the information up on two discs, just in case something stupid happens to the first one."

Felina nodded slowly, taking in all that information. Then she shrugged and said, "I can tell why you were bored- doesn't sound like much fun."

Jake grimaced and said, "Yeah, but it pales in comparison to what we're gonna have to do to the originals. I can't erase them from here- we're gonna have to infiltrate the Hall of Records and wipe them directly from the database." He shook his head and said, "I'm not exactly up for that, but it has to be done."

Felina frowned worriedly as she shifted her position slightly, maneuvering herself to a point where she could rub his shoulders. "You really should be resting, you know. Turn off your brain for a while." She grinned and said, "Not that I have any inkling on how to make you do that… unless of course, you give me a hint."

The slim tom laughed as he said, "You know what? You're right." He had the hint already, but wanted to keep her waiting for a bit longer. She was most certainly starting to get under his skin, but if she wanted to play, he had his own way of playing. Staring into her eyes with a rather haunting gaze, he let the moment intensify. Just as soon as Felina thought she had his complete and total attention, he said, "Let's head out for lunch or something."

The she-kat groaned internally. She was expecting him to carry her off to bed, and now he had flipped on her entirely. But no… she was patient when she needed to be. She could wait. The question was, how long could she hold out? 'I'll get you before the day is out, Jake,' she resolved to herself.

And thus, a little game of flirt and evade had been started, both knowing exactly what was at stake. It wasn't like it was a bad thing though- she wanted it, he didn't mind. The only thing about that was that his usual mindset was to approach things in unorthodox ways; disguise his true intentions, avoid the subject, et cetera.

So he played along, when the direct route would have worked just as well. But then again, that wouldn't have been gentlemanly of him, now would it? Besides… he really was hungry. His stomach complained as soon as the thought entered his head, and he had enough grace to let out a nervous chuckle. "See? At least someone agrees!"

Felina smiled and said, "Okay, let's do things your way then." Maybe she could use this to her advantage after all…

* * *

Callie emerged from the Training Area, a towel draped around her shoulders. It was all well and good that she was safe down here, but if she didn't do something it was going to drive her crazy. Mayor Manx was probably going crazy without _her_- she imagined that his office was a mess, multiple documents of varying importance had been left unsigned, and a whole load of other things.

'Wouldn't be surprised if I had tons of work to do when this was all over,' she mused to herself. Not like she minded- this would be a good break from the daily chores of the office. Of course, she was so preoccupied in thinking about civic duties that she almost ran right into her lover. "Whoa," he said as he rounded the corner, his reflexes immediately coming into play as his hands gently stopped Callie by the shoulders, "you really should watch your footing there, Callie."

She looked up towards him and smiled. "Sorry, I was just busy thinking about Mayor Manx. I hope he's all right… He's probably lost and scared without me."

T-Bone smirked and performed his best imitation of the Mayor. "There's too much paperwork to sign! Where's Callie when I need her?" He chuckled and placed a hand underneath her chin. "Look, forget him, okay? I'm betting the city can be without you for a while. Or at least, I hope so." He couldn't imagine what it would be like if it couldn't. "Anyways, I hear from Razor that you've been in the Reflex Room…"

Callie lowered her head slightly and said, "Is that bad? Sorry; I just figured I'd try it out."

Chance shook his head and said, "What? No, no…it's not bad at all! Just a bit surprised, is all." He placed an arm around her shoulders and began walking with her towards… well, nowhere, for now. "The last time we went there, you told me that you'd be all right without it. What's changed your mind?"

Oh, that. Callie shrugged and said, "Situational awareness, I guess. I don't want to be caught in a position that I don't want to be in, ever again. I'm hoping that one day, I'll have to rely less on you and Razor to get me out of things, and only use you as a last resort when I'm in trouble." Before he could say anything, she placed a few fingers on his lips and said, "I know you like being the good guys and saving me, but the city needs you more than I do. Besides," she added with a grin, "If I don't do something constructive, I'll go nuts!"

Chance smirked and said, "I hear ya, and I can respect that. But see, he also told me that you're in there with your guns, and while that's one way to go about it, it's kinda tough to keep score like that." This was the point when she realized that they had stopped walking, and checked her surroundings. They were in the tech lab. Razor of course, was nowhere to be found- apparently, he had left a while ago.

He opened a case and, lo and behold, there were several Glovatrixes within. Callie's eyes widened and she said, "How the hell many of these things do you have? I mean, I know they get broken often, but…"

Chance laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well Razor has the blueprints for 'em, so he can make 'em easy. And besides," he said as he picked one up, "These are training variants. See this here? This is a score counter. Shows how many points you've gotten in the Reflex Room. This is why I said keeping score is difficult when you use your guns. If Razor can't get any accurate data, he can't monitor performance all that well."

Callie nodded in understanding. "I see. So then, do you think I could try it on?"

Chance shrugged and said, "Be my guest."

She found that the Glovatrix slid on quite easily, her slender hand fitting in comfortable fashion. She tested the weight and the feel of it, and grinned to herself. "So this is what it's like, huh? It feels kind of weird, having this on." She shook her head and said, "Not in a bad way. I just… I never thought I'd be wearing one, that's all."

The big tom smirked and said, "Think you could use it if I showed you how?"

Callie tested its weight again and nodded to herself. "Won't know until we try, right? Besides, it's better than using a gun- looks cooler. And I've seen what it can do in a pinch. That doesn't mean that I won't use my USP when I have to, but I'd rather not hurt anyone unless they're past the point of no return." She looked towards him and said, "Let's get this done, then."

And so, she was taught how to use the most versatile personnel tool ever created. Chance showed her the ins and outs- how it worked, how to fire weapons, how to work the radar and kat-scanner, and other things of that sort. Each Glovatrix variant was used for a different purpose, and thus they were equipped and armed differently.

Within half an hour, she had the gist of how it worked and how to shoot. Of course, she could have found out by herself, but this was just so much easier. "So then," she said as she took all this information in, "Should we see if I can use it, now that I know how?"

Chance smirked. "You think you know, huh? Fine, let's see if you really do."

Thus, Callie was in the Reflex Room again, this time with the training variant of the Glovatrix. And sure enough, it was indeed better when she could keep track of her progress. Not like she did it to compete- she just did it to keep track of her progress. Not to mention the neat little thing was handy when she reached the flamethrowers and rubber bullets.

By the time she had reached the assault range of the course, she wasn't too far behind Chance as far as score went. She'd gone through this place a few times before after all, so she was used to the layout. And anything that she was used to, she excelled at. "How many times have you been in here, anyways?" Chance asked as they swung over the spike pit and entered the area in question.

Callie grinned and said, "I'll tell you _after_ we're done. Let's just get this finished!"

It wasn't like she was going anywhere any time soon, so she could focus on her efforts here, to the exclusion of everything else. Of course when she did that, her scores began to rise faster. Any sort of nagging thoughts about Mayor Manx were cut out as she focused on her targets, which were cut apart or shot through with little hesitation.

Of course, she was working towards no hesitation, but that would come later.

By the time it was over and all targets were down, she scored seven points higher than Chance. It was still close enough for concern on her part, but he was impressed either way. "That's not bad for the first time with a Glovatrix." He placed a hand on his chin and said, "I'm more than impressed."

Callie bowed slightly and said, "Well thank you. I appreciate the comments. I was only trying to stay focused on what I was doing, that's all…"

Chance folded his arms and said, "I almost wanna ask if you could do that again, but…"

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "What, a re-match?" She smirked and said teasingly, "Careful- you have me do this too many times, I could get used to it. You know what'll happen then?" She grinned and said, "You won't be able to match a _tenth_ of my score once I get into the swing of things."

Chance scoffed and said, "What, you wanna go again? That's fine," he said as he jogged back towards the starting grid. "I wasn't being serious this first time anyway!"

She doubted that, but Callie followed him to the starting grid anyway.

* * *

'What's he made of today, ice?'

These were Felina's thoughts as she tried every trick she knew to catch Jake's attention, from trying to play footsies to outright staring to leaning down just enough for him to get a peek down her top. But he had an almost _too_ cavalier attitude about him. She didn't know what he was playing at, but it was starting to make her frustrated. And it was not a good idea to make Felina Feral frustrated. She almost felt like she wasn't attractive, which was a lie.

But with how Jake was acting, he wasn't helping with that image problem.

'Well damn you,' she brooded as she sat at the table they were eating at with a rather cute pout, taking a drink from her Oreo cookie milkshake. 'What's it gonna take?' There was no doubt about her choice of clothing for this one- Felina was dressed to kill. She was wearing a camisole top, dark red in color and designed to fit her figure. There were a good six inches of her midriff revealed, and little to the imagination as far as cleavage went due to the low neck line.

Her black jeans were slim-fitting, tucked into a pair of mid-calf boots. Maybe it was the boots that did it? No, she figured she had that part covered. She was stylish, she was sexy, and she was drawing stares from every other tom walking by. Hell, a _blind_ kat could see her from a mile away. So what the hell was wrong with Jake?

"You must be _really_ hungry," she said as she stared at him with a bored expression on her features. "You haven't even noticed what I'm wearing." This game was starting to get very dull, very quickly. The question she was going to ask next was when they could go home, but then Jake said, "You kidding?" He looked up at her and grinned. "I noticed a few hours ago. You look good enough to skip lunch altogether."

Felina blinked in confusion. "Well why didn't you…"

Jake shrugged and said, "I just don't like stating the obvious." He tried his hardest not to smile. Oh, this was fun.

Felina smirked and said, "Well even if it is obvious, I happen to like hearing it." She decided to skip being playful for now and said, "Could you pass me that basket of onion rings? I have to admit, I kinda need a snack." All these failed attempts to flirt with him were starting to drain her energy. But at least she knew now that she had an effect.

Of course, there was a point where she had gotten ketchup all over her fingers. She stuck her tongue out to lick them off when Jake said, "Knock that off, you don't have to do that. Here, let me…" Felina's eyes widened as he proceeded to suckle the condiments off of her digits. Her throat suddenly went dry as an unexpected heat shot through her from that somewhat innocent action.

Somewhat innocent was the phrase used here. Jake even made a good showing of playing it off as no big deal. "There, all better. Y'know, you're kinda tasty," he said as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do, and as if he were completely oblivious of her plight.

As he moved back to his seat, wondering if his ploy had worked, he heard Felina say, "Okay, time out. What are you trying to do, drive me crazy?" He sat down and raised an eyebrow. "What're you talking about?"

'Oh, as if you don't know,' she brooded to herself.

"First you give me those wonderfully sexy eyes staring right into mine. I was thinking that you were going to ravish me on the spot earlier, but then you go off and say you're hungry. Next you act all frosty to me, making me feel all inadequate." She gave him her best glare and said, "I dress up, I talk sweet, I try and get you to take a look in places other than my face, and it blows right by you. Then, not even five minutes later, you're all over me like syrup on pancakes."

Felina's runaway train of thought hit the brakes, forcing her to go completely silent. She stopped for a moment to consider that… and blushed as her mind immediately reminded her of that one breakfast at her place. The thought alone made her itch in places that she couldn't scratch at the moment without embarrassing herself.

It only made her more frustrated. "The point is," she said as she tried to calm herself, "You can do anything you want with me, Jake Clawson, but do not, _ever_, tease like this."

The slim tom blinked for a moment, then grinned and raised his hands in surrender. "Took you long enough to figure it out." Felina scowled at him as he said, "You wanted to play, right? I played. And it looks like I won. But then again, that doesn't mean that you don't win something too…"

The annoyed she-kat folded her arms across her breasts and said, "And just what is that?"

A shiver ran along her spine as she felt something rub against her right leg. She wanted to look underneath the table, but couldn't for the simple fact that doing so would have been awkward. Instead, her eyes couldn't seem to pull away from Jake's, her pupils nice and wide open. To the exclusion of everything else, he was all that she could see.

'Oh, _now_ you want to play footsies,' she lamented. This game was over, and Jake had won.

Jake smiled softly and said, "You get my thanks for giving me an opportunity to turn off my brain. I promise when we get back, you can have all the fun you want. I won't even stop you or tease you or anything."

Felina couldn't hold back her sigh of longing. "You promise? No more games?"

Jake placed one of his hands atop of one of hers and said, "Only if you promise the same."

Felina smiled and said, "Done deal. Let's get out of here, already." Well at the very least, she could admit when she had lost. It was especially difficult not to when the result of losing was so enticing. Perhaps she would play again one day, but for now they got up and headed back towards her car, tails winding around each other in the usual fashion.

* * *

Twice more she had run the gauntlet, just because she couldn't get enough of it.

She had lost only once, though it was still too close for Chance's comfort. Callie had taken to the Reflex Room like a duck to water, and had proven that once she was in familiar territory, she could excel beyond expectations. This was the point where the big tom called a halt to the training session, taking note that she was getting faster and more accurate by the hour.

"What's wrong," Callie teased as she wiped off the sweat from her face, "Tired of losing?"

Chance smirked and said, "Don't get too full of hot air just yet," He said as they began leaving the Reflex Room, "We ain't done. The Reflex Room is just the start here…" Callie took off her Glovatrix and said, "Well whatever you throw at me, I'll be ready for it. It's not like I haven't had worse."

Without looking behind him, the big tom grimaced and said, "Not worse than this. Trust me."

The Reflex Room wasn't enough anymore. Chance had gotten it into his head that there was one more thing needed to make Callie disappear entirely. Sure she was going along with it for whatever reason, even though he hadn't explained it yet, but she'd think twice afterwards. For now though, he would let her rest.

Of course, as they walked back towards Jake's lab, they saw the tom in question come back into the base along with Felina, giving each other looks. Callie raised an eyebrow as the former Lieutenant walked past, entirely oblivious of her surroundings. Jake noticed them and acknowledged Chance and Callie with a slight raise of his eyebrows, but he didn't say anything.

Better that he didn't anyways. The time for talking had long since passed ever since lunch had ended.

When they got back to the lab to put the Glovatrixes away, Chance finally said what was on his mind.

"Look," the big tom said with a sigh, "I know you're good. Hell, you've been a real bad-ass through most of what's been happening recently. I can respect that. Matter of fact, I appreciate it. You've been tearing through the Reflex Room like nobody's business and kicked my ass twice, which I didn't expect. I'm starting to think you can do more than just make runs through that training facility."

Callie smiled and said, "Well thank you. I appreciate the fact that you respect all that. But really, it was nothing special."

He shook his head and said, "No. It _was_ something special. The Reflex Room is some serious business, and you took it like it was _nothing_. I don't know why you decided to make your way through there, but it tells me something." During all this, Chance had his back turned towards Callie. Now, he faced her and said, "Do you know the kind of training it takes to be an Enforcer?"

Callie shook her head, but remained silent.

"Every one of those kats out there," he said sternly, "Is one hundred percent capable of anything that's thrown at them. It takes _eight months_ just to get the initial training done, and then there's the physical and mental shape that you have to be in. That's not even counting the training you have to be a pilot or part of a Special Response Team. If they had a better kat in charge, there'd be no need for the SWAT Kats at all, and that's the truth."

Callie nodded and said, "I get that part. But what are you getting at exactly?" She wanted to know what this had to do with her.

Chance continued with, "The point is, the Reflex Room isn't the worst you can have thrown at you. But it's nowhere near simple, as I bet you can see. The fact that you took it so easily, even going to beat me twice…" He shook his head and said, "You're not gonna like what I'm gonna do to you next."

Okay, now she felt nervous. Nervous to the point of brushing invisible dirt off of her pants, which for her, was saying that she was not in the best shape. "Just say it already. Whatever you have planned, I can handle it."

Chance sighed and thought to himself, 'Whatever you say.'

"I am going to put you," he said softly, "through five days of what's considered as the equivalent of the torture session you faced last week. You get little sleep, less mercy, and no sympathy. You're going to hurt to the point of sweating blood, and when that's gone, you're going to be forced to keep going through sheer force of will. But when it's over, you'll never be afraid of the rain, the cold, the heat, or any kat that's in front of you, ever again."

She was still quiet through all of this. Not a word was said as the information seeped into her consciousness, invaded her thoughts. The Deputy Mayor could bear pain- she had discovered that much since the interrogation session last week. It didn't mean that she wanted to, but she had endured. That had made her stronger.

If she had survived through that… what else could she do?

Part of her wanted to know. Hell, needed to know.

Chance simply stared at her, his gaze unwavering. He was patiently waiting for her to say yes or no. Many a normal kat, one with a whole lot of issues with themselves, would have taken this time to evaluate their options, their position in life. Some would have said yes without a moment's notice- they were foolish and probably out for the thrill. Others would have cringed and said no, which he could respect. It wasn't for everyone.

He saw Callie's gaze lower for a moment, skitter off toward the ground. She was deliberating, like any normal kat would. He knew that she was seriously pondering on her position in life.

Thirty seconds passed before Chance placed his hands on the blond she-kat's shoulders. "You don't have to decide right away- give it some time. This isn't for everyone, and it takes a lot of guts. Tell you what, you let me know by tomorrow if it's what you want, but you make sure that it really is-"

She cut him off with a pair of fingers placed on his lips. He found himself staring back at her green eyes. The intense gaze fixed him to the spot, just as unwavering as his own was. He expected a no.

"When does this happen?"

She had thrown him a curve ball. But by now, Chance had come to expect it. He couldn't help but smile at how Callie was taking so much in stride as he replied, "Next week. It doesn't have to be this week, really, but there are a few things you have to prepare for in order to make it past the physical test."

He couldn't help but be proud of her for even making the decision. If she made it through, he would have a surprise for her, but for now he'd wait and see how she did. With that in mind, Chance began telling her exactly what was required of her to even be accepted into the training. Note the word accepted, because this was just the beginning of what she would soon go through…

* * *

The Hall of Records, located near City Hall, was not much of a building on the surface. It was one story and consisted of a bunch of rope queues that led to several counters. This of course was the place to get birth certificates, housing statements, and any other sort of personal information that involved identification. However, there was always something else going on beneath the surface, and this place was no different.

Heavily guarded, twenty four seven, were the lower regions of the building, where the mainframes were. Within these super computers lay the records and files for every citizen within MegaKat City, including high-profile figures. There was an entirely separate wing of the underground complex for those, however. Wherever they were though, it would take quite some time to figure out which one they were looking for.

Yes, T-Bone, Razor, and Lioness were already in. Security was easier to bypass here than anywhere else, though it was still tight. Then again, it was the Hall of Records. It wasn't like there was much to steal here, besides the money in the safes and registers. And even if someone did get this far, they would be in for a world of hurt. That was, if they got caught.

"Stick to the plan," Razor said as he began accessing the mainframes through the mini-computer on his Hacker Glovatrix. "You two are security- check the corners and exits. Someone comes, tap me on the shoulder and I'll cut power."

Lioness grimaced as she said, "Yeah, yeah, we got it. But this might take longer than you expected; Razor… this place is huge!"

T-Bone said nothing, intent on finding any threats before they found them. He would use the Glovatrix if he had to, but he didn't exactly want to go around shooting the good guys. It'd weight heavily on his conscience, unlike his actions with Dark Kat. He did what he had to do then, and thus had no regrets about it.

'Besides, we couldn't exactly bring our Glovatrixes down there. Security and all that,' he reminded himself. Here though, they were back in force. And he had to admit, it felt nice to have the multi-purpose tool back on his right arm again. So far though, he hadn't found any use for it, besides the grappling cable.

He actually hoped that he wouldn't really have any sort of use for it at all tonight.

But then again, that would mean that Razor would have to get lucky. For now though, he would remain watchful, trying to spot what was coming his way. But so far there was nothing. Not like that surprised him. Hell, nothing surprised him anymore after having faced down aliens, mutants, cyber criminal kats and other various instances of mayhem.

When one has been through so much, nothing seems to faze them anymore.

His ears twitched as he heard a noise. "Heads up, bogey inbound. Cut the lights and stay sharp."

Lioness turned her Glovatrix towards his direction as well, turning off her helmet light. Razor closed the screen on his Glovatrix, folding it downward before turning off his own light. The sound of footsteps increased and the SWAT Kats held their breath as guard dressed in black walked past their location, almost oblivious to their presence. Then the steps faded, and they were alone again... for the moment.

"Razor, get this done a bit faster," T-Bone whispered urgently, "It won't be long until we're good and caught here."

"On it," he said as he flipped the screen back upwards and turned his helmet light back on again.

They had been at this for most of the night, searching hours on end for Callie's files. They had already been secured and double-backed up, so all that was left was to destroy the originals. And since, as stated before, they could not do so from base… well this was the only option, wasn't it? Besides, an access wasn't exactly going to be cause for alarm.

It was when they erased the data that they would be up shit creek.

As of now though, "Still no dice," Razor said with a marked frown. "I doubt we'll be able to check all of these tonight, guys. There are too many."

T-Bone, in his usual stubborn fashion, said in terse fashion, "Well try one more time. The next one has gotta be pay dirt."

Lioness smirked and deadpanned, "You said that the last… what, five times? You think time number six will be the one? Let's just get outta here."

Razor shrugged and plugged into the next mainframe. "You never know- it might be. I'm going for it one last time, and then we're out." With that, he began decrypting the security measures, which would once again take a while. But like always, the more times he did it, the faster it became to break through, and this was indeed time number six. This time it only took twenty minutes where the first one had taken an hour and a half to crack.

"Huh?" Razor thought he saw something on his screen and began zooming in on the document. "Bingo, I found the files for one Calico Briggs!" He turned towards the others and said, "All right, this is it, kats. I don't know how long it's going to take to wipe 'em, so take security positions again. I'm expecting that alarm to go off when I'm done, or even before, so get ready to haul ass."

"Roger," they said in unison before taking up positions on either side of Razor.

A surprising amount of sweat began to condensate and collect on Razor's brow as he activated the sequence to erase all traces of Callie's existence. Not like that part was hard- the part that was hard was doing it without being detected. As long as they didn't leave any evidence of their passing, that was fine with him.

"Twenty seconds until total deletion. Keep sharp," he said softly.

Not like there was anything to keep sharp about. As it stood now, they wouldn't find out about it until the next morning. Apparently, someone was asleep up there in the security room. Either that or the place was closed, which was not possible. Security in most places was around the clock these days. "Good news- looks like we caught 'em with their pants down. No alarms yet. I'm almost done here, just a few more seconds."

T-Bone allowed himself to relax. "We did it… the first part's done. Lioness, do you think you can get a hold of that assassin?"

She shrugged and said, "I can, but I doubt I can get him to cooperate without pulling some major strings. Right now I'd rather not pull any, especially not for him. I'll have to spring him, and getting past KatGuard security isn't easy."

Razor smirked and said, "Then don't go as Lioness. It's that simple, right? Besides, he's due for a trip to Enforcer Headquarters. Just take a little sidetrack on the way. But get him to play along via any means necessary without killing him, okay? He's crucial to this next step."

T-Bone was too busy thinking about the extra step he had put in to talk. He hadn't told the others yet, had he? Well he'd have to do so, sooner or later. Especially Lioness, since she was going to do most of the work. He was just going to get Callie ready for it.

"Done and cut," Razor said with a nod. "She might as well not have existed in the first place."

The big tom nodded absently and said, "Yeah, now all we gotta do is get outta here and get ready for the next move."

Killing her via information was not enough. In order to be fairly convincing, they would have to fake her physical death, and make it tragic. But then again… maybe they wouldn't have to. Maybe the fact that she hadn't come back home in quite some time would do it for her. But as far as they were concerned, bank accounts and everything had been transferred already, and now the second part was complete since her records were copied and erased, including social security and health insurance.

'Still, if people don't have a reasonable explanation for it, they won't believe it.' There was no way around it. If they didn't make it look like she had died, she would just be another missing kat case. And of course, they couldn't have it traced back to them. No, this would have to be done via proxy and without anyone knowing what was what.

'Besides, she's only going to be dead for a little while,' he reasoned to himself as they began to make their way out of the building, leaving as they had entered- without a trace of their passing. This final part was not going to be anywhere near easy, but then again, nothing was easy for a SWAT Kat.

If it were, it wouldn't be fun.

* * *

**Chapter 34: **_**Out with the Old**_

Well there you have it. I know it's not much, but let's be honest- filler episodes aren't much. Filler chapters aren't really supposed to be much either, but I'm trying to build up to something here. Be patient with me, won't you? For those that were waiting, sorry that it took so long to crank this one out. I'll explain why in my profile, when I update it.

With that, it's time for Reviewer's Appreciation! And OMFG… is that **ulyferal** I see? Finally, you catch up to the rest of the pack! I'm glad you liked it, because there is definitely more on the way. I hope you can get started on that new series of yours. If you ever need any kind of military terminology, you come to me, okay? I've got the good stuff. Ah, and new person- **sandaime23**. What's up, man? Glad you could join us. Hopefully you can come out of relative obscurity and get yourself an account, so I can reply directly once in a while.

**Terry** is next, and I have to say that I triple-checked Chapter 19. No fouls here… sorry. Maybe I could get a beta on that, but I don't see an issue. As for the reason why the tally in that chapter was three to his one… let's just say that Chance is very, very thorough. **Kodachi Claws**, good to see you again. You know, I wanted to say that Callie was right to be worried about not having a home to come back to. She doesn't think she'll lose Chance any time soon, but she's not exactly someone who enjoys being uprooted from her home so suddenly. She likes being familiar with her surroundings, but she can get over that because of Chance.

**Purple Kat**, thanks for reviewing. Hopefully you've caught my edit by now? If not, take a look at the last chapter. Please. I'm sure it will satisfy this time. And of course, there's **RaidenSilversword**. Oh, you know what's going to happen next, bud. I don't have to tell you jack, do I? For the rest of you though, you'll just have to find out later, won't you? Last, but not least, **Raiden Snake**. Wow, you are really getting into this, aren't you? Not like you weren't already, but well... demanding the next chapter without outright demanding (if that makes sense)? You really _do_ like it. Thanks!

Wow. I have to say that a lot of people liked the last one, albeit for varying reasons. Not like I mind, as long as you guys like it. Here's hoping this one will be satisfactory (or above) as well.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	35. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

The tom had been sitting in this goddamned cell for however long.

He had basically lost all sense of time in here, only expecting to get out when they felt like letting him out. And that was when he was no longer considered a threat, which he was. Unlike the Enforcers, these were professionals, like him. They kept him fed, they kept him hydrated, and they even tended to his injuries (under the watchful eyes and guns of a pair of guards, of course). But they did not let him leave.

Besides, once he left here, the assassin that was instrumental to most if not all of Dark Kat's schemes was sure of where he was going now that he was good and caught, and all the evidence was against him.

'Probably still piling up, too,' he brooded to himself.

Of course, things usually changed for him, sometimes for the better. This wasn't much better, but it gave him an amount of… hope? No, that wasn't the word. Closure was more like it. He didn't know that he could receive such things, but there you had it. And the oddest person to give that closure was none other than the red-hot kitten who had put him here in the first place.

As Felina Feral stood before his cell at an ungodly hour in the morning, she had the most disgusted look on her features. He'd be a smear on the wall right now with that look, if it had any sort of effect on him at all. But all he did was glare back and smirk. "Don't look at me like that," he said coldly. "You tortured me, just like I tortured her. It was for the sake of your job, of your work. Just like me."

Felina wanted to spit at the mother fucker. But she reined her quick temper in for now and replied, "Yeah, that's right. Only difference is that I'm getting paid for it and you're going to the gas chamber. That is, of course… unless you want to deal."

He raised an eyebrow and said, "What the hell do you possibly have to give that I would accept? My bank account will be cancelled, my equipment will be confiscated, my vehicle is probably destroyed by that bomb that you happened to drop all over Dark Kat, and to top it all off I have a one-way ticket to Alkatraz waiting for me at the other end of the line. Which is where, I assume, you are going to take me."

Felina placed a finger on her chin for a moment before saying, "You've got a way of putting a point on things. I'll grant you that. So then, how about you bargain your life?" She fixed him with her patented kill-you glare again and said gruffly, "You sure as hell don't have anything else worth trading. You've made that painfully obvious seconds ago."

The assassin smirked and said, "There is no way you can mitigate the fate that I have coming to me. Your precious uncle will not allow it. As far as he is concerned, I am a target to be eliminated."

Felina scoffed and said, "Who said anything about Commander Feral? Besides, you're about to perform an important civic duty for me. You just don't know it yet." She unlocked his cell and checked his hand and leg cuffs before picking him up roughly. "Let's go. I'll explain when we get into my car."

Wait, they were taking her street machine? Well that was interesting… he expected an armored personnel carrier or at least a hardened truck, but they were going to take her ride to Enforcer Headquarters? This was new.

He decided that, at the very least, he would hear her out…

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**Calico Briggs was not a morning person. Let it be said right now that she was not one to lose sleep. She knew that when she lost sleep, she was crabby as all hell, without being agreeable or salvageable in the least. So why she was awake at this hour was unknown to her. At least, it was unknown to the more sensible part of her, who thought everything she had been doing for the past few hours since the Reflex Room bordered on insanity.

But she had long since learned to ignore the little voice that whispered inside of her head to turn back, or that it hurt too much, or that something would feel good or bad or be uncomfortable. It didn't always work, but she tried to maintain that state of mind, the unclouded, pure awareness, as often as she could. It was, after all, the key to her burgeoning abilities.

She was up at three in the morning, on her own volition, out in the cold, running in the scrap yard. Her alarm clock, of course, was none other than the love of her life, Chance Furlong. He had damn near woken the other two up with his yelling, but it worked on Callie to great effect. "**Let's rise and shine, beautiful! Time to get your ass kicked; let's go!**"

It was sudden and visceral, and not the nicest way to wake her up. But she was awake, and fast.

'What the hell have I gotten myself into?' she brooded as she regained her jumbled senses. "Move a bit faster, molasses. We're on the clock. Did you forget? You will get no mercy from me. Dress up in five minutes and head out to the obstacle course. Go!"

It had been a while since she had really run anywhere, and now she was picking that habit up again. Currently, she was going through one and a half miles, attempting to work it in less than eleven minutes. Needless to say, all that running she had done prior to this point was coming in handy.

Not to mention that Chance was right next to her, shouting in her ear.

You wouldn't think that would help, but with her it did.

"You are _not_ awake enough! My grandma can run faster than this and she's dead! Get in gear!" She began moving faster, her lungs fit to bursting. Callie was in pain, but she was wide awake. That was the point, wasn't it? She had to stay awake. Not to mention that he motivated her, but it was in a strange way…

"If at all you do not want to continue, you can go back to bed, but you'll be a sad sack of shit for it, you hear me? You don't have to do this! Just tell me you quit and you can go back to your boring, miserable existence!" Her face hardened, her teeth grinded, and she did not respond, simply kept running. She'd cry later- right now, it was time to get her ass in gear.

So she retreated to her shell of silence, that tough, hard exterior, and kept moving. It wasn't like she hadn't run before, and it wasn't like her lungs didn't burn before. They had been put through this same stress all before, and all by Felina.

She made it in ten minutes and thirty-five seconds.

Chance grinned, not even looking winded. He could do that same seven thousand, nine hundred and twenty foot distance in under seven minutes. "You tired yet?"

Her breathing was labored, hands loose. She wanted to rest, relax, to just pass out. The response therefore was par for the course, at least for her. "Hurt me more, Sir." She knew perfectly well that if she said yes, it would be over. Her body ached, her mind protested, but she told both of them to shut the hell up. Besides, this had happened to her before. Felina was a good teacher.

Chance barked out a short laugh and said, "You're damn straight I will. Hit the deck and start your push-ups, now!"

She didn't complain. She could have, but she didn't. That shell was coming in handy again. She started doing push-ups, with the goal being forty-two of them in two minutes. Her knees could not touch the ground and her hands could not leave the floor. The arms had to break the plane of ninety degrees each time she went down, and every time she went up it was back to full extension.

Seven of them did not count.

"What the hell is this? Get your shit together," Chance barked at her. She ignored him, ignored the failed push-ups, and ignored the pain that was coming from her arms, shoulders, and chest. Her score was barely passing- fifty of them. "We're gonna have to work on that, you know," Chance said as she began standing back up. "Oh no, don't get up. We're not done. You know what's next, so get moving."

Sit-ups and they were painful. Sure, she had good core integrity, but she had to do fifty of them in two minutes. That was some tough shit to eat, frankly. But what were fifty of them to her? It was a simple, repetitive movement, just like the push-up. Up, knees touching shoulders, down, shoulders to the ground, repeat. Feet were a foot away from the hips and the hips themselves never left the ground.

Her score was vastly improved from the push-ups, seventy-five. "That's more like it! That's what I like to see right there." The big tom was applauding her efforts. That, to be honest, was not too bad. "Tell you what; I'll give you a rest now. That was damn fine work."

Callie couldn't help but grin. The pain had suddenly become a good pain. For some reason, she liked hearing him say that she was doing a good job. Hell, she liked anyone saying that. Callie was not one for criticism or ridicule or rejection. She would be hit with the first two and she'd be hit hard, but if she gave in she'd face the third like a ton of brings falling on top of her.

"Just trying my best," she said in her usual humble fashion. It wasn't a false modesty; far from it. It was just how she operated most of the time.

"That's all I'm asking," Chance said as he kissed her on the cheek and handed her a water bottle. She took a sip, grateful for the refuel, and tried not to waste it all in one go. She'd need it later, and she knew it. After five minutes, it was back on the clock. She was doing pull-ups and the target was six from a dead hang, no kipping. The chin had to clear the bar for it to count, and she had to go back to dead hang after each one.

The good news was there was no time limit. The bad news was that she was still being yelled at. But with such positive reinforcement earlier, she could take it. Besides, there wasn't so much yelling of phrases as there were numbers. Hell, he had to yell at her to _stop_. "Goddamn! Twenty of them! What the hell's gotten into you?"

She smiled coyly and said, "You have. Don't tell anyone else, though- I have a reputation to protect."

He laughed and said, "Trust me, your secret's safe with me." He sighed and said, "So now all that's left is the swim. You do know how to swim, right?"

Callie smirked and said, "Like I was born half-fish. I _love_ the water, Chance." She grinned and said, "If you want the truth, I've been waiting for this part! When the real thing comes, I want to do this one first." It wasn't that she couldn't do the others- It was just that she wanted to swim first. She knew it wasn't a vacation, but she couldn't help herself.

"We'll see about that," Chance said with a smirk of his own. "You have twelve minutes and thirty seconds to swim five hundred yards. The side stroke or the breaststroke; these are the only two you can use. Anything else and you're wasting time. If I were you, I'd have brought something to wear under those clothes of yours; otherwise you're gonna be quite embarrassed."

Callie chuckled and said, "Figured you'd say that."

She was being a bit too confident… so Chance pretended like he was irritated. "Is that your way of talkin' smack to me? Don't forget who the hell I am- I ain't your buddy! Doff the clothing and get ready! Go!"

She had expected this part, to be honest. She wouldn't have it said that she wasn't prepared for contingencies. Underneath the track suit she wore (which was white instead of pink this time- she had to change her color choices, after all) there was a one piece swimsuit that hugged her body like a second skin. Silver in color, it wasn't meant to be provocative, but practical.

She looked hot in it anyway. Chance was a cold fish though, at least for now. "That was damn quick; good. At least you know how to follow orders. Get ready!"

She set herself for the swim, which took place in the lake section of the obstacle course. The lake itself wasn't exactly an Olympic-sized pool, but it was close enough. It covered a thirty by twenty-five by twenty-five meter area with a depth of four meters. If one drowned in here, it wasn't going to be pretty. She stood at the edge, getting ready to dive in.

"The clock is ticking," Chance shouted, "**Haul ass**!"

Before he could finish that sentence, she dove in and got moving. Twenty-five meters wasn't much, but when one considered the total distance she had to swim and the fact that the real thing wasn't going to be in mere laps back and forth… well, it was still difficult. Twenty laps of the breaststroke, and she had to really, truly haul ass.

By number ten, she was feeling it.

'Damn,' she thought to herself, 'I know I sounded confident, but I might not make this one. I'll just have to go for broke!'

Lo and behold, just as she started to do so… "Hustle, dammit! Nine minutes have gone by!"

'Shit!' She began to panic. Panic was not good.

Eleven, twelve, thirteen… ten minutes and thirty seconds had expired. She was now sure that she wasn't going to make it, but she would at least finish. There were no excuses, and there didn't have to be. She panicked, lost her head, and lost time. That was all there was to it.

By the time she was done with all twenty and got out of the pool, she was expecting to get her head chewed off. And as expected, Chance got in her face and said in a low, menacing voice, "Thirteen minutes, fifty-five seconds. What the hell was that? All that bragging earlier and you put out with this crap? Explain."

She said back, just as calmly, "I lost it, Sir. I couldn't keep my head." She knew it, he knew it, and so there was no reason to lie about it or make excuses.

He nodded and said, "You're damn straight you lost your head. You were floundering out there come lap number eleven, and when you recovered, it was too little too late. I almost felt like jumping in to pull your sorry ass out." He stepped away and said, "Well, we'll just have to get rid of that flaw quick, fast, and in a hurry, won't we."

She responded immediately, "Yes, Sir!"

Chance smirked and said, "Still eager, even after that. I bet you won't be so eager when I'm done with you. Now then, let's fix what you did wrong…"

And so for the rest of that morning, she worked on that which she was lacking in. Training for nine hours straight, from four in the morning, taking a break only for breakfast, she had the shit kicked out of her. Not literally or physically mind you, but the training was hardcore all the same. By the time she was allowed to knock off at one-thirty in the afternoon, everything hurt.

But it hurt good.

* * *

"So explain this to me again," The hit kat said, his shackles unchained. "I help you out, and you decrease my penalty to a double life sentence without parole instead of the gas chamber. I don't, and I'm not only up shit creek without a paddle…"

Felina nodded and said, "…But I'll make it _worse_. There's enough evidence on you to do it, too. The way I see it, you don't have much of a choice."

He sighed and said, "No, looks like I don't." His face was lowered for a moment, eyes hidden. Then he raised his head, and the expression was like a stone mask. "What's the mission?" Well, he was taking a gamble on it, but it was better than dying. It was a good deal besides, and he was good and nailed either way. Better to take the lesser of two punishments than to outright get axed.

Felina immediately began to brief him. "You know where the Deputy Mayor lives. Otherwise you wouldn't have led that squad of ninja kats there in the first place. I want you to go back there one last time, only this time you're getting a bit closer to the building. The target is the Deputy Mayor's ride- you know the one, I assume."

He nodded. "You want it totaled," he intuited.

Felina smirked and said, "Smart kat. I don't care how- could be at the bottom of the sea or in flames somewhere. Just make sure that it's demolished. And don't injure any innocent bystanders while doing it." She looked behind the driver's seat with a fixed glare. "Any collateral damage and I will sic the Enforcers and KatGuard on you so fast you'll swear they appeared out of thin air. You get me?"

The hit kat nodded again. He wouldn't ask why- he wasn't getting hired to ask why.

Felina turned back towards the road as the light turned green again. "I'm going to drop you off at her place. From there, it's up to you. When you're done, head towards the meeting point I told you about earlier. You bring me back good news and I will see what I can do about that sentence of yours. If I hear something, anything about any dead kats, you get the axe. Got any questions?"

The hit kat was silent.

"Good," Felina said, "Because I don't give a crap. Personally, I want you dead too, but you're of more use to me alive. Besides, I doubt that we'll be seeing much of each other after this anyway."

She stopped in front of the loft-style apartments and said, "Do you have everything you need?"

He reached into his coat and revealed several small packets of C4, along with fuses. "When do I not?"

Felina found it amusing this time, so she laughed. "If only you were on the side of the good guys."

He scoffed and said, "I'm on the side that pays me the most. There is no good or evil to me."

She turned away, "And that is why you lost. Get out and get it done. I don't want to see you until you do. Go, now."

As soon as he got out, she drove away, peeling off quickly so that no one would know she was there. He watched her leave before sighing to himself. She had him in a real Catch 22, didn't she? He thought about running at this point, but immediately figured that it wasn't worth it. If he tried to ditch, she would know, or some Enforcer would recognize him, and he'd be fucked.

"Besides," he muttered, "I have a reputation to maintain."

With that, he got to work.

* * *

Lunchtime had long since passed, but now that she had gotten some rest, Callie was hungry. Sure that rest was four hours long and she still ached in places she didn't even know she could, but she was awake and restless. Besides, it didn't hurt so much now that she had recovered slightly. With that said, she began to scrounge around for some food.

She had long since dressed in some casual clothing, for once. 'It's not like I'm going anywhere important,' she mused to herself as she headed upstairs, clad in a pair of slim-fitting jeans and a white silk camisole top. What? She liked being comfy. Of course, to complete the look she wore a pair of three-inch heels, which were the only pink thing on her. Hey, it was her favorite color, something had to do. There were just some things one didn't sacrifice.

With that said, the combination of the new haircut and the new choice in clothing meant that she would not be easily recognized. That was, unless someone who knew her intimately enough to know her favorite color was pink saw her shoes. There was an extremely slim chance of that happening, and so she felt safe in the knowledge that no one would know who she was. For all anyone could tell, she was just another blonde with green eyes and a great figure.

"And one very sore she-kat," she muttered to herself as she felt the twinge in multiple areas again. It would pass of course, but once it did, she knew it was back to work. Still, she had asked, and Chance had delivered. Speaking of Chance, he was upstairs as well, clad in his coveralls. She didn't know why, but she always thought that he looked sexy in those. Add that white long-sleeved shirt of his and the cap, and it made for a nice picture in her mind.

That same picture that she now saw right in front of her.

"Mmmmmm… well hello there, handsome," she purred as she came up behind him. Yes, he was playing Space Kat. He looked over his right shoulder for a brief moment and smiled. "Hey. You okay now? I did kinda mess you up from here to beyond earlier."

Callie shrugged and said, "I'll survive. In the meantime, is there anything good to eat around here? I'm starving," She said with a slight grimace as her stomach complained. Of course, she didn't want to interrupt him or anything, so she just waited for an answer.

"Yeah, just hang on for a bit… gotta get past this last wing of fighters." Chance's eyes narrowed as he began tapping the fire button furiously, his subtle manipulation of the control stick causing his tiny plane to avoid enemy fire by fractions of an inch.

Callie just watched, amused. Sometimes her love could really be a child in an adult's body. She would probably have to take care of him when he was acting like that, but she knew it was mostly because of his intense focus on anything he liked. It was funny, seeing his tongue stick out slightly like that, but she knew not to bother him.

"Looks like fun," she said softly. It was strange, but here the shell simply came off without anyone even trying to do anything. Maybe she just felt that comfortable? It couldn't have been anything else, at least not to her. Chance seemed not to hear her, at least not until the little fanfare for a new high score played. "Yes! Finally beat my old score!"

Callie giggled and said, "It's nothing that major, is it? I mean, it's just a game."

Chance shrugged as he continued playing, "We get bored easily around here, me and Jake. Gotta have something to take the edge off, y'know?"

She nodded and said, "I know what you mean. I can't deal with Mayor Manx twenty-four hours a day- wish I had something like this earlier." She smiled and asked shyly, "You don't mind if… y'know…"

Chance chuckled and said, "There's always room for one more here."

For the next few minutes, they played Space Kat together, which would have been entirely romantic if Chance weren't being so silly. Every few seconds or so, Chance laughed or joked or teased, and Callie teased back and taunted. All in all it was a good time, frankly. Afterwards, they both cuddled up on the couch, chewing on leftover mega sub sandwiches and talking about everything and nothing.

But of course, the time came for the major topic on her mind.

"Hey, Chance…" She lowered her eyes for a moment, trying to piece together what she was going to say first. "If this works, if you guys are able to fake my death in a manner that's convincing, what will happen then? I mean, I know I won't stay dead; otherwise you wouldn't have copied my records. But what is going to happen to me? Who will I have to become after this is all set?"

The big tom was silent for a good while before he answered. Of course, the fact that he was so slow to speak meant that he always knew what to say, due to his tendency to slowly deliberate on every word. Well, not always, but most of the time.

"You wanna know what I think? I think," He said with a smile, "That you can be whoever you want. I mean, look at the facts- Mayor Manx is going to have to do his own work for once, Feral will be out of your hair, and the baddies will be off of your back…" He nuzzled against her right cheek in a rather affectionate gesture; one that she didn't mind at all. "If this works, you'll be free, Callie."

Free. She tasted that word, tried it out in her head, rolled it around and played with it. After a while, she moved to sit in Chance's lap, pressed her breasts into his expansive, muscular chest, and kissed him softly. Apparently, she liked how that sounded.

"Then please," she said as she pulled away, her forehead touching his, "Let this work!"

* * *

In a restaurant about ten miles from the docks, Felina Feral was busy eating lunch. This was the meeting place that she had designated for the assassin and herself to meet, and it was here that everything would end for him. He'd be in jail, Callie would be safe, and hopefully it would be without anyone being the wiser. Of course, she didn't like tricking her uncle like this, much less the whole city, but it was a necessary evil. Still evil, but still necessary.

'All for her sake. She's too important,' she reminded herself. 'Besides, she's my best friend. What wouldn't I do for her?'

Of course, she had to maintain her honesty and integrity in some regards. Felina had to hold up her end of the deal. Her consolation would be that he wouldn't be getting away, ever again. With a sigh, she dialed the number for Enforcer Headquarters, then dialed in a certain extention. No, she would not be talking to her uncle, but someone who was a bit more reliable, more in control of himself.

"Enforcer Headquarters, firing range..."

Felina smiled and said, "Still using that tired old greeting, Benny? I was hoping you'd have changed it by now."

"Hey, Felina! I was starting to get worried about you," the veteran Enforcer said on the other end of the line. "Hey, I've been watching the news... you've been doing a hell of a job out there. And I'm not just yanking your tail, either. That was fine work with Dark Kat. Yeah, you blew something up, but if that's what it took, then I'm all for it." He chuckled and said, "So what can I do for you?"

She sighed again and said, "Actually, I need a very important favor. There's a high-risk warrant I'm bringing in soon..."

He already knew. "That hit kat, right? I can't do anything about that, really. That's in the Commander's hands."

Felina nodded and said, "I know, and that's where I'm leaving him. But that's not what I'm calling in for. He's slated for execution with how he's been running around, spying and killing. I wouldn't expect him to last that long in Alkatraz anyway. But Benny, I think he deserves an opportunity to reflect on what he's done instead of being killed right away. My uncle is a bit too overzealous with these things, you know that. He'll want to get rid of him."

The other end of the line was silent for a while before Benny responded. "You want me to try and pull some strings, don't you?"

The former Enforcer nodded. "Just this once. Promise you'll never have to do it again."

The line was silent for a while longer, and Felina thought that he wouldn't go with it. The bad news about that was that she had only this one plan upon which her hopes hung. If he said no... well then, that was it. She would have to accept it, wouldn't she? But sixty seconds later, she found that she need not have worried.

"You sure about this? He's not exactly everyone's favorite person at the moment."

The she-kat smiled and said, "Doesn't matter what he is now- he could be later. So can you do it for me?"

Benny sighed and said, "Hell with it. It's not the first time I've had to use my influence. But Felina, you know that this isn't exactly the way to go about it. Why don't you talk to the Commander directly about this? I'm sure you two could come to an agreement with what all has been going on. He misses you, you know."

He was right, of course. He was always right, and he didn't lie. "I'm..." Felina bit her bottom lip and said, "I'm not ready to forgive him yet. I need some time to get my priorities in place before I even _see_ him again. The way I am now and with what I'm doing, I can't talk to him yet. And I can't go back to Enforcer Headquarters until I've done what I have to do. Do you understand?"

Benny smiled and said, "When do I not?" Then his voice turned professional. "So then, what's the tradeoff for his execution?"

All right, now business was underway. "Double life, no parole. Just because he's not dead doesn't mean he's getting away. That's the only thing that my uncle and I would probably agree on. But he wouldn't let it happen, and we both know it. So it's up to you. Can you do this for me?"

He nodded and said, "For you? Anything."

His thoughts mirrored those of Felina when she thought of Callie. This was the best way to keep her safe, and come hell or high water, she would do it. Sure she felt bad about pulling the wool over her uncle's eyes, again. But when had that not been easy to do? She would feel worse if it were easy for her to get caught, but as it was, she barely felt the sting.

"At least some things haven't changed over there," she said softly. "I can always count on you. Thank you, Benny. I'll talk to you more often from now on, I promise."

Conversation over. When Benny said he would do something, he would do it no matter what else was in his way. With that secured, it was up to the assassin. If he didn't put out, Felina would retract what she had done immediately. She was already pissed at him for what he had done to Callie... so it wouldn't be too difficult to see him dead. As it stood now however, he had a chance to redeem himself, thanks to her.

'Don't waste it,' she brooded to herself, 'or I will make sure you are run so far into the ground, you'll be on the other side of the planet.'

She continued eating lunch without another thought on the matter.

* * *

The car was rigged to blow. It had taken all of approximately thirty seconds to do so. If his client wanted the car totaled, it would be entirely totaled. The hit kat was now driving towards the docks, aiming on setting that vehicle in the water and letting it sink a good distance before he did anything else.

There was only one x factor in this little formula, and that was whether or not the detonator's signal would reach the explosives once it sank to the depth he wanted. Not to mention that he had to get far away enough not to be too incriminated by all this. He didn't want another charge on his head on top of the already large pile of them.

This plan was a major gamble, when he could have just blown the damn thing up while it was still in the garage. But that wouldn't have been good- the Enforcers would find no traces of a body, and if that were on land it would cause a problem. No, it had to happen at sea. She didn't just have to die- she had to vanish entirely.

'Without a trace,' he thought to himself as he gunned the engine. 'Let the sea take her. Let them think she's washed out, too far to recover.'

It was a well-orchestrated plan. Now all he needed to do was gain enough speed to launch the car at a far enough distance. Fortunately for him, the vehicle had one monster of an engine in it. And as he revved up, he took note of another sound. 'That's a turbocharger. Not bad. I just might make the required speed after all.'

He had something else with him once he reached top speed.

Sometimes a simple rock of sufficient size and weight could come in handy, and this was just one of those times. Once the car reached one hundred and thirty miles an hour, he would have to quickly switch his foot for the stone, ditch the car, get his ass moving towards cover, and watch it sink.

The rest… well, it would be rather spectacular to watch.

'Hold yourself together. Ten seconds until execution.'

115… 120… 125… It was show time. His arms and legs were a blur as he switched his lead foot for a big, bad stone. One hundred and thirty miles an hour and it was still climbing. It was time to ditch, now. Kats moved out of the way of the incoming freight train as the engine reached a top speed of 155 miles an hour. There was so much utter chaos that no one saw the hit-kat leap out of the driver's side door.

And as expected… the car went over the edge at its full velocity. At that speed, it would move quite the distance. The hit kat blended into the crowd, running along with the rest of them in order to keep out of the line of sight of any nearby authorities. Once he found suitable cover however, he observed as the car made its final, dramatic splashdown.

As the sun began to set, he waited. The car would more than likely be at the bottom of MegaKat Bay within the next few seconds. So he began counting…

But of course, there would eventually come a time when not enough counting could be done. The Enforcers would be on their way soon, and he had to make his move sometime. Thus, as sixty seconds passed, the trigger was activated.

A split second later, the water shot upwards in a violent display of sheer force that made kats jump back from the edge in shock while others cried out in horror. There were enough explosives laced on that car to render it entirely unrecognizable. He fully expected the Enforcers' Coastal Patrol Units to handle the recovery and salvage, but by the time they arrived, there would be no body.

The 'body' would be carried away by the undertow, never to be recovered again.

As the predictable sounds of police sirens began to wail, the hit kat once again blended in with the crowd, destroying the detonator before he did so. The crushed remains were in one of his pockets, and they'd stay there until he found somewhere appropriate to dispose of them. Now all that was needed was to head towards the rendezvous point, and he was home free.

'Well, not exactly,' he brooded to himself, 'but at the very least, I won't be killed.'

And survival was everything to an assassin.

* * *

"This is Ann Gora, here in front of a tragic scene at the docks as the remains of what appears to be Calico Briggs' car is being pulled up from the bottom of MegaKat Bay. As of yet, there is no body to be found, but Ulysses Feral and the Enforcers are working around the clock in order to attempt a recovery. There are no leads on who performed this vile act, but all sources may be pointing to a certain assassin who was instrumental in-"

The four of them sat around the television, checking the news. So it had worked, then. But once they found nothing, then… well, they would make one of two assumptions. Callie was dead, or she was missing. The second outcome would be a bit sticky, but it would be close enough for their tastes. The first was the desired result though, so they would have to wait.

"You think my uncle will find out what happened?" Felina asked as she watched the recovery efforts.

Chance waved the very notion off and said, "Nah, he won't suspect a damn thing. We've covered this one from every possible angle. As far as everyone involved knows, Callie's history. Of course, it won't be that way for long, but she's gotta disappear for now." He looked over at the blonde who seemed to be fascinated as she watched everything that transpired.

"I'm…" She chuckled and said softly, "I'm really dead, aren't I? It feels weird, being dead and alive at the same time."

Chance placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Well this was the best plan I could think of, really. Heck, we thought of this a long time ago. If anyone wants to try and make a pass at kidnapping you, they'll have to check the obituaries instead of the Mayor's office." He smiled and said, "So have you thought of another identity yet? Anyone particular in mind, or did you make someone up?"

Callie smiled and said, "Matter of fact, I have. I've always wanted a sister, you know? It would have to be someone who was different, and yet the same. I figure she would have other tastes besides politics or hanging out in an office all the time," she said with a giggle.

Jake placed a hand on his chin and said, "Doesn't sound too bad. You uh, got any information about this sister of yours?"

The rest of the night was spent refining the details of this new persona that they would build over the one they had just erased. On that day, Calico Briggs died.

Her sister, Clara, was born. And nothing would be the same.

* * *

**Chapter 35: **_**Sic Transit Gloria Mundi**_

"Thus passes the glory of the world."

I figured this phrase in Latin would be a nice title for this chapter, since Callie is kind of dead. And yet she's not, is she? No, she's still alive and kicking, only she has a new name, a new style. And in the upcoming story arc, that style will be redefined. By the time it's over, you'll _never_ look at your favorite Deputy Mayor the same ever again!

In the meantime, let's execute this chapter's Reviewer Appreciation. Today we once again pick a random name out of a hat. The name is… **Kodachi Claws**! And yes, it's about to get very heavy, very quickly for a certain Deputy Mayor. Um… skip that. Former Deputy Mayor. But seriously, this is the way she 'ends'. Hopefully it's rather satisfying. Next up is **RaidenSilversword**. Yeah, you were right about the reluctant part. He thought at least twice about running away. Or is it once? I need to check the manuscript again. Regardless, I hope I used him fairly well in this chapter, because it's the last time he'll ever be showing his face again.

And look at that, one **ulyferal** spotted! Yeah, you really should keep up here, because I'm nowhere near done. While you're on break, be sure to check out my other stories in the works. You won't be disappointed. And of course, **Raiden Snake**. Oh, you're very welcome. It's my pleasure to crank out chapters, especially since I get into it so easily. I hope this answers your question about how the hit kat will be used.

I would drop a hint about the next story arc, but that wouldn't be fun, would it? Besides, there's nothing to say about it just yet- it's still in conception. However, I'm going to tell you right now that it's going to be like nothing you've ever seen before, and yet it will be entirely familiar somehow. I'll leave it up to your imagination.

EDIT: Thanks to Kodachi Claws' suggestion, I have added a section in which Felina makes the deal. You will soon see why she has said, "Who said anything about Commander Feral?"

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	36. Hell Week Part 1

"_A bird will fall frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself."_

-D.H. Lawrence

A series of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters carried a total of eleven black-clad young kats and kittens each, all ranging from anywhere between 17 and 25. Each had their gear in a backpack that weighed a good forty pounds, and some of them already felt the strain. There were those that were here because their parents wanted them to get straightened out.

They were going to feel the pain very quickly.

There were others who wanted a stable, paying job, having just left college, and decided that this would be the way to go. Considering where they were headed, they would consider this an interview of sorts. Of course, not all of them would make it, but those that did were going to be quite happy campers. That was, when they stopped hurting.

And there were still others who wanted to enter the Enforcers, to defend their city from that which would corrupt and destroy it. They were patriotic, they were fiercely passionate, and they thought they could hack it. Of course, what one thinks they can do is limited by whether they could actually do it, how well they could do it, and how quickly. All three were factors that determined victory and defeat in a combat situation.

They would soon have those three factors tested to the utmost.

For one however, it was a simple test of will. She was quiet, reserved, and did not speak unless spoken to. The golden-haired, green eyed she-kat had a calm soothing voice and a seemingly gentle nature about her. While she appeared unassuming however, she had been training for the last four days for this, and had direct experience from those who used to be high-grade Enforcers themselves.

She had an advantage, but frankly it wasn't much.

In total, there were sixty-six hopefuls in six Black Hawks. Sixty-six who thought they could make it through five days of sheer, pure evil. They would be cussed at, ridiculed, constantly evaluated. They would be pushed to their limits, and then past. They would be broken down to their basic elements, left helpless, and then rebuilt from the ground up.

Then again, that was if they didn't run away first.

As the transport helicopters flew overhead, the she-kat looked down at the water, her green eyes silently reflecting back on what she had been told. It would not be easy. It was not a vacation. This was real, and this would hurt. No matter how much she trained, she would not be ready. Everything, no matter how repetitive it became, should be taken as if it were done and experienced for the first time.

Keeping that in mind, her facial expression turned solemn. It wasn't a depressed look, but one of resolve. This week was important, especially to her. If she could do this, she could do anything.

If everyone on the helicopter she was currently in knew who she was… or rather, who she used to be… they would perhaps give her special treatment. Others would see her as another kat here to take shit and give it back double. She wondered who would say what and how, but immediately stopped that train of thought.

'Doesn't matter what everyone else thinks,' she said to herself.

With that, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. She could feel the nervousness of the volunteers as if it were her own. Come to think of it, it was; despite how ready for this she was, the she-kat _was_ nervous, and thus she could tell that everyone else was as well. But she said nothing, focusing inward and looking down at the scenery.

An island known as Bobcat Isle was located two thousand nautical miles from the mainland. Located in the farther regions of MegaKat Bay, it served as a training facility for employees of KatGuard, as well as the Enforcers. Right now, the base was reserved for the private military company instead of the government-sponsored force, so they had plenty of time to get themselves situated.

Of course, as soon as they touched down, the fun would immediately begin. If one could call something like this fun. A few would, and they were not in their right minds.

But then again, maybe that was the point. Maybe one did have to leave their so-called 'right mind' behind for all this. Either way, whatever coping method they used, it would either come in handy… or be their downfall.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**Four days ago.

Callie Briggs lay with Chance for about the umpteenth time now, sharing his bed for what would be one of the last times for a while. "So what's up with this training thing you're going to have me go through?" She smiled and said, "If it's anything like what you've been showing me, I think I can hack it."

Chance sighed and sat up, looking into her eyes. Those eyes that she would show to only him, and Jake and Felina as well. Anyone else would get the cold, hard, businesslike version of that same gaze that haunted him. "It's not like what I've been running you through. Like I said, I'm just getting you ready." He ran a hand through her hair and said, "The first day of this whole thing, you're going to be put through those same paces, and you're going to put out beautifully. I bet you could run all day, do more exercises than anyone else, and swim like you were the water itself instead of just a fish."

Before she could say anything else, Chance placed a hand on her lips. "But once that first day is over… you won't be ready. You're gonna have everything, including but not limited to the kitchen sink thrown at you. This is a simulation of a combat environment, which means there's gonna be stress, hard labor, lots of noise, survival situations, and just plain ol' taking shit."

She was silent, listening instead of talking. Her mind absorbed every word, and she could feel his worry for her. It wasn't just a mere supposition anymore, but a tangible feeling, a tingling on her skin.

Grateful for her silence, he continued stressing the importance that she took this seriously. "The job of these guys is to test you, to strain you, to put stress on you and see how you respond to it. They will be constantly measuring you and weighing you. A whole lot of kats are going to be leaving before it's over because they have their priorities elsewhere. But if you really want it, _nothing else_ is gonna matter at that time."

She pouted for a moment and said, "Not even you?"

Chance nodded sadly and said, "Not even me. You can't be focused on me, or you, or anyone else and what they have to say. And when I say you can't be focused on you, I mean you can't be focused on your pain, or how early in the morning it is, or how hungry you are. They tell you to do something, you do it and you turn out one hundred and twenty percent."

Well that was a little cold. But Chance had been acting cold to her since they had started this whole training regimen. What was anyone else going to do to her that he had not? The itch between her shoulder blades seemed to trigger at that moment, and she knew the answer immediately. They were going to do worse than he had.

"I understand," she said solemnly. "So then all I have to do is keep following instructions and I won't get yelled at as much?"

Chance shrugged and said, "Well yeah. But you gotta remember something else. If one of your team, and yes, you'll be split into teams sooner or later, doesn't give it his all, everyone else is gonna suffer, including you. But you can't give up just because some sad sack can't handle his part of the weight. You have to push and push and keep pushing, no matter what else happens, because it's not about you."

She nodded and repeated that. "It's not about me…" She laughed and said, "Of course, it's never been about me, has it? Everything I've done, I've done for the city. Recently, everything I've been doing has been for you and Jake, and for Felina. Even this thing I'm doing for _myself_ isn't about me." She shook her head and said, "I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm just saying that it's… kinda funny. It keeps on repeating itself."

Chance smiled and said, "It's because you don't have it in you to turn people away or to quit on your friends." He snuggled against her and said, "That's why I think you're gonna beat this." She nuzzled against his left cheek and said, "Thank you for believing in me."

The big tom nibbled on one of Callie's ears and said, "It's not even half of how much you believed in me."

* * *

A smile came to her face as she recalled with perfect detail that night that she had spent with Chance, and the days after. It was no longer such a wonder that such pain could make her smile. It was the feelings attached to the experience that mattered, not the pain itself. She didn't care how early she'd have to wake up- she had done so four times now, and four was enough for her to get moving immediately.

'It's like I have an alarm clock in my head now,' she thought to herself with a chuckle.

The kat next to her, one that seemed to be sulking constantly, looked at her with a raised eyebrow. The toned, tan-skinned tom didn't look anywhere older than nineteen years old, and had tattoos of gang emblems underneath his clothing, located on his left arm. Apparently, his folks had enough of him ending up in jail, and he had been shot at more times than he could remember. Hence, he was here in this Black Hawk.

Callie could feel the stare at the back of her neck. "You got a problem?" She said coolly.

The kat smirked and said, "Yeah, I got a problem. I got a problem with everyone." He continued onward with, "Example: You were laughing to yourself just then. I got a problem with that, because I've known people who did that. They ain't sane."

The blonde looked back towards him and said, "You know what? You might be right about that." She smiled at him, her eyes still entirely impersonal. "We're about to get the shit kicked out of us, you know that? Five days of utter, complete bullshit. And you know what? _I can't wait_."

Other kats started to listen in now, directing their attention towards her. Some of them thought that she was entirely nuts. But no one spoke for fear of inciting the wrath of the guy that was currently trying to pick a fight.

Said tom chuckled derisively and said, "Yeah… you _are_ crazy. You want my opinion? This is just like prison for me, except my parents sent me here instead of the Enforcers." He grimaced and said, "The only thing I can't wait for is to be out of here and back with my crew."

Callie shrugged and said, "Whatever you say."

His eyes narrowed and said, "Let's get one thing straight, lady. You shouldn't talk to me like that. I tend to get a bit… twitchy when I'm pissed off. It'd be best if you stayed on my good side for this whole thing, and you won't get shanked. Get me?"

She repeated her earlier statement, now with a more marked smirk. "Whatever you say."

So he had done time. So what? She wasn't scared of him or intimidated. She could just as easily throw him out of this helo and say it was an accident, or tell the truth and inform someone that he had attacked her. With the look in her eyes she was sporting, she made it clear that she would not hesitate to do so.

With such a pointed, intense glare, he was forced to break eye contact first and said, "Just stay out of my way."

That wouldn't be possible, and she knew it, so she did not respond. She didn't have time to, anyway- the Black Hawks were approaching their destination. She looked down at the tropical island and took note that it was more than just a base. There were hotels and resorts here. The island was big enough to have a city located there. She wondered if it was officially recognized as a part of MegaKat City, or if this was another place altogether.

But did that matter? Right now, all that she was concerned about was getting done what she had to. The first day would be easy, she knew that. The rest of them would be unpredictable, entirely insane, and full of nothing but pain. She knew that. What she didn't know was who her instructors were. But that wouldn't matter either, would it?

'This isn't' a vacation.' She knew why Chance had said that now. The temptation was certainly there. She could even hear a few of the younger kats on the helicopter talking even now, wondering what they were going to do first or if there were any malls around. She smirked and thought to herself, 'Oh, no. No shopping for you. That illusion is going to get knocked from your eyes very, very quickly.'

With that, she closed her eyes and waited for the landing.

* * *

A total of six kats waited below, observing the helos as they made their approach. Oh, this would be a lot of fun- for them, at least. Watching these kats suffer would be a delight and a laugh, and they saw the humor in this situation as much as anyone else with expertise. "They ain't ready," one of them said with a grin.

They all chuckled as another stated, "I'm gonna have me a good time with this group. I bet not a one of them can swim past three hundred feet. And that's not even saying anything about the run."

One however, was silent. He appeared to take a look at each of those choppers with a sort of promise. Everyone riding in them had potential. Whether it was brought out or not depended on if they could handle the stress that was induced upon them during the week. And it wouldn't even be the whole week- just five days of it.

Some of them were here to be 'scared straight', because their parents had sent them to be better role models or just plain shocked into complacency. Others were here looking for work, for an actual, paying job that was worth every penny. He knew the reasons.

The reasons would soon evaporate. Those that didn't belong here could keep those reasons and take them back with them. Those that did would find that _why_ they were here was irrelevant, and by the time it was over, nothing else would matter.

The Black Hawks landed, and two by two they came clamoring out. Sixty-six kats were here, and not all would remain. Then again, that was the process of separating the wheat from the chaff. It was a painful process, but it had to be done to determine who had the mettle to continue.

One of the instructors decided to start things off early. He turned on his megaphone and shouted, "**File in, get in line! Let's move, grunts, we ain't got all day! You are on the clock!**"

That got them to move faster. Callie had expected something like that, and she took the initiative. Quickly getting in line with everyone else, she stood at attention. As a result, she was one of the first there. The rest was a mass of organized chaos, and while some of them followed suit, others had trouble getting themselves together.

But by the time a total of five minutes had passed, they were lined up and had formed ranks. Five minutes to be honest, was not that bad, but it wasn't good, either. They would have to be much faster in the future, but as it was now they were just getting started. The Black Hawks powered down as they all stood at attention, some of them looking uncomfortable doing so.

The calm, composed kat, a silken black panther who had simply been watching earlier, now walked among the ranks, moving certain kats this way and that for no apparent reason. Then of course, when he was done, those that had never stood at attention before were now much more comfortable. Of course they'd make the same mistakes over and over again, but they would learn.

As soon as he was finished, the process of the engines quieting was over. Silence reigned.

"Rest at ease," he said with a voice that denoted him in his mid-forties. It was a baritone, somewhat of a growl, and it commanded respect. Those that knew how did. The others tried to emulate, but they couldn't be entirely relaxed. "My name is Captain Marcus Puma. I served with the Enforcers for twenty years before I was downed by an incident that almost cost me my life."

It was still quiet enough to hear a pin drop. No one moved, no one breathed. Only half were actually listening, one of which was Callie.

"That incident was a hail of gunfire that damaged major internal organs, broke bones, and came dangerously close to my heart. Thirty-six hours of intensive surgery and reconstruction took place, but I was a damn near lost cause. And do you know what happened during all that? I never, not once, complained about pain."

Those that were actually listening did not understand right away, but it didn't sound good. Those that did understand, knew exactly what he meant, were not only impressed, but they knew what was coming next.

Puma continued onward. "Oh trust me, it hurt like hell. Every step I took in my rehabilitation kicked my ass from here to beyond. But I didn't complain. If I was in pain… then that let me know that I was still alive. Sure, it let me know that I was still fucked up, that's the reason it exists. But it also let me know that I was awake, still breathing, and still moving."

He began pacing back and forth as he spoke, recalling his experiences. "By the time I was out of the hospital, I was informed that I had received a medal for my efforts in the line of duty. It didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that I had defended MegaKat City from the gangs and the drug wars and the criminals for as long as I was able."

He stopped and turned to face the recruits again. "But times had changed. Kats were beginning to have a desire to defend themselves against these same violent acts. Some had even been looking for ways to defend others, and get paid for doing so. So I used the climate to my advantage. I'm not gonna lie to you- I'm a selfish bastard at heart, and ambitious. What you see today came about _because_ I was selfish, _because_ I was ambitious. That doesn't mean you have to be either one of those to succeed."

Now, he had their full attention, every one of them.

"What you are about to experience," Marcus said sternly, "Is exactly what I went through: pain. And there will be heaping helpings of it. You're about to undergo the most brutal, grueling, heart-stopping training known to katkind. We're gonna chew you up and spit you out like you were grass on the lawn."

Well, that was enough to make a few kats nauseous, especially some of the younger ones.

"But you know what?" Puma said softly, "You'll live. Whether you stay here or not depends on if you can eat what we dish out. How far you get depends on not only that, but your ability to ask for more. With that said, it is the _gospel truth _that seventy percent of you will be most definitely be on one of those Black Hawks before this is over, back to the mainland and back to your mundane lives. Today, many of you won't even pass the physical evaluations."

Silence again. But it was shorter this time. "But for those that make it… no matter where you go next from here, whether you stay with KatGuard or move on with your lives, you will take back something of importance with you. Whenever you feel tired, you'll remember that you've had worse. Whenever you feel hot or cold or miserable in any way, you'll remember that you've had worse. Whenever you're afraid or tense, you'll remember that you've had worse. No situation, be it ordinary or extraordinary, will be unmanageable to you. You will have the skills and tools necessary to survive any engagement, on the street and on the battlefield. You will have the confidence to excel in any effort you take on, at any time. Even emotional storms can and will be weathered simply because you have been through the dregs and come out the other side stronger."

He gestured behind him and said, "Take a good look at the five kats behind me. They are your instructors. You will follow their orders explicitly, without hesitation, or you will pay dearly. Quitting is done of your own volition, and nothing else. If you are not allowed to quit, and it will happen, you are to keep moving, regardless of circumstances. But when you are, make it a final decision. Do you understand?"

They were caught in it now. Without even thinking, there was a resounding, "**Hooyah, Captain Puma!**"

There were still a few that weren't responsive. Oh, they would respond soon enough.

He nodded and said, "With that, I turn you over to my Sergeant Major and the instructors. Welcome to Hell Week."

* * *

Callie was in the water, swimming for her life.

The loudspeakers were blaring orders, telling kats to hurry up, to keep moving, to be careful of the sharks. She ignored them and kept swimming. Her lungs burned, her heart beat in her chest as if it wanted to burst out. It didn't matter, because she had done it before. Five hundred meters out she swam, as practiced.

It was easy. She didn't feel the strain. Her mind wasn't preoccupied on how to do it or how long or how much pain she was in, she simply kept moving. Other kats fell by the wayside, had bad form, and panicked. They couldn't swim, couldn't breathe. It was too cold, they were too tired, or they hadn't had breakfast.

She kept moving.

Others kept moving as well, some out of sheer grit. Some saw how Callie was going, how she kept pushing, and fed off of her energy. She didn't mind, actually. Whatever got them past this was fine with her. Besides, it was just a swim, and there were lifeguards constantly on duty. She wasn't afraid- she wasn't even thinking. Her mind did not complain, and when it did she simply allowed the complaints to silence on their own.

She had become good at doing that.

And that wasn't even the bad part… "**Bust 'em!!**"

The loudspeaker gave the command to get moving after two minutes of treading water at the far buoy. They were now officially on the clock. The swim of choice for Callie was of course, the breast stroke. And she hauled ass like no other. Then again, there were several kats who moved just as quickly… many used the side stroke, due to the fact that it was quite possibly one of the easiest ways to move.

Others… did not fare so well. They weren't exactly doing the proper strokes. In fact, they were doing all the wrong ones. Their times did not count for squat due to incorrect swimming technique, and those that were not recovered by boat were talked down to by the instructors on arrival to the beach.

In the end, her time was killer- nine minutes and thirty seconds. The competitive time was ten minutes flat. She was one of the first ones back on the beach as a result, and took note of the nods of a few instructors. "Well don't just sit there, next up! Hit those push-ups- you got two minutes!"

"Yes Sir," she said coolly before getting to work.

A few of them got busy with what they had to do, and surprisingly one of the ones in the first group was the kat who had threatened her earlier. It seemed that he was no slouch as far as this went. Still, she hadn't noticed quite yet- she was too busy working through the paces. Callie cranked out one after another, as fast as she could, and she cranked them out with perfect form. Having practiced them to the point where she could do them in her sleep, it wasn't a surprise.

Two minutes was over, and she had executed a total of eighty-three, all the way up and all the way down. A few didn't do as well, but they passed. Some in this first group however, didn't even make it past twenty or thirty. The minimum was forty-two. "What the hell was that, people? Get it in gear or you're gone," one of the instructors barked. "On your feet, wait for the others!"

The rest of them made it at the ten minute mark or higher. Those that were past twelve minutes and thirty seconds were ending right here, but no one told them that yet. They wouldn't know until the tests were over. The blond she-kat didn't care- she just waited and rested, stretching her limbs.

A she-kat who was age seventeen timidly walked up towards her. "Umm… excuse me…"

Callie responded without looking towards who was speaking. "Mmm? What can I do for you?"

She had her hands behind her back, digging one toe in the sand. "Um… that was some good swimming. I didn't know anyone could move that fast. And you seem to know what you're doing here, so…" She looked behind her, pausing for a moment. A group of she-kats urged her onward from a distance, but when she turned around again, Callie was looking at her with a smile on her face.

"You want to stick with me, don't you," she intuited. "How many are there?"

The young she-kat blinked in confusion before shaking her head, clearing herself of the eerie feeling that she got. "There are six of us, including me. I'm sorry if this is a bit much, but you just seem so cool about all this. You know we're here to get chewed out, right? I mean, most of us were sent here by our parents as either punishment or for our own good; you know how that goes."

Callie nodded and said, "I do. I could feel your uncertainty and frustration before you said anything about teaming up. I can still feel it now, but you've got nothing to worry about." She looked over to the group and shouted, "It's okay, you guys can hang with me! Better hurry though- they're almost done!"

They flocked towards her and the questions started coming in. Pretty soon, they found out that she was age twenty-five, was here for the challenge, and wanted to not be so afraid of everything. Not to mention that she had learned how to take all this from a tom that she cared for. That made them even more enamored. Within less than two minutes, they had a leader.

The former gang member scoffed at all this. "This ain't an after-school special," he muttered to himself as he stood at a distance. "This is suicide school. You girls can play house if you wanna- just stay away from me while I get my ass out of here."

From there, the pull-ups were next, and while some were not exactly fit for this part either, there were others that excelled. Callie's impromptu team had one who was lagging behind, having done only three of them without using her legs. Callie just kept on moving, but she was shouting as well. "Come on, fight it! You've got it in there somewhere, just find it and pull it out!"

"I can't," She responded, and it was a usual response. "I just can't pull myself up! It hurts…"

Callie shook her head and said, "Never mind how much it hurts, you can do it! Don't think about it, don't psyche yourself up, just do it! If you don't mind, it don't matter!" Her energy was absolutely contagious. So the she-kat tried… and slowly but surely, she hauled herself upwards from a dead hang for five more repetitions before having to drop down.

A resounding cheer came from the other kittens as they gathered around. "I told you," Callie said with a grin. Of course, the instructors took note of this as well. This was getting interesting, sure enough. But it was only the first day- this proved nothing. But at the same time, it showed them a glimpse of what could come from her.

Sure, it wasn't an after-school special. But she was executing, and she had an organized force in less time than it took most these days.

The sit-ups were no problem from that point forward, and the seven of them managed to start doing the exercises in sync. Sure it wasn't perfect at first, but come number thirty, they were linked up. By the time it was done and done, they had managed to do sixty-five before some of them tapered off. The last two that remained had reached eighty four before the time was up.

"Well," Callie said as she caught her breath, "I think we all deserve a break after that one. That is, if they'll give it to us." They all laughed, and there wasn't any real nervousness in it. Sure, some of them wouldn't forget why they were here today, but maybe, just maybe, they would forget sooner rather than later.

The rest of it was no problem, and the run was taken at a brisk pace. By this time, many were pretty much weeded out in the instructors' eyes, but there were a few that kept on pushing the envelope. It was shaping up to be a good class for the rest of the week, but only time would tell if this would last.

* * *

By the time they had all been sorted out and sifted through, they were led towards a series of tents that had been placed out on the grass beyond the beach line. Dinner was served, and surprisingly it was good. Callie was busy entertaining her little group with jokes and finding out more about them. As she had thought, a few were here because their parents were tired of their attitude. Two of them however, were here to add a few things to their college resumes. Well that made sense- they were about to exit high school, it was natural to want to polish up.

Maybe KatGuard even had scholarships available, who knew for sure. Either way, they were here for themselves, just like her. When asked why she was really here however, Callie simply said, "It's like I said earlier, I'm here for the challenge. I guess I got tired of looking around every corner for trouble- it was getting in the way of life. I didn't want to rely on others to keep me safe anymore. I heard about this and figured it'd be a good idea, and my boyfriend agreed, so there we go."

Some of them didn't believe this story outright, but they wouldn't bother her on it. After all, it didn't matter why she was here, just that she was, and that she had helped them. "Right, we're probably going to be split up tomorrow- I don't know how exactly they do that, but we might not see each other again. So I want you guys to keep focused, all right? If we're on the same team after all, it's for the better. If not, just hang in there, no matter what happens. Remember, if you don't mind…"

They immediately chimed in, having heard it from Callie before, "It don't matter!"

The blond she-kat laughed and said, "Good! Glad you guys are catching on."

A voice from behind her dripped with acid. "You must think you're hot shit, playing den mother."

She turned to look over her right shoulder to see the tom that she had run up against quite a few times now. He certainly did have a problem with everyone, didn't he? She immediately shifted gears, giving her that cold stare again. "And what is your problem now? I just think it'd be better if we did this together instead of trying to rip each other open like wild things."

The kat scoffed and said, "Yeah, you would think that, wouldn't you? But life doesn't work like that. This ain't no day camp, lady… this is for real. Tomorrow you're gonna get beat the ever living shit out of, and then your little tight-knit group will fall apart. But you know what? I'm gonna beat this because of _my_ skills, not that of the others. I might be on a team, even _your_ team, but I'm not a teammate. Get me?"

Callie simply glared at him for a few moments before she shrugged. "Whatever you say."

The other girls giggled at this, which made him fume. "You got a real smart mouth. Keep it up and you'll have to learn how to talk without a few teeth." He turned away and said, "If we're on the same squad, you stay out of my way. I don't play well with others."

She turned her back on him again and said, "Then you might as well give up now."

He stopped in his tracks, frozen to the spot. Okay, that was not good. "Excuse me, bitch?"

The she-kat was unfazed by his language. "You heard me. Go home, go back to the city, and forget you ever saw this place. I don't care who you are or who you ran with, but if you want to play alone, you go and do that… _by yourself._ Because if you stay here, you're gonna find out very quickly that that shit doesn't fly."

Silence prevailed. All eyes were on the two of them as tension mounted in the tent in which they stayed. One standing, one sitting, but both ready to move in an instant.

Instead, the guy just scoffed and said, "Whatever. Just stay clear of me."

Some kats simply did not want to get along. With the mood ruined, Callie sighed and said, "I think we should go to bed. We're going to need the rest."

And indeed, they would. Evening turned to night, and everyone was tucked in and gone. Tomorrow however, they would be in for a literally rude awakening.

* * *

**Chapter 36: Hell Week (Part 1) – **_**Indoctrination**_

Now, this will be interesting. Before I go on any further, I'm going to let you know what this all will be based on. If you have never heard of the term BUD/S before, it stands for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. Twenty-six weeks long, it's the path to becoming a member of one of the most bad-ass groups of soldiers to ever walk the face of the earth.

Week three is known as Hell Week, five days of physical and mental stress that serves as a test of how badly one wants it, and to see if they can handle the rest of the training. Seventy percent will drop either due to injury, performance issues, or DOR- drop on request. There has, in fact, been one class in which there has been absolutely no one who has survived, and it was mostly due to the third week.

Now since I don't have time to document the whole thing, and since in the story there's not much time before the next attack happens, I can only do so much. Still, I figure this would be a good time to refine Callie's character a bit. Just like Felina's introduction as a SWAT Kat, this will shape and define the Deputy Mayor's role for the rest of the story. Watch closely, for you are about to witness history in the making as I put Callie through the paces of one of the most intensive training regimens on the planet.

Let's hope she'll be all right at the finish line.

And now… wait, no. Not yet. No Reviewer's Appreciation just yet. I'll save it for later. Right now I'm too excited, so I'm posting it up now. All I'll say is, thanks for reading this! I appreciate it a bunch, and you know it. To everyone who has (and hasn't) replied to Chapter 34 yet, thank you so much. This author is humbled.

EDIT: Kodachi Claws has my thanks for pointing out my obvious errors. Thanks a lot!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	37. Hell Week Part 2

The time was two in the morning, practically the dead of night. The seven she-kats were sleeping side by side, seeing as it was convenient and it kept the warmth circulating. Encased within a non-REM sleep, they were entirely oblivious of what was about to befall them. Well, that wasn't true for everyone. One of the blondes, who looked older than the others yet still looked young, had a tingle on the back of her neck and an itch between her shoulder blades.

Her green eyes snapped open as if she had been shocked awake, or had a loud noise played in her ears. It was still too dark, still too cold, but she was awake. And the fact that she was awake warned her of something.

'They're coming. Shit, they're coming.'

She quickly got up, beginning to crawl out of her bag. The two kittens on either side of her muttered in protest, one of them snuggling further into her bag. "This is no time for sleep," she whispered to herself as she nudged the two she-kats that were next to a now empty bag with her right toe. "Come on, get up."

Her gentle urging brought the two of them awake. "What… is it morning already?" one of them muttered tiredly. "If it's not, let me sleep."

Callie shook her head and said, "You don't understand- you have to wake up, _now_." She nudged them again and said, "Come on, let's go before they get here."

With a groan, the two of them got up, scratching the backs of their heads and rubbing the sleep from out of their eyes. Their movement led to the stirring of the others, one of them waking up on the spot. "Quick now, wake up the others. I don't want them to catch us…"

A very confused she-kat raised an eyebrow in the dark and said, "Them who? What are you talking about?"

Callie shook her head and said, "No time to explain, just get the others awake and start your engines. Hurry up before they get here!" Still confused, she responded to the request, and soon they were all awake. Needless to say, not everyone was a happy camper.

Of course by the time they were all up and all the way live, it was an hour later. But surprise, surprise- they weren't here yet. Still, Callie's skin tingled, eyes looking towards the tent flap. And since nothing had happened yet, the others waited for an explanation. "Hey, I wanna know why I'm being deprived of my beauty rest," one of them demanded.

Callie smirked and said, "Not here. Let's head out so that no one will hear us. Come on."

With that, they followed her out of their tent and stood in a circle around her. Callie began to explain herself. "All right, here's the deal. I know they haven't arrived yet, but the instructors are on their way, and they're not here to have an early breakfast. They're coming with a lot of noise and a lot of orders, and the slower it takes to move, the worse it gets."

Their eyes widened collectively in the early morning. "There's no way… you mean they're doing a wake-up call at this hour?" Another one said, "This is crazy! I didn't sign up for this!"

They all started talking amongst themselves, saying how unfair it was. Callie wanted to yell, but it would wake the others. "Hush up, and listen," she said harshly. That got them quiet again. "I know it sucks. I feel your pain. But it's time to suck it up and get with the program. I understand your parents sent you here, and I know why you motivated yourselves go come here, but it doesn't matter why. All that matters is that you're here, and if you want to leave with some measure of pride intact, you're going to have to work for it. This is part of the work."

When they didn't respond, their leader continued onward. "You're going to get hungry, get cold, get tired, and be in more pain than you think you can handle. The point is to ignore the complaints of your mind, ignore all the little things that tell you to give up, that you can't cut it, that you, as you so artfully put it, didn't sign up for this. It doesn't matter if you did or not, it's happening. And if you want to beat this, you're going to have to ignore that voice in your head that's going to make you want to collapse. Now are you with me here or not?"

After a few moments longer of silence, they nodded. "We're with you," one of them said softly. "But where are they?"

Callie sighed and said, "I don't know, but they're coming. Just watch. You're about to find out a reason why this is called Hell Week."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_Megaphones blared and instructors shouted. Kats were suddenly roused from their rest at four in the morning- all except the seven she-kats who were ready for it, neatly lined up in their black BDUs. They said nothing as they walked past them and headed towards the rest of the tents.

Some of the kittens looked towards Callie, eyes widening. How exactly did she know they were coming? But no, now was not the time for questions. They turned their heads back to face forward again and waited for orders. It wasn't exactly that bad, really. They knew in advance, and it made things easier.

One of the instructors finally noticed that they were quietly standing in rank and said, "Well what do we have here? Looks like someone managed to catch us before we caught them. That makes me wonder if there's a spy in our ranks. Of course, I'd know whether there was one or not, so I'll chalk it up to luck. Since you're fortunate enough to get up before the others, you'll be my first victims. Down, now!"

They got down.

"You will be doing push-ups, in unison, with good form. You get out of line or out of posture once, and that one doesn't count. I want to see thirty of 'em and I want to hear a count on every one. Go!"

This time, they were ready. Every count was in line, every push-up was in sync. "Do not think," the instructor yelled at them as they performed the exercise, "That I will show any mercy on you just because you're she-kats. You're here like everyone else, and you will put out when I damn well say you put out, or you can take your ass home! Do you get me?"

"Hooyah, instructor!" they said in tandem. By the time that speech was over, they were at fifteen, and they had done them without a scratch thus far. It was a surprise what they could do with a bit of motivation, wasn't it?

"Damn straight. It looks like everyone else is awake, so you're doing what they're doing. And don't think for a second that I'm not watching, because I am! You will be in tandem with the group and in form, or you will pay. Get me?"

"Hooyah, instructor!" they said again, but louder this time. By now, they were done… but it was going to be a long day. Still, it wasn't so bad. Hell, they already felt more confident, if only a little. And it was true, why they were here didn't matter. Just that they were here in the first place and that they had to stick it out together.

The instructor nodded. "Good. Stand up and form ranks with the others."

Fortunately, by the time six in the morning rolled around, they were called to a halt for an important announcement. Unfortunately, this was the judgment result from yesterday that loomed over their heads. A couple of armored personnel carriers pulled up, each one designed to carry eight trainees, along with a driver and a gunner.

"If you thought," the Sergeant Major said to the group, "That we would just let you all move along like it was nothing special, you damn well better think again, right now. I want the following kats to step forward!"

There were several names called, and soon the class was split between thirty-two in back and thirty-four in front. For a moment, there was silence… and then the Sergeant Major said, "Front team, about face!" they turned to look at the thirty two that were behind them.

"Take a good look at these kats before you. Burn their faces into your minds forever, because this will be the last time you see each other for this entire week! We are looking for four boat crews, count 'em, _four_. That means eight kats per boat. I'm sure you can do the math from here, but don't get cocky. We're damn well just getting started. Front team, face forward!"

They did, without flinching. Some kats were definitely miffed; others knew that they had gotten their asses kicked in the physical examination. But they all knew where they were going next.

"Remove your headgear," he said solemnly.

They removed their hats. One after another, the instructors quietly took them from their hands. This meant that they were gone, completely and totally cut off from the rest of the team. Once that was done and they were put in a nearby box, the instructors stood in rank again. "Wherever you go after this, we wish you the best of luck. You place just isn't here, not yet. The Black Hawks are waiting- you have one hour to get the hell off of my base. Take care and god speed to you."

With that, they disbanded, leaving only the thirty two at attention. "Congratulations, grunts. Hell Week is now in session. The first half-day you had wasn't even a part of it, it was only physical examination. You passed that, and now you're here, locked in. Now I get to kick your asses for real," the Sergeant Major said with a grin.

"The APCs behind us are going to take you to your first training facility. You will be trained in the use of weapons, tactics, and strategies that are vital for engagements that may require your attention. You will be also trained in close-quarters battle and hand-to-hand combat. We believe in the well-rounded individual here, after all."

The doors to the APCs opened and the order was given. "They ain't gonna stay open forever, so **bust 'em**!"

They hauled ass yet again, though some of them were reluctant to do so. Hell, most of them were. That wasn't even part of it? All they had gone through was a test? Well that wasn't too good, was it? It meant that it was only the beginning, and if they had to wake up this early every day, well… it wouldn't fare too well on their nerves.

Callie just nodded and kept moving, her face serene. She had expected it.

The other she-kats and one of the other toms entered the APC with her, and once all four were good and ready, the doors closed and they were up and away. The young kat that had joined them looked like he was going to throw up at any minute, he was so damned nervous.

The blonde leader could feel his torment. Yes, he had most definitely figured that this was just the beginning. "Holy shit," he muttered to himself, "You mean that was just… holy shit! I don't think I'm cut for this, and we have to wake up early as hell, too… oh, man…"

For all she knew, he probably thought he could hack it when he first came here. Sure he had passed the physical test, but now that it was really getting started, there was no good news here. He probably wasn't ready for anything else. Callie, her gaze fixed on him, called out. "Hey… it's okay."

He looked up towards her, as if he were in his own little world for a while there. "It's… okay?" He laughed, tersely and without merriment. "How the hell is waking up at four in the morning, only to hear that the shit you went through was only the tip of the iceberg? No offense miss, but none of this is okay!" He shivered and said, "I still hurt, everywhere. I don't like pain, I don't like being cold, and I don't like the way these guys are talking to me."

She nodded, expecting all that. "Then don't pay attention to it."

He laughed again and said, "Please, I'm supposed to ignore all that just for the sake of some kind of pride or honor? Those are overrated. I'd rather be back home with my parents and tell them that I couldn't hack it, just apologize right now and never piss 'em off again. If they were trying to scare me straight, they sure as hell did it."

Callie felt him start to crack, even now. That was, if he hadn't already started to do so yesterday. "What exactly did you do? Why did they send you here?" She knew her talk about how it didn't matter, but she had to know what exactly the case was before she said it. Everyone had a different situation.

He scoffed and said, "You know parents… they think you're too spoiled or too meek or too whatever, and want that fixed ASAP. Not like they had time to do it themselves, they were too busy. So they shipped me off here." His eyes narrowed. "This is utter bullshit. I can't hack it in any kind of confrontation, how am I supposed to do here?"

The other she-kats were silent, not knowing what to say.

Callie simply nodded. "I see what you mean. You want my advice? Don't make this about your parents. Don't take all this as torture. A lot of kats seem to be doing that, but it's not like that. You're not here to get humiliated or harassed or bullied."

He just looked at her with an incredulous expression on his face. "What the… how can you _say_ that when the evidence of the opposite is right in front of you? How the hell can you take all this?"

She grinned and said, "Because I know the trick to beating it."

He was entirely silent. She was too confident, too sure. Not arrogant, but certainly more outgoing than he was. So he was quiet, and he listened.

"The trick is," she said calmly, "To turn everything they throw at you into something you can use. We're about to be split into teams, which means what?" She didn't wait for him to answer, and didn't think he could right now. "It means that you can't act alone, by yourself, without others backing you. But at the same time, if you don't move, the whole thing won't work. This isn't some form of torture. It's a means of taking your ego away and replacing it with something real. It's a way for you to learn how to work with others while depending on them at the same time. And you know what else?"

He shook his head. "What else?" the tom asked quietly.

Callie placed a hand on the young kat's head and said, "It's a way to learn how to stand up to anyone who threatens you. It's a way to learn how to be mindful, so you don't piss your parents off, or if they're really being bastards, to _tell_ them off. And it's also a way to learn how to tell the difference between those two things."

The tom shook his head and said, "I don't get it…" Well at least he was calm now.

The she-kat smiled and said, "I know. You will, though. But if you want to, you have to stick it out. Got that?"

He was quiet for a moment before nodding slowly. "Okay… I'll try. Besides, it's only a week, right? I mean, what's five days? I might even have the weekend to do whatever the hell I want after."

Callie nodded and said, "Maybe. If not, you have the satisfaction of going home without ever being afraid of anything again. And that's what this is really about, right?"

He laughed and said, "Now you sound like the Captain."

She laughed as well. "Well if you've heard it more than once, it starts to make sense, right? Besides, he was telling the truth. If you don't mind the cold, the chafing, the noise, the cussing, the pressure, the pain… then what is there left to bother you?"

The tom really had to think about that for a moment, and then he said, "Nothing."

* * *

"**Get out here, you sorry-ass bastards! Go, go, go! We don't have all day here; we'd like to get home!**"

The APCs emptied out as they arrived at their destinations. Immediately assuming that they had to form ranks, they began lining up, but the instructors kept yelling. "What, did I tell you to stop? In the building, now! Hustle!" There were several however that kept on moving. Apparently, they understood that they were heading towards a training facility, and that whatever orders were to be given were obviously going to be done so inside.

The seven she-kats and one tom simply followed Callie as she jogged towards the building in question. This was probably the point where they were going their separate ways, at least most of them. All she had to find out was how, and hope that whoever was sent to another team would carry away what she had showed them.

As soon as they were all in, _then_ they were told to form ranks. The Sergeant Major was already there, in front of a series of tables and chairs. It was a classroom. Those that noticed this tried not to grimace. They were going to school now? What the hell was all this? But they refrained from speaking.

"First things first," the Sergeant Major said as he walked towards the recruits. "You heard me talking about boat teams earlier. Well here's your chance to find out just what the hell I meant. You have five minutes to find eight kats of similar height before I do it for you, and it's not going to be pretty. Those who bonded during the first day, don't you worry. You'll see each other again; it just might be on opposite sides. The only time you will not be competing is when you are at lunch. Then you can damn well sit wherever you want and with whomever you want. You get me?"

"Hooyah, Sergeant Major!" they shouted.

He looked around for a moment, scanning the rows of faces. "Let's move!"

It was chaos from there as thirty-two kats searched for a group with similar height. This was somewhat difficult for Callie as she attempted to find out who was around five foot six. Fortunately for her, three of the she-kats from her original group and the one tom she had just met were her height, so that took care of most of it. Unfortunately... one of the remainders was not exactly her choice for a good team member.

"Awww, Shit. I figured this would be a bad day," the former gang member said from behind her.

She sighed in exasperation and said without looking, "Well it can't be helped. Try not to get us killed, okay?"

He grimaced and considered smacking her upside the head, but he figured that wouldn't be conducive to his continued participation in this. That was, if he wanted to continue at all after this one. He just decided to himself that he wouldn't let them hold him back. There would be no waiting, no hesitation, he would just do what he had to do and head off by himself when it was over.

Five minutes were over, and along with him, three more joined the team. Most of them were the same height, so whatever happened next wouldn't be a problem. At least, Callie hoped not with the guy behind her. "Well then, you can follow orders. Good, because that skill will come in handy for this next evolution. Crew one, first table!"

With that, they began taking their seats, the fourth crew at the back and the first in front. Callie's was number two.

"All right, listen up. Before we get started, let me explain something. From this point forward, you are in competition mode. Every exercise, every evolution, every run that you take will be compared with your opposing teams. In combat and in life, it pays to be a winner. That's going to be taken to the extreme here. Losers will pay, and they will pay dearly, so it's best that you work as a unit."

Callie nodded to herself. That was the plan.

"Individuals will be singled out, just like the term suggests," he continued. "They will be given special treatment by the instructors, and if one fails, everyone suffers for it. So you'd better get it out of your brains that you're worth two shits without your team, because that will not fly here. Do you get me?"

They responded with the expected reply by now, and the Sergeant Major nodded. "I want the following four kats to stand up when their last name is called. Felix," one kat at the third table stood, fifth seat from the right. "Andrews," another kat stood, first table. "Lynx," a third kat, table four. "Briggs." Callie stood from her table.

Wait, Briggs? Holy shit… that was the Deputy Mayor's last name, and the news had stated that she was… no, it couldn't be. It had to be a coincidence. But never mind what her last name was. Those who knew what she was capable of wanted to cheer, but they stayed quiet. The ex-gang kat just looked at her, stone-faced.

He didn't know what he had done in a past life, but he was starting to feel sorry for it now.

"You are the Crew Captains. You are responsible for the welfare, tactics, and performance of your crews. A mistake on any part of your team reflects heavily on you, because you could not keep the specific individual in line and in shape. I don't care how you have to do it, just keep the team together. Understood?"

"Hooyah," they all responded in unison.

"Good, sit. Now then, here's the situation. You're here to learn how to operate in a military operation via small-unit tactics. Your boat teams will act as two fire teams of four and will execute in both fire and maneuver and close-quarters battle tactics. Each team will have three runs and will be judged on three different factors- cohesion, tactics, and kills scored. Even if you are low on one score, if you score high in the other two, you could still emerge victorious. The team that ends up in last place, of course, will go through the grinder. Get me?"

"Hooyah, Sergeant Major!" Well, they were getting better at saying that in unison.

He smirked and said, "I bet you do. Now there's one more thing before we teach you the real way to fight." He brought something out of a box, shown to be a panel with a siren and a red alarm light on it. He pressed the button and the alarm sounded as the light flashed. He held it for three seconds, and then let go. "That is the sound of failure. You wanna quit, you do what I just did. Talk to any instructor, they will lead you to the Red Death here. You hold that button for three seconds and that will let everyone know that you are a washout. You will be heading back to the mainland afterwards on the next day of the week, no questions asked, and will not be participating in any more evolutions for that day."

Well, there it was. The gauntlet had been thrown down.

"You don't have to be here. You don't have to be cold, wet, tired, hungry, or in pain. You can leave any time, but you will be a sad sack of shit for it in our eyes, and in the eyes of those who sent you here. Hell, maybe even your own eyes, if you've got any sense of integrity. But let it not be said that I didn't give you a chance to back out. If there is anyone who wants to leave now without any further ridicule, step forward and hit the alarm."

The room was silent for thirty seconds. "Going once…" Ten more seconds passed. "Going twice, you bastards are crazy…" Ten more seconds. "Gone, and you better not regret it, because for this exercise, you are locked in. Now let's explain how we kick some ass here at KatGuard…"

* * *

Boat Crew Two was moving down the streets of the simulated city, checking for any sign of hostile activity. They could come from pretty much anywhere- windows, doors, and alleyways. They had a series of airsoft weapons, harmless pellet guns that simulated small arms fire. And they wore a pair of protective polycarbonate lenses, just in case.

Callie peered out from behind the building she was standing against, checking the street. Apparently, they had nothing to worry about for now, but it was still a good idea to check for cover. There were a few options around, sure enough, but they had to be sure that they wouldn't suddenly get jumped if they were all together. She turned toward the leader of the second team, that timid tom who went by the name of Andrew. "Second team, scout up. We'll cover you."

Andrew nodded silently and began moving out into the street, checking for any sign of activity. Even from here, she could feel his dread and anxiety, but it was a commendable effort that he was trying. 'Master your fear… just remember to stay cool.'

The kat that was on her team, the one harassed her almost twice as much as the instructors did, huffed impatiently. "That cock bag isn't going to do shit to help. We should just rush out there and fuck shit up, not wait around and sulk."

Without giving him the grace of a look towards him, she replied, "I'd rather we not all die and fail this, thanks. You sound like you've never heard of reconnaissance before." And just as she said that, the itch between her shoulder blades kicked in. "Damn, it's a trap!"

She had five seconds to get her people to stop. She spoke into her radio, "Scout team, hold and find cover. You are walking into an ambush." They immediately followed her order and moved out of the street. "Now where are you…?"

The former gang member raised an eyebrow. "You're fucking kidding me. You can't see 'em- how do you know they're out there?" He shook his head and said, "I ain't got time for this crap. I'm going."

"No, wait-"

He moved, running out into the street. She groaned and said into her radio, "Scout team, we have a rogue headed your way. He's gone _suicidal_ on us- I want you to cover him from your positions. Try as best you can to keep him alive, got it?" Callie received the affirmative on her radio before she grimaced as he walked right into the trap she knew was there.

'I will not lose because of you.'

Still, if he exposed their positions, it would be a hell of a lot easier to take them down. Perhaps he could help them after all. And lo and behold, they came out of the woodwork. Two windows opened and kats began coming out of the alleyways in front and behind, four in front and two each on his flanks.

The window on the left side was taken care of by Callie with a well-placed shot from her M4A1. The right was handled by one of the scout team members while the other three sprung their own trap, opening fire from behind the enemy.

As for the gang kat, he was busy taking out what was in front of him, his UMP, something that she herself had used. He was busy screaming and cussing and making a royal mess of things. "Oh, you like that, bitch? Bring it! I ain't scared of any of you punks!"

She sighed and said, "Selfish bastard." She had just saved his ass, and here he was, plowing forward to die. He was too far ahead though, and soon four more were approaching, with two more on nearby rooftops. Problem was, he didn't see them, so he kept on shooting what was in front of him. But she saw them, and it looked like it was time for his first lesson.

It would be worth the point deduction that her team would get afterward.

Callie smirked and said, "Scout team, take cover and hold fire until I give the order. Let's let him have his fun. He's about to learn a hard lesson."

And as she expected, he took out the four in the street… and the two on the roof mopped him up handily, pellets raining down on the top of his head. "Oh, shi- **dammit**!"

He growled and got on the ground, hands behind his head. "Open fire and take them out," Callie said with a satisfied chuckle. Her team moved into the street and began firing towards one of the roofs while the scouts aimed toward the other. Two more went down, no enemy contacts left. "All units, close ranks. Let's keep moving."

Callie did not give him a single look, walking past him coldly. There was no time to mourn his 'death', not like she cared right now. He would find out the idiocy of that move later. Right now, it was time to advance to the room clearing. They approached the target building near the end of the street and she gave the order, "Stack left. Get ready to open and clear."

The four members of the scout team moved to the left of the door, near the knob. Callie's team, now consisting of her and two of the six she-kats that she had befriended earlier, acted as security. Their job was to take out any who came their way, and to maintain fire superiority on the rest. In other words, keep their heads down, keep them behind cover, and keep their team from getting pounded.

"Open and clear, _now_!" their leader said as she got ready. The door was thrown open, and it was on. The first team member stormed the building immediately with a shout, opening fire on targets to the left, moving faster than he thought possible. Second moved right, third immediately started firing as soon as he was in the doorway, and the next kat was caught between two different fields of fire. The fourth covered the angle of the room that had not been taken.

They all moved in so quickly that before the opposing force knew what hit them, they were down in a nice hail of airsoft fire. They had now successfully dominated the room, with the first kat at the top left corner, the second at the bottom right, the third at the bottom left, and the forth at the top right. "Situation," Andrew said as he tried to catch his breath and start his heart from beating so hard.

Each kat responded with their situation, which was of course, "Clear!"

Andrew looked towards the stairwell and said, "Head towards the stairs, watch for fire from above. Go!"

Meanwhile, the situation outside was getting… interesting. Callie felt them coming before she saw them, could feel their intent. They were charging hard, aiming to overwhelm their position. "Take cover, they're coming! We need to get some fire superiority going!"

The other two she-kats nodded before heading towards their respective areas of protection. With that, the opposing force came in, and there were a hell of a lot more this time, a total of fifteen. "Holy shit," a brown-haired she-kat said as she peeked out from her cover, ducking behind it again, "They're everywhere!"

Callie nodded and said, "Lay 'em down. Just calm down and pull the trigger. Don't think."

She could feel her fear as if it were her own, and knew what it was like to square off against multiple targets with nowhere to go. She had done so quite a few times in her life, but it was better that no one found that out just yet. "Control your fear," she said as she got herself ready, "And use it to fight! Let's **go**!" The brunette and the second she-kat with her shouted, popping up from cover with their guns blazing.

Callie was more controlled about her approach, but she still felt the adrenaline run through her. She didn't stop for anything, she just let it run and let her training take over. No thought, no hesitation, just aim and fire. The other two kats laid down a virtual wall of suppressive fire, allowing Callie to clean up after them where she could.

Sure they were messy, but this was their first run. It was always messy. They were just lucky that she had gotten them ready beforehand. "I'm out," One shouted as she ducked her head back behind cover. Callie did not respond, only fired a grenade from her M203. Boom, more targets down. Her teammate's rifle was reloaded, and she returned to her suppressive fire.

And she wasn't so afraid this time.

Back in the building, Andrew's team hadn't run into any trouble on the stairs, but they had yet another room to clear at the top. Not to mention a t-junction hallway. The question was what to clear first? The decision was easy, save for the fact that the room before them had no door, and they could see the opposition clearly from where they stood.

'Shit… what now?'

He had to think fast, or this would be over very quickly. "Take up positions at the corners, check for hostiles." The four kats divided into two different teams, the first kat at the corner taking a peek around, while the second stood behind, waiting for the signal. They moved as quietly as they could, trying not to do anything that would disturb those inside the room.

The check was made as each kat at the corner took a peek. There was nothing, for now. "Hustle," Andrew said, and at that everyone broke their corners and checked. Nothing. "Secure," the she-kat at the right side of the hall whispered. Andrew nodded and took a moment to wipe the sweat off of his face. "Stack up at the door, both sides. We're taking this room out and going home."

"Hooyah," they said in sync before doing what they were asked.

One of the kats checked the room before he pointed to the bridge of his nose and put up five fingers. He saw five of them in the room. They were outnumbered slightly, which meant that one of them could possibly catch one of them early.

Andrew shrugged and replied with a hand over his eyes, then drew the thumb of that same hand against his neck. Flash bang and take the room down. He then withdrew a stun grenade and pulled the pin, grinning to himself before tossing it in.

There was only a moment to react before it went off and the room was raided. Corners and the far wall were quickly covered, and yet another room was taken down. "Status, and make it quick. We're almost outta here."

The she-kat on the team checked the corners. "We're all clear here."

Andrew smiled and said, "Downstairs. Let's get moving so we can support the defense team."

Then again, it wasn't like they needed support, because they had survived, and without a scratch on them. "What took you so long," Callie said with a grin, "You missed the party!"

Andrew shrugged and said, "Doesn't matter, we had one of our own. Let's get outta here so we can get our scores!"

The rest of the simulated mission was smooth sailing… but then again, it was only the first run. The next two would have all sorts of problems- more baddies, more complicated angles. The third would have the goodies of simulated RPG fire via pyrotechnics. But all in all, they did a fine job.

* * *

Before the hand-to-hand training started, the former gang-kat skulked around all by his lonesome. He had just been chewed out extensively by the Sergeant Major and had been taught a nice hard lesson on the importance of a team effort. He had also been made to endure quite a bit of stress from added pushups, mountain climbers, squat thrusts, and other devised tortures that they could imagine.

'Damn them… this isn't worth it.'

But of course, he passed by Callie. "Are you happy now?"

He stopped in his tracks, scratching the back of his head. "What the hell do you want?"

Callie pushed off of the wall and said, "We won. I mean, that's what you wanted, right?"

He growled and whirled on her, getting right in her face. "Where the hell was my backup? You were supposed to give me cover. You're the leader, you make the decisions, and you carry the team. So why in the hell was I dead in the middle of the street, huh? Answer me!"

She shouted back at him, now officially tired of his attitude. "Because you wanted it, that's why!"

He went silent, glaring at her.

"Don't you dare tell me you didn't," she said coldly, "Or I'll kick your ass harder than the instructors did. You wanted to be all bad-ass, gung-ho, without considering what your other teammates were doing or going through. I don't know if you wanted to be a hero or what the hell ever, but I let you have your fun. And you see what happened right?"

He glared harder, as if it weren't enough. The malevolent gaze seemed to bounce off of her. "I should tell them what you told me. Maybe then you'll shut the hell up."

She smirked and said, "Go ahead. They'll think I did the right thing, and they would probably make you eat the dirt again. You are going to learn that if you want to win, you win with the help of others. You say that life is all about being on your own." She pointed a finger right in his face and said, "That's goddamn wrong, and now you know it. If that was a real battle, with real bullets, guess what? My team would be _one man down_. You ever thought of that?"

He was still quiet, but his gaze was turned away. She was… concerned about him? Or was she just yelling?

"No," she said with a sigh, "I guess you didn't. I'm trying to get us all through this in one piece, and if you want to see the end of the week, you'd better straighten your ass out and fly right."

He locked eyes with her again and said, "What, so you think today matters? You think one mistake will make me just give up? Hell no. I am not pushing that button. I can't."

She gritted her teeth and said, "Then why are you not _working_ with me? What the hell are you here for if you won't _cooperate_? If you can't give me a valid reason, then don't bother talking to me. You just do your thing, like you want to do, but don't expect me to be dragged down with you. I won't lose because of you."

Callie couldn't stand talking to him anymore. "I'm heading to the next evolution. You can stay here for all I care."

Well, that was interesting. She didn't even give him time to explain. Then again, they didn't have time, did they? He growled again and followed her. "Hey. Hey! I'm not done talking to you!"

She huffed and said, "Well, I'm done talking to you. If you're going to follow me, do so without speaking. Your attitude, if you haven't noticed, is catching onto me, and I don't want to be pissed all the time like you. So keep your distance until we get back."

There was suddenly a hand on her shoulder, and she wanted to break the arm that said hand was attached to. The sheer aura of violence she radiated at that very moment made him remove his hand as soon as he touched her. She was about to blow her top, and he could feel it.

'Holy shit,' he thought to himself, 'What the hell was that? Felt like ice along my skin… I think I've pissed her off one time too many.'

For some reason, he suddenly felt concerned for his safety. "You, uh… asked why I was here before," he said a bit reluctantly. "I figure I'd tell you now."

Callie scoffed and said coolly, "Bit late for that now, isn't it? If we don't hurry, we're going to be late and we'll both get the grinder. You wanna talk, you talk later. For now, try and keep up, smart ass!"

With that, she broke into a run, attempting to gain some distance on him. For once, he did what she told him to without complaint or resistance. He didn't want to do that again, to be honest, so he would work with her for now. At least, until this whole thing blew over. Sure, he didn't like her- but he had a feeling that she would be even worse when she was really, truly angry.

That was one thing that he had right about her- she knew how to break someone into pieces. Angry was not a good mood for her, because it made her go quiet. And when she went quiet with cold fury, it was only a matter of time before something ugly happened.

He didn't want to see that. Not now, not ever. So he would work with her, for now. Because the sudden chill she had given him earlier showed him something that truly frightened him more than anything these clowns in uniform could do…

* * *

**Chapter 37: Hell Week (Part 2) – **_**Dig In**_

The first day of Hell Week is secure! So then, this chapter was longer than I had planned, but then again that's not a problem, is it? It just shows that I was into it, that's all. In any event, you all know what to do if you want to comment. I think it's become intuitive by now, yes?

Okay, enough play. Reviewer Appreciation! **Kodachi Claws** comes first, and I would like to take this time to thank her for the edits that she has suggested. They've helped my writing out quite a bit. With that said, you'll see how things evolve in time. It's not going to be anywhere near pretty once the real insanity begins. **ulyferal** is next, and yes, I can't wait for that to happen either. Of course, it could go either way at this point. I'm going to try and keep it up in the air for as long as I can here.

**GeekGirl2**, you do have a knack with figuring things out, don't you? It seems that I can't get anything past you. Oh, and welcome back- glad to see you again after such a long time. Hope you read more often! Last but not least, **RaidenSilversword**. That's my job bud- to keep everyone coming back for more. I put hands to the keys and let them do the talking, and apparently what they're saying sounds pretty good. Then again, that all depends on you guys.

Right, well I'm going to get pumped for the next chapter now. And for those watching LionHearts, stay tuned for Chapter 19 of that story. If you haven't read it yet, and you like Final Fantasy VIII, read it.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	38. Hell Week Part 3

One in the morning, and Callie was awake. Yes, that was absurd, wasn't it? But she was. The itch between her shoulder blades flared up again as she realized that this was going to be a very, very long… you know what? She couldn't even call this morning, it was still dark out. She'd say it would be a long evening. She wanted to wake her Boat Crew, but she didn't have time. She didn't know when they would be coming, so it was time to get her ass moving, by herself. Sure it wasn't conducive to the team now, but she had a feeling that it would later.

Her eyes adjusted to the sheer, total dark, seeing the images of kats stirring in their sleep, trying to get more comfortable.

'They don't know what they're in for,' she thought to herself as she got up and began heading for a position near the door. She knew it was there, knew where it was, knew that someone was behind it, waiting. And she suddenly knew that there was someone behind her as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

"So someone else is awake too," she said, but before the kat behind her could respond, the door was thrown open and the muzzle flash and reports of gunfire could be heard. She knew they were blanks. They were meant to harass, not fire live rounds. The lights were suddenly turned on, covers were torn from their beds, and megaphones blared.

"Good morning, you pansy asses," one of the instructors shouted. "Any time is a good time to get your asses kicked! Get your asses outside, now! **Move it**!"

It was at this time, while everyone else was getting their rude awakenings, that Callie began heading outside at a jog. When she saw the chaos that was before her, she grimaced. There were boats, life jackets, paddles, huge logs, and it was all strewn about everywhere. Yes, it was going to get heavy from this point forward.

"Looks fun," the kat behind her said with no small trace of sarcasm. "Ready to get your ass beat?"

Callie recognized that voice from anywhere. It was the gang kat. "All night long, baby," she said without hesitation. "Are you?"

The guy shrugged and said, "Not like it's the worst thing that could happen. Let's do this."

She didn't ask why he was being so agreeable. It didn't matter now. She would ask later. "Let's get going before they start chewing us out," she said as she heard everyone begin to scramble out behind her.

Thus, Hell Week continued.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_The two members of Boat Crew Two who were already wide awake organized the others successfully. Once again, they were the first ones to get their gear on, the first ones to get moving. The others were in a state of chaos from having to gather their things and constantly being yelled at. Soon, they had a boat. But getting that boat required a lot more grit than they thought it would.

"Boat up," the instructor before them barked, and they lifted the boat. The bad news was that not everyone was awake… and they were still slightly out of sync. "Fuck, this shit is heavy!" the gang kat shouted. His thought wasn't behind those of others. For an inflatable boat, it weighed a good amount.

"Well if it's heavy," the instructor said with a sarcastic tone, "Why don't you just walk away from the team? Maybe I should give you a massage or some other crap. **You better** **start putting out, jail bait, before I kick your ass from here to Anakata Island!**"

They had finally gotten the boat up, the weight equally distributed among the eight of them. It was effectively sitting right on top of their heads. "All right grunts, let's see if you can actually move as an interdependent unit. Haul that boat and count it out!"

They understood immediately what that meant, and all eight of them lifted it above their heads. Every time they lifted, they counted. There were some at the back that were having trouble, though. "What in the hell are you doing back there? That's the most pathetic lifting I have ever seen. I am going to be watching how you lift and how many times from now on! Now get it up!"

Well that was an incentive. The kats in the back began lifting with everyone else this time. "See how much strength you got there? Damn, you are a machine! I want you to put out like that every goddamn time, you get me?"

"Hooyah instructor," The kat shouted in sheer anguish. He just kept lifting until the call was given. "Boat down! Damn, that was sorry. That wasn't even close to what I was looking for. I was looking for no pain, no stress, no sign of fatigue on your faces; I was looking for mind over matter! If you do not shut that little voice in your goddamn heads out, I will shove it out for you!" He pointed towards a log and said, "Get that log, go!"

They ran, nice and warmed up now. For the next few hours, they were made to lift the log, run around with it, do sit ups and bench presses with it, squat with it. If one team member couldn't haul, the rest felt the pain. Orders had to be followed exactly, or undue suffering would be the result. Sometimes, orders were given to do a part of the exercise without the use of the log, and if they were followed, the whole team got a break.

It didn't always happen.

One team was constantly sprayed with water until they started paying attention. Another was put through the wringer, having to lay down with the log on top of their chests. "You feel that? That is the weight of your actions right now, grunts. I swear you are not cut out for this, any of you. And don't think you can quit- we're not letting you go just yet. Oh no, we got all night!"

But the first one to get it right early was Boat Crew Two. It was mostly because of Callie. "Come on, let's get it moving! All together… up!" The log was raised over their heads. This time, no one complained. Everyone lifted at the same time, at the same speed. "You feel that? That's how it's supposed to feel. Down, up!" they lowered the log to their right shoulders, and then lifted again. There was less pain due to even application of force on all sides.

From that point forward, they were linked. They all did their squats together, each holding a paddle above their heads. "Do not let that paddle lower! I will personally beat you with that stick if you let it drop past your head! You remember, if one does not execute this exercise perfectly, the rest stay in squat position until the individual gets it done!"

There were all sorts of disaster situations with that one- some things just couldn't be remedied. By the time the first hour of it was over, it was pain for all. And they hadn't even gotten into the full swing of things yet. But hey, if it was going to get worse, that only gave one time to dig in deeper, didn't it? At least Callie thought so. She would bring her team out of this with the least amount of harassment as possible.

Because she didn't like seeing anyone suffer.

* * *

They were hauled into vans and driven out towards the beach, the place where the physical readiness tests had taken place. Only this time, it was too early to see, the water was much colder, and now they were made to lie in the sand. Callie didn't know about this part- she was entirely unprepared. But she could feel the ebb and flow of the water; feel the chill on her toes, seeping through her boots.

'Cold, wet, and miserable,' she thought to herself. 'You certainly got it right, Chance.'

But of course, she did the same thing as everyone else did as they interlocked arms. "You will all feel this cold at the same time- it's only natural that you do it with your arms joined. Lie down and stay down, keep your heads down. Do not move until I tell you to."

It was called Camp Surf for a reason, and they were about to find out as the first fifty-six degree wave of water ran into them. There was immediate, instant shock. Callie squealed and squirmed as the cold took her over. Her mind registered the cold and began making up all sorts of complaints. Callie ignored them, or at least tried to. But some of them actually made sense.

Then the second wave hit her, and those things that made sense were reinforced. She instantly knew what was going on and began tuning the commentary in her head out. The third wave hit, and she gritted her teeth- against the cold, against the uncomfortable sand, against the wind that added to the cold, against the pain of the salt water. The fourth wave hit. Callie's mind gave up fighting with someone who would not listen to it.

The voices would be back later, but for now she was all right.

'You think this'll stop me?' she said to herself. 'It's just water. It's not even _deep_ water. I won't let some little wave get the best of me.'

"**Bring it on!!**" She said fiercely.

A few kats just looked at her as if she had grown a second tail. But three of the kats that were closer to her, members of her Boat Crew, responded with, "**Hooyah!**" Well, that helped. By wave number eight, they were laughing. "Water is nothing but water," she said as the timing of the waves became predictable. She could feel the currents, the tides. Feel them as if they were a part of her. Callie closed her eyes and tried to read the ocean's movements.

Her skin tingled as the next watery assault prepared to wash over them, making her eyes open wildly. "Brace, here it comes!"

It came, on schedule.

The gang kat suddenly saw why she was chosen as Crew Captain and for some reason he couldn't be angry at her. 'This ain't a day camp… but she's treating it like one. And because she is, we're moving ahead of everyone else.'

He wasn't stupid. He could see her plan; crafty and cunning. Or was it a plan at all? No, never mind. He would play along for now and ask about it later. If she gave him a bullshit answer, it'd be back to business. For now though, he grinned wildly and let himself relax. "You think you can kick my ass? **I dare ya!**"

Callie smirked and said, "Well put. Hold on, here comes another one!"

Whoosh.

* * *

They were being checked for signs of hypothermia when he finally asked her. "What was that back there? You keep on treating this like it's some kind of damn picnic. It's not, y'know. We're essentially being tortured to our limits." He had to sound callous, just to egg her on and get her to talk, but he really wanted to know.

Callie was silent for a moment, letting the chill run through her so that she could maintain her awareness and stay awake. "You really don't know, do you?" She looked towards him sternly and said, "What that was back there, was how I'm going to save our asses from ringing that alarm. We need to act like this is nothing, like it is fun to be put through misery. We need to pull together, which means I'm both leader and team member. I keep everyone from washing out, I keep them motivated when they can't find it themselves, and then I carry my share of the weight."

She turned to face forward for a moment, showing that she was bright-eyed and bushy tailed, and the gang kat next to her did the same. After the instructor was a good ways past, she continued on. "So you say it's not a day camp… well, turn it into one instead of a prison yard."

The tom flinched. The arrow had hit its mark.

"Look, don't think you fuckin' know me, okay?" he said softly. "I'm only listening to you because I don't get you one bit. I want to know how you can take all this and still smile like I've seen you do. I've been through such shit that I don't think I can smile again, and here you are acting all buddy-buddy in the worst situation imaginable." He looked towards her and said, "That's why I'm going to stay here. So I can watch you and figure you out."

She nodded and said, "Maybe you'll learn something."

He scoffed and said, "Doubtful. And don't get any ideas- I'm on your team for the long haul now, but I ain't your buddy."

Callie nodded and said, "Fair enough."

Unfortunately, not everyone would remain at Camp Surf. Some decided that first shocking experience on the beach was enough for them- too much cold, too much sand. They dropped. Others gave in to the hypothermia- they couldn't take much more without being sick for the rest of it, or at least they thought so. They dropped. Still others gave in to the fact that it was too early in the morning to take this shit. They dropped.

At that moment, Callie realized what this part of the week was for- it was for weeding out those who really did not want to be here. By the time the sun had crested the horizon, thirty two had turned to twenty four, a Boat Crew's worth of kats gone. But her eight still remained, and that counted for something.

The problem for those that lost members was that they still had the same teams, and that wasn't pretty when they had to carry boats and logs. But fortunately for them, they didn't- for now.

As five a.m. approached, they were called to a halt on surf torture.

"You done yet, grunts?" The Sergeant Major shouted.

"**No, Sergeant Major!**" They replied.

"You know you can ring that alarm at any time, right?"

"**Yes, Sergeant Major!**"

He walked among the remnants of the boat crews and stopped at Callie's, raising an eyebrow. "Well, look at this. One of the two remaining full Boat Crews, and the last one I expected to succeed. I'm starting to think you all can hack it, but I have to be sure. You eight, are coming with me. We're going on a little run, with your boat on your heads, and you will be timed. You have thirty two minutes to run four miles. You make it, you get breakfast. You don't, you get surf, and you run again."

He looked towards the rest of them and said, "Don't you dare think that I won't be back for the rest of you- you better pray that the other instructors give your asses something to do. Boat Crew Two, move out!"

"Hooyah," they said in sync. It didn't matter now. Nothing mattered but the team.

* * *

Eight a.m. at breakfast. The members of Boat Crew Two sat together- well, mostly- and munched on some good eggs, pancakes, toast, things of that sort. It was a good thing that food was unlimited. Hot food, the heat was on, and the sun was up. But the best part was that they were still together. Life was good right now, despite the name Hell Week.

But of course, the gang kat, still believing that he was better off somewhere on his own, was at a table in one of the far corners. He didn't even look like he had touched his food yet, and appeared to be deep in thought about something. Thus, he hadn't even noticed when Callie had popped up at his table of all places, worried about him.

But she didn't look worried. Instead, she smiled.

"Hey, you gonna eat that?" she said, fully expecting him to jump out of his chair. He almost did, but when he looked behind him and saw her, he gave his best mean face. "I am. If you want some, get your own, with all your friends over there. I told you I ain't your buddy, so if that's what you're here for…"

Callie raised her hands defensively and said, "I wasn't here for that, promise. I'm just seeing if you're still breathing over here, that's all. Don't mind me." With that, she began walking away, silently hurt. Was he really going to be an ass for the rest of this whole week? If he was, she was better off not trying.

She need not have worried.

"Hey!"

Callie stopped in her tracks.

"Changed my mind," he said softly, his head down slightly. "Sit down before I change it again."

She nodded and walked back over to his table, pulling a chair out and taking a seat. Her plate was still hot, and it was still ready to eat. She was still entirely quiet, and she made the silence hang like a heavy, humid storm cloud. It made the gang kat feel uncomfortable, heavily so. "Quit staring," he muttered.

Callie smirked and said, "You're the only interesting thing to look at on this table. I can't help but stare. But don't think that I have a thing for you- I already have a tom waiting for me back on the mainland."

The gang kat raised an eyebrow and said, "That so? What, did he send you here?"

Callie nodded and said, "He did, but it was only because I agreed to it. If I hadn't, he would keep me as far away from this place as possible- in fact, I wouldn't even know it existed." She smiled and said, "He's kinda protective like that, but I don't mind. It's what I love about him."

The guy across from her was silent for a few seconds before he said, "…Must be nice to have someone who gives a damn about you." He sighed and, for some reason, began to talk about himself. It was strange, because he didn't even know it was happening. The words simply came. "My mom was a big-time real estate agent, hot kitten on the block. She worked most of the time, so I didn't see her except on sparse occasions. She rarely even looked my way because she was buried in all that work, too busy with her career. My dad was a steel worker, and he's the one who had to take all the bullshit, I think. I wouldn't know- I saw him about half as much as I did mom, and when I did see him he was drunk as hell. I guess you could say I didn't have any guidance except when I was younger, when it was all about me and my little brother and not about work."

Callie was silent, just listening. Why did he say was? Weren't they still alive?

"Anyways," the tom continued, "Come age fifteen, I think that was the point when shit started happening. I guess I got sick of my folks, because I ran out on 'em in the dead of night one day. I didn't expect my little brother to follow me. Apparently, he couldn't live without me, the little runt." For the first time, she saw him smile. And it made her smile.

Then the smile left as he continued. "I got caught up with the wrong kats, so to speak. Snuck into their place, thought I'd spend the night there. I almost got us both killed, but they said the fact that I had even found the place, much less infiltrated without detection, showed promise. At least, that's what the guy in charge said."

He sighed and said, "They let us stay, I owed them one, I figured I could help them out. I started out as lookout for some of the little jobs, things like tagging territory and jacking cars. From those jobs I started picking up things, learning something from them." He looked towards Callie and said, "They became the family that I didn't have back at home. You get it?"

Callie nodded. "I got it."

The gang kat lowered his head again, trying to find his words. "I was in that gang for one year before I first got caught. My folks apparently grew a pair of souls and sent out an all points bulletin for me and my brother. They found us with tattoos and shit, robbing a corner store."

Callie grimaced. That wasn't the best position to be in.

"We got put in the cooler for five weeks, nothing major. It was just a bunch of lowlifes in there, no real killers. But my little brother, he was scared. I was all he had at that point. Mom sprung us, but then she went to town on us." He smirked and said, "I guess I went kinda nuts on her, because I told her what I thought of her and her concern. We ran away again, this time in full view of our parents. We knew where to go, who to talk to, who would hide us."

He paused again, perhaps to gather himself. "We were able to evade the Enforcers for a year, and we both moved up the ranks." He pulled back the left sleeve of his BDUs and said, "You see these? Each one of them represents a rank, as well as the trial that I had to pass to get it. They're like rank insignia for the Enforcers, get it?" There were four of them on his forearm.

"My little brother had three. I was there on the day he got this one," he said as he pointed towards the third one from the left. "I was so proud of him, I felt like I had brought him all the way to this point. That was the only time in my life that I cried," he said with a chuckle.

Callie's neck tingled, and she suddenly felt a sadness that was deeper than the cold ocean they had just been dunked in. He didn't have to say it, she knew. "He's dead, isn't he? He got killed in some kind of fight?"

The talking was stopped in its tracks. After a few seconds, without saying anything, the tom nodded. It looked like he didn't have to explain any more on that.

For some reason, Callie wanted to hold him, to tell him it was all right. This was why he had been alone, why he said that it was better to be on his own. The only family that actually cared about him, and he was dead. How would he feel about everything else that was transient, that wouldn't last forever? He would be hostile towards it, and that meant any sort of friends.

But she couldn't… because if she did, he would probably shy away again, as was his nature.

"Finish it," Callie said softly. "You have more, I know it."

The tanned tom was silent for a good fifteen seconds before he sighed and said, "I don't know what was going through my head when I heard that he got axed in a territory dispute with a rival gang of ours. I… I didn't think, I didn't blink, I didn't even cry. I just took all the weapons I could, headed over to their stronghold by myself, and started going crazy. Got shot five times for it and almost died. And I didn't care."

She could almost notice a tear coming down his face- or was that her crying? She couldn't tell which anymore, and didn't try to.

"By the time I came to, I was in the hospital with an oxygen mask on my face. I felt like shit, I probably looked like shit, and my brother was dead. Life could not be worse. On top of that, when I had fully recovered, Commander Feral hit me with prison for manslaughter and possession with intent to sell." He scoffed and said, "Hell, I deserved the second one- I shouldn't have been pushing that katnip. That shit is dangerous to carry."

Callie did not respond. She simply let him finish. And indeed, he finished.

"Yeah, well my mom bailed me out again… and she convinced the Enforcers that I could change, that I could be somebody. I knew she was pissed as hell and I knew she was doing it to save face. So yeah, I'm here now, trying to work off my time." He chuckled derisively and said, "Some work it is."

"Yeah," Callie said softly, "Some work."

He looked up towards her and raised an eyebrow, noticing the tracks of her tears. "Hey, listen… don't tell anyone, all right? I don't know why the hell I told you all that, but now you know, and I'm…" He hesitated for a moment, and Callie knew it was hard. "I… _trust_ you… to keep it from the rest of the Crew. You don't, and the next time we meet after this week, I promise I'm not going to play nice with you."

Callie nodded and smiled a watery smile. "Consider it locked and forgotten."

He nodded and lowered his head for a moment. She really _did_ give a damn about him.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, "For the shit I put you through." With that, he stood and began to throw his plate away. He wasn't hungry right now.

Callie got up and followed him, not saying a word. Part of her rejoiced. She wouldn't be surprised if, for the rest of this week, she finally had a fully cohesive team. A split second after, she wasn't concerned about that. This tom needed friends, and she would bring him out of himself if it were the last thing she ever did.

But it wasn't like he had to know, right?

* * *

Eight p.m. that evening. And it was a painful, tiring, cold evening. This time they were digging holes for no apparent reason other than to play in the sand. Only that it wasn't playing. It was work, and it was hard work. Some didn't know why they dug, others didn't care. The instructors figured that they would take time out to play a few games with them. But those who played and lost quickly found out that it paid to be a winner.

That statement was becoming a norm.

"We're gonna play a game of rock-paper-scissors," one instructor told the leader of one Crew. "I want you to pick the luckiest son of a bitch in your group and have him or her play me. You win and you get a three minute rest. You lose and you get surf."

The luckiest person in the team wasn't so lucky. They were forced to take a dunk, and the water was as cold as the early morning. The day did not seem to end for them. Callie knew that the instructor would pick something random every time, and was probably picking one in a pattern so that those watching would think that they could beat him.

Callie picked one of her she-kats, even before the game started for them. "All right… now listen. I want you to do this while closing your eyes. Don't pay attention to how silly it is or how he's looking at you, just shut your eyes and play against him. Don't think about your move; don't think about his. Just clear your mind of all those assumptions and guesses."

The she-kat nodded, understanding what that meant by now. "I understand, Captain."

Callie smiled and said, "Just let the answer come by itself. You should see a picture in your head or feel something about… one second before he makes his move. Yes, you only have one second. Once you find out what it is, you know what to do. I don't care what it is or how it comes across, trust the first thing you feel and pay close attention to any sign you get."

The game began and the rules were explained again. The she-kat nodded and closed her eyes. "What are you doing, grunt? You think you can do this with your eyes closed?" He shrugged and said, "Fine by me, just means I'll win faster. Ready!"

One… two… her right ear twitched. Alarm bells went off in her head- it was rock, she was sure of it. She put down paper without another thought. The Boat Crew cheered. "Well I'll be damned… you did it. You get three minutes' grace, then dig again. Don't slouch off."

The gang kat looked at her for a minute, and then looked towards Callie. "Saw her right ear flick before that happened. Did you tell her to do that?" Callie nodded. "There are signs, subtle ones, that tell you when something is about to happen. You pay attention to them, and they'll save your life. I told her to close her eyes so her mind wouldn't register what it saw, and thus it wouldn't be occupied. I can do that same thing without my eyes closed at all."

The gang kat nodded. "And that's how you could tell when the surf was coming, even when you couldn't see it. It was how you knew that I was awake and behind you, even in the dark."

Callie nodded again. "You catch on quick. I figured you were smarter than you were acting."

He smiled. Not smirked, smiled. "I can be… stubborn. You know that. I'll try it sometime, see if it works. It'll probably look stupid when I do though, but I guess that doesn't matter. Like you keep on saying, if you don't mind, it doesn't matter. Am I right?"

She nodded. "You're right."

They soon found out why the hell they were digging as they turned their boats and paddles into lean-tos. The boat managed to protect against the wind, and the pits they had dug provided some semblance of warmth. "I want your asses sleeping like babies within the next thirty seconds! Move it before I knock you unconscious!"

They had never been ordered to go to sleep before. Boat Crew Two knew that going to sleep would mean eventually waking up later, and at a hellacious time. They did what they were told anyway, without hesitation. Their beds were the sand, the impromptu lean-to was their roof, and it was all they needed.

Sleep came in ten seconds for the eight of them, all huddled together back to back.

Tomorrow, whenever the instructors decided that would be, was another day of Hell Week. It didn't feel so much like hell anymore.

* * *

**Chapter 38: Hell Week (Part 3) – **_**Cold, Wet, and Miserable**_

Let me tell you, that's rough stuff.

Then again, that which doesn't kill you… will try and kill you again, so watch out. HAW. Anyways, let's see what we can cook up for next time, hmm? I'm running out of options here. Callie seems to have brought herself through the fires (or rather, the cold) of the second day, and her team is still in the thick of it. The next chapter will cover two days in at least five thousand words, or at least it'll try to. It might take more, only time will tell.

Regardless of how many words it takes, it'll only take a few more for Reviewer Appreciation. **Kodachi Claws **has my sincere apologies for getting his gender wrong. I'm a silly person sometimes and I make assumptions. Just proves the saying that it makes an ass out of you and me, right? Sorry about that. With that said, You know my response to your review- it was the only thing I could think of at the time, and sometimes I just go with that. I'll have her dye her hair or something later after this is all over.

**RaidenSilversword**, what's goin' on? You like this so far? I believe you do. And yeah, I should get a raise, huh? Wonder how much I should ask for. But seriously, this is a non-profit organization. I write for the glory of writing so that others may read and enjoy my work. Sure, I'm working on an actual book, but does that mean that I'll stop being here? Hell no. The Mercenary will keep on putting out, one hundred percent.

Right, for the rest of you, I know you're reading. I know you are paying attention. And I appreciate it. But I would still like for you to leave a review, because even though I know, I'm still a paranoid bastard, and I like to hear opinions on my work. They are what drive me to write, and even then I would probably keep on writing just to write. Because I like it.

Okay, bed for me, again. I woke up at around four in the morning to finish this.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	39. Hell Week Part 4

Five a.m. at Bobcat Island.

The sun crested over the horizon as the Boat Crews stood ready with their boats. Earlier in the morning… well, not even the morning. They had been woken up exactly sixty minutes after they had just been to sleep. It was literally one full hour of rest. Once again, the itch between her shoulder blades caused her eyes to snap open. She couldn't even be considered fully asleep- no, only half-sleep. And even if she were sleeping, her actions would be automatic, without her being fully awake.

Woe unto anyone who attacks a sleepy Callie.

'Oh, hell no…' They were coming. She knew the signs by now.

"**Get up**," she yelled, and the others snapped their eyes open. "Shit," the gang kat said, "They're on their way _already_?" They scrambled to get on their feet, and only had a few seconds to do so. Their lean-to pretty much fell apart, but they didn't care.

The reports of gunfire could be heard loud and clear as Callie's premonition proved correct yet again. "Good morning, retards," One of the instructors said into his megaphone. "Time for another session of fun and games, and I have just the thing to get you moving. Go, let's go! Get those asses in _gear_!"

Boat Crew Two was already moving, paddles and the boat on the sand. But hell, they hadn't been ordered to get the boat up yet, had they? No one cared much, really, if they hadn't been told to do it. So they didn't, and stood at attention. Two were still partly asleep. The rest knew that if they were caught sleeping, they would get the grinder, so they were pretty much set to go.

"Damn," the gang kat said with a grimace. "This is crazy."

Callie smirked and said, "_Life_ is crazy. This is nothing."

Well she had a point there. And soon, they found out just how they were going to wake up as they were soon laying in the sand again, being hit with the surf. Boat Crew Two did not flinch. They did not scream, they did not falter or fidget. Some even grinned and laughed as the waves came in. They had changed, all of them.

By the time the morning had come, seven more left for home. Four of them were tired of the games. Every time they lost, they paid for it. Every time they paid for it, it hurt. And every time it hurt, their resistance wore away time and again. Some kats could only lose so much before they decided it wasn't worth playing.

Three however, left for a different reason- injury. One had a sprained right ankle, but doggedly pushed onward, not wanting to quit. But the instructors saw what was going on, and demonstrated that if the cause were genuine, they were not without mercy. The other faced a similar situation, having pulled a muscle in the left leg. Sure she had stretched and prepared, but sometimes those things happened. Injury was injury, regardless of how it had occurred. The third had knocked the back of his head during the obstacle course, and had damn near split his skull open. The whole class cheered when they heard that his condition was stable.

There's nothing like a bad incident to pull kats together.

Regardless, the tom was gone and gone for good. Seventeen remained. Now, there was one kat without a boat crew, the others full. And the instructors would not give an inch. That one kat would have to go through the wringer if he wanted to stay here, but since he was without a team… well, they would think of something, wouldn't they?

"Before we continue," the Sergeant Major said solemnly as the sun slid upwards over the horizon, "I would like to have a moment of reflection for the three that were injured yesterday. Not silence, for they aren't dead, but reflection, for they won't be coming back here."

Everyone was quiet. They were cold, shivering, but quiet.

"They weren't cut because they didn't have what it took. On the contrary- each kat that was injured told me that they were saddened, saddened because they could no longer commit to the task before them. Had they not have had been forced with their circumstances, they would have persevered, and would still be here right now." He was quiet for a moment before he said, "I have a few letters here from them that they asked me to read to the rest of the class."

Callie promised herself that she wouldn't cry. It wouldn't look good in front of her team.

"Aimée Chartreux, age seventeen," he started off. "She had a sprained ankle on the four-mile run. She wrote the following: Forgive me everyone, for not being able to carry on. I wish I could have made more friends, but nothing is certain in life. This injury is nothing compared to what I've been through for the past several hours, and I don't regret a second of it. Don't give up, even though you'll be cold as all hell for the rest of the training."

Callie smiled. She was one of the she-kats she had made friends with, the quiet one. Even when she was injured, she kept on moving. No quitting, right until the end. At least, that was what she had heard. They weren't on the same team, after all.

"Jacob Bombay, age twenty-two. Poor kid got clipped on the back of his head in a nasty fall, as you all know. Ended up recovering, but I think he lost one of his nine lives on that one. He writes, try not to be too worried about me, just focus on finishing. Pain doesn't matter, because life is full of it. The only thing that matters is doing what has to be done, when it has to be done. So do it."

Callie felt herself misting up. No dammit, don't cry… or rather, don't let anyone see you crying. But she couldn't help it. She had gotten to know every one of the kats that had been injured.

"Last but not least, Singapura Alba, age nineteen. She pulled a muscle in her right hamstring. She says that she will be back next year, and she hopes that everyone she has met will return as well and join her Boat Crew. She also says that after she recovers, she is heading for college." He folded the final letter and said, "We all wish the best of luck to her."

Damn, she was crying. Now she wouldn't stop. But she didn't care.

"Attention!" They stood straight. "Cadets, salute!" They did.

The Sergeant Major was silent for a few moments before he began speaking again. "Today, you will get your asses kicked like never before. My fellow instructors will show no remorse, give no quarter." He began walking towards them and continued with, "I expect, before the next two days are over, for there to be anywhere from eight to four remaining. It's not going to get easier. The only easy day was yesterday."

Another pause and then, "If you wash out, I won't be angry. You don't have to be here if you don't want to. But you would be dishonoring those who _did_ want to be here, and could not continue because they hit the wall. Everyone's got one, and they met theirs. Have you met your wall yet?"

They responded in sync. "**No, Sergeant Major!**"

He smirked and said, "I'm sure you'll be saying different after today. Now that all that's on the table, on to business… **Boats up!**"

It began anew.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**For once, they were actually having fun without being in pain.

The consequences of losing though _were_ pain, so it wasn't far off. Still, it was a welcome change to the last few days. They were going to do some Surf Passage, a chance to actually use those boats and paddles for once. Callie, as per usual, was fired up. "Let's get this done! Just paddle together and stick it out!"

"Hooyah," they responded.

The waves were three, four feet high. No one had seen them this big before. Those that had were no longer in the class. But Callie was determined to get past the surf zone and back to the beach again before the other team. "Okay," she said surreptitiously, "You see those waves out there? All we gotta do is keep paddling, and we'll make it over. We have to stay together, so here's how we do that. Every time you paddle, you say stroke. If one says stroke too early or late, I'll know that we're not in sync here."

They nodded, most of them having long since learned to listen to her.

"If one of those knocks us over, we have to stay together. The goal is to grab a line and flip that boat over, then get back in and get moving. If we don't make it, we're in a world of hurt. If we do, we're one step closer. Got it?"

They nodded again. The former gang kat grinned. "This is gonna kick so much ass."

Callie nodded, "Believe it. But before they start yelling at us to go…" She looked towards him and said, "I never got your name. Your real name, mind you." She wasn't going to have her calling him something that he didn't want to be called. He was silent for a while, but it was only a short while. "That's fine, but only if you give me yours. I heard your last name… and it's the same as the Deputy Mayor's. She's…"

Callie nodded, and this time she wasn't afraid to say it. "Dead, I know. Saw it on the news. We just happen to have the same last name, that's all. Briggs happens to be a common surname- it's nothing special."

The gang kat raised an eyebrow for a moment, but then shrugged, not asking any further. "Whatever you say. Name's Reggie. Reggie Bengal. Nice to… finally meet you." Callie smiled and said, "Reggie, huh? Nice name. I won't forget it." She heard the instructors call for them to get ready and nodded. "Let's haul ass, Crew Two! We have a race to win!"

With that, they made their way towards the surf zone, got up to their waists in the cold water, and hopped into the boat, two by two with the others holding it steady. Even as they did so, the foam smashed against their craft, threatening to send some of them under. And yet, all eight were in and moving forward, even as the next wave threatened to run them over not a minute later.

The other team was there at the same time that Callie's was, but they were less organized. Apparently, they were only concentrating on winning, and that meant getting in as fast as they could. As a result, they were lagging hard by the time Callie's Boat Crew was twenty-five meters into the surf. But eventually, they got moving.

Boat Crew Two was not exactly in sync for the first two minutes as they were knocked around by the foam that came in. Still, it wasn't too bad, and by the time they had reached their current position… well, they had gotten it right, hadn't they? And just in time, too, because another wave was coming, two feet high. "Here we go, let's _move_!!" They kept on stroking, kept on paddling, all in sync.

They were up… on top… and over as they lifted their paddles from the water. Reggie was one of the two kats at the back, and as he looked behind him, he noticed that the other Crew had recovered from their initial poor start. "Holy shit, here they come!"

Callie grinned. "Good! They're about to get a nice big drink of water!"

Reggie looked forward again and his eyes widened. "Fuck me…" He was immediately back into the swing of things as a three foot wave came charging at them. Up… on top… and over. He breathed a sigh of relief. The other Crew behind them might have been out of sync, but they were persistent. He looked behind him again and gritted his teeth. "No they aren't- they're still there!"

Callie's grin turned into a smirk. "Okay, so they're better than I expected. Keep paddling!"

Seventy-five meters out and several waves later, they were deep into the surf zone. The ocean continually bore down on them as if it were some kind of beast. Boat Crew Two continued plowing forward, cresting each wave as they advanced further and further. And then, it came… a wave that was one foot higher than any of them had expected.

Callie was not afraid. She was surprised perhaps, but not afraid.

'It's nothing but water.'

"**Haul ass**," she shouted, and her Crew did. For sheer shock, the other Crew hesitated; some of them too busy staring to get moving. It had to happen sooner or later. Three feet high, they could handle. Four was rough, but they had made it over. But this was a bit much for a few to take.

The wave came crashing down as it broke at the surf zone. Boat Crew Two was still moving. Boat Crew Five was dunked. Reggie looked behind him and said, "That _did_ it," he said with a laugh. "They're sunk!" The rest of the Crew cheered as they kept paddling. Now all they had to do was reach the hundred meter mark, turn around, and head back.

It wasn't going to be any easier. The waves would be coming from _behind_ now… she'd have to try and feel them out instead of seeing them. Then again, she was good at that. "Keep it going- we have to secure this race!" It wasn't like she knew what the winner would get, but it wasn't like she cared, either. This was _fun_. It was actually, truly fun. And it didn't hurt, either. Even after the log PT, the night runs, the digging, the stress, it did not hurt.

Boat Crew Five recovered, but by the time they did, Boat Crew Two was already twenty meters on their way back. This would not bode well…

In the end, Callie's Crew got a rest. Boat Crew Five got the sand. Oh, it wasn't just push-ups or anything of that sort- they had to get sandy _and_ do ten push-ups. Callie grimaced as she watched them roll around and said, "Remind me never to lose a boat race."

Ten minutes later, it was time for the second race. By the time the morning was well underway, they had gone through three of them, and each time, Boat Crew Two got faster. It was starting to get too easy. Both crews were allowed to move on to the next evolution, but one was far happier than the other…

Five more left after that. The sand was not friendly to them while they were running with a boat on top of their heads, and it got into places that they were not too comfortable with. Not to mention that it was downright humiliating. With that said, there were twelve left at the end of the third day. Perhaps the Master Sergeant was right- there just might be one boat crew remaining when this is all over…

'It's going to be mine,' she said to herself.

* * *

The next day, they were put through an entirely different kind of torture: Crawling through the mud flats. "This is almost certain," the Master Sergeant said confidently, "To break what is left of your resolve. If it doesn't, you are one bad ass group of mother fuckers. Some of this mud is a foot deep in places, and high enough to cover you up to the neck in others."

They decided not to think about that… Even Callie mentally grimaced at the prospect of being in mud for the better part of a few hours. But she was in it for the long haul now, so there was no turning back. 'Besides, Chance would be disappointed with me.'

She didn't want that. The thought was enough to silence any doubts she had.

"It's time to get dirty, grunts. Get in there!" They got moving as he continued giving orders. "We're gonna play a game of Simon Says today, in the mud. I say drop, you drop. I say crawl, you crawl. I say stand, you damn well better stand up, and do not move until I say otherwise. And if I say bury yourselves in the mud it's in your best interest to make like a mole. Get me?"

"Hooyah," they responded. Only twelve out of what was once sixty-six headed into the mud flats. It wasn't like this would be any easier tomorrow, and tomorrow was the last day. Still, she had brought her team this far- she would try her best to bring them the rest of the way.

"**Drop, now**!" A whistle was blown and they all dove towards the ground, starting to crawl on their forearms.

'Oh, that's nasty.' Callie was not exactly the happiest camper right now. But she attempted to tune the constant complaints in her head out for now. It was sticky, wet, and was getting all in her fur. She wanted a hot shower, some nice cooked food, and to go back to sleep. And then, just as soon as she thought that, Callie told her brain to shut up.

"On your knees, keep crawling!" They got themselves up on all fours and did what they were told. They were all dirty, wet, cold, tired, hungry, and a whole bunch of other things. Where they didn't have any sort of problems with the water, they had all sorts of new issues with the mud. Still, the bad part hadn't come yet.

"Down again!" It wasn't too long before this whole process repeated itself, with the occasional stand up command given. While they didn't have to walk or jog through the mud all the time, they were made to do it anyways when the instructors saw that some were slacking off.

But within an hour of this, they changed it up. "Stand up and halt! Right then, let's do something different… Who here thinks they can wrestle?"

Well this would be interesting. They would be mud wrestling. "We're gonna be going to an area where the mud is all of one foot deep. Two of you are gonna battle it out. Winner gets to have their team take a standing nap for twenty minutes. Loser follows the instructor over there," he pointed to his right, "To the neck-deep area and stay there for twenty minutes until they learn how to hack it. Boat Crews will now be re-organized for even teams."

Well, at the very least, Callie was not going to be bored. Then again, she didn't like getting any dirtier than she was now. So she wasn't going to try and win- just not to lose. The teams were split, and she found herself with six instead of eight. No problem there. Besides, Reggie was still on her team, and she was starting to rely on the tough young tom. She stoically looked over to the other team and saw two of her team members get moved over. 'Sorry guys, but I'm gonna have to give you a mud bath. It's nothing personal.'

"Right, here's the deal. You will be grappling only, no strikes, no kicks. Any sort of takedown you can manage is allowed. You lose when you get dumped in the mud, which means I expect these to go very, very quickly. We will be having three rounds, one fight per round. Best of three gets that twenty minute rest. Loser gets to sit in the mud. Get me?"

Thus, it began. Not surprisingly, Callie went first against a kat that was bigger than she was. Standing at a good six foot three, he was not exactly your typical tom. She simply stood there, green eyes peering at him calmly. Reggie's eyes widened and he automatically thought, 'Shit, we might as well go sit in the mud…'

"Ready…" They got into their stances. "Go!"

The big kat simply lunged forward, wanting to get the initiative. Callie wasn't exactly one to just sit around, so she circled to the left, getting clean out of his way. She could have done just about anything she wanted with him at that point, but she figured she would make it exciting. He turned and began circling as well, trying to find an opening.

It wasn't long before he made his move, and Callie remained focused as he came in again. The guy was trying to run her over, either that or get in quickly enough that she couldn't react. She waited, felt him out, and saw him moving. Callie reacted by raising her hands to intercept him, and that was when the itch between her shoulder blades kicked in.

'He's going low.'

She smirked as the tom went for a double leg takedown. Problem was that it wasn't happening as he planned it. Callie shifted her weight forward, placed her hands right on top of his head, and using his own momentum against him just leapfrogged right over. Her back was turned to him as she landed, raising one fist in the air. Her team cheered her on.

'Holy shit, she can fight. We might win this one,' Reggie thought with a smirk.

Well, now the guy was pissed. She could feel it radiating from him. This would be the last charge, and this time she would actually do something in the way of attacking. He charged right at her back, growling as he did so. She just stood there and waited, her eyes closed. As soon as he was within about two feet of her, the itch between her shoulder blades flared.

He was right on top of her… and then the next moment she turned to her right, grabbed his right arm, and simply guided him with a short forward hop into the mud as she put him in a hammer lock. Done and done with a splash.

"Didn't even have to do much of anything," she said with a grin as she reached down and helped him up. Well that sucked, didn't it? He accepted her help, realizing that he had become overconfident. That was one for Callie's team.

As she walked back over onto somewhat solid ground, her teammates gave her all sorts of muddy high-fives. Reggie said nothing, just looked at her. 'That was impressive,' he said to himself. 'She knew he was coming, even before he started taking off. If I tried that with a knife or something, I'd have a dislocated shoulder and she'd probably smash my head into a wall or the street.'

Of course, Reggie used to be in a street gang. He could see how dangerous she was, even behind the smile she constantly wore. 'Now I'm _really_ sorry that I got her pissed off… she could have killed me.'

But he couldn't concentrate on that, because he was up next. And it was against a she-kat, too. Of course, he wouldn't be the one to underestimate his opponent- not only would that be embarrassing, but it would chalk up a loss for his team. And when the word go was said, it was proved that she was quick on her feet as he came in towards her. They immediately grappled though, seeing as she decided not to get out of the way.

As they jostled for position, Reggie attempted to get a stable footing in the mud. It was... difficult at best. But before he could think about how to move around in this, he felt the she-kat he was facing get her hooks into him. 'Shit!' He immediately went for a double over hook, but she had him locked in and wouldn't let him go. If he didn't do something soon, he would be going for a ride into the mud…

"Hell no," he growled through his teeth. Suddenly and viciously, he pushed her off of him, and that effectively broke her hold. But she stabilized herself before he could get a proper move on, and by the time he came at her again, she was ready for him.

Or so she thought.

He made for a grab towards her and she responded predictably, bracing herself and raising her hands, when he suddenly circled around her right side, one his left foot hooking into her right as he reached around the front of her body with his left arm. Her eyes widened at the sudden movement, and to her, it looked like he had vanished from her range of vision.

"What the-" She had no time to finish that sentence, because she suddenly felt herself being tilted back as the left arm was moved backward along with the twist of Reggie's torso. "Oh, this _sucks_!" She was done and in the mud in less time it took for her to consider the ways in which she would suffer for losing.

By the time the first round was over, the tally was two to one, and their opposing team was penalized with twenty minutes with their neck deep in mud. Callie's team won twice more before losing their first match. She wasn't too happy about it, but she would live. It was just mud. It felt icky, and got everywhere, but it was just mud. It would not kill her.

'That doesn't mean I have to like it.'

Her only solace was in the fact that the week was almost over. Hell, with how much sleep they were getting, it wasn't even a week. It was more like one long, tiring, painful, wet, cold, sandy day. But she had been through it all, and came out all right so far.

'Mud… will not break me. It's just mud.'

As long as she told herself that, she was fine. So she and her other five team members suffered in silence. "You say one word and I will make you stand here in the muck for an extended period of time! Do not speak unless you are spoken to, for all of twenty minutes," the instructor in charge of the mud pits barked. "Don't you dare go to sleep either, or I will pay you some special attention."

After they had gotten out, Callie's team never lost another match. No more mud for them; she wouldn't stand for it. They would win or hurt themselves trying. Fortunately for both teams, no kats were injured, besides an injury to their pride. But of course, their time in the mud was not over yet as they performed more drills. But these didn't involve moving at all, at least not on the conventional forward scale.

The instructor called one of three things- feet, back, and belly. The good news was that the mud was actually solid ground this time. The bad news was that they were tired after having just come back from wrestling, and they all felt icky. Those that couldn't stifle the complaints of their damaged egos would most certainly leave after this.

The rest… would live to see tomorrow.

The two boat crews were once again set back into their original teams, and it was back to work. But before that, the team that had won the most got to take showers. Warm showers, and in separate bathrooms, which was good for the modesty of the she-kats. Considering everything that had gone on, this was a luxury. The team that lost the most cleaned off as well, but in an entirely different way- the surf.

For the four that remained of Boat Crew Five, that was that. They sounded the alarm, one after the other. So close, and yet so far away, but they had reached the limit of how much they could take. It was a combination of too much mud, too much cold, and too much trouble. Instead of waiting the next day, they would be heading out as soon as they were dry and warm and had everything ready.

The next day would, after all, be the last.

* * *

Bed again. And did it ever feel good to get another hour of sleep. Yes, sleeping, even if it were just an hour, was sleeping either way one sliced it. Callie however, could not sleep. For the umpteenth time this week, her thoughts were preoccupied, somewhere across the sea. Ignorant of the cold and wet, she stood in the surf zone, knee deep in swash and her green eyes distant.

'I'm almost there, Chance. I hung in there, fought with everything I had. Tomorrow won't bother me. I don't think anything will be able to bother me now.' She smiled as she understood what he had sent her here for. 'It wasn't just a test, like I first thought. I'm not afraid… of anything anymore.'

That tough, determined shell that she carried with her had been hardened even further, and yet her gentle heart had been kept intact. She did not expect that to happen, but she was still her. Callie was just an improved version of herself. That was all. She cared for her team- they were like an extended family now. It was odd- she treated every kat she cared about as if they were an extended part of her own little family.

Then she shrugged and thought, 'It's not that odd. It's nice, actually. I guess that's how I've been treating MegaKat City. Even if I don't know them all, every kat that lives there- they're like a part of me, and I want to be a part of them.'

Callie closed her eyes and listened to the waves. There was something about water that loosened her up somewhat. Perhaps it was the sound or the movement, or the color as the sun or moon glistened off of its surface. Indeed, the moon was a shining silver ball in the sky, and though she couldn't see it, she could feel it. She was aware, without a single thought in her mind, that it had an effect on her.

Within the next split second, her ears twitched as she heard, even through the sound of the wind and waves, someone approaching from behind. All at once, she knew exactly who it was. "So you can't sleep either, can you Reggie?"

He chuckled and said, "Damn, found me out again. I just can't sneak up on you."

She smiled and said, "No, I don't think anyone can sneak up on me after all this." She turned to face him and said, "So what's on your mind? You couldn't be awake for any other reason than that."

He shrugged and said, "A lot of things," as he looked up towards the moon. "How I've been such a bastard to my folks, how I was responsible for my brother being gone, how things would have been different if I had just…" He sighed and said, "No, never mind. It doesn't matter now."

Callie was silent, trying to feel him out. He wasn't angry or frustrated- nor was he sad at all. He certainly wasn't happy, that was for sure in his voice. So what was this that she felt from him?

'He's at peace. This is a _normal_ state of mind,' she realized.

"What are you going to do after this?" She asked as she walked out of the foam.

Reggie sighed and said, "I dunno… hopefully I'll get to go back home, try and make up with my parents. Try to understand why they were so… distant. Hell, they might not have been distant at all, just busy." Looking from the moon to the she-kat, he raised an eyebrow. "What about you?"

Callie smiled and said, "I'm going to live. There are a lot of things I can do now that I'm not so scared of everything anymore. I used to have all these fears weighing me down, but now I know they were just a series of complaints in my head. I used to think that I wasn't pretty enough, smart enough, and didn't have enough money. But all that doesn't matter now, though."

Reggie nodded and said, "Well whatever you're gonna do… don't forget me, okay? I sure as hell won't forget you. I won't forget any of this." He looked back towards the sea and said, "Tomorrow is it for us… it's the last time we ever get to see this beach. Might sound weird, but I'm gonna miss it."

Callie shook her head and said, "Weird? No, it doesn't sound weird. I'm gonna miss it too."

For the next few minutes, they were each lost in their own thoughts before Reggie suddenly had a thought, a random image pop up in his head, nothing more. "Holy crap… I think I know what's coming tomorrow if we make it."

Callie nodded and intuited, "The city and all those resorts." The she-kat wasn't surprised. "We wouldn't be right next to them if they weren't going to give us access to them as a period of recovery. I bet they'll pay for expenses too, as long as we don't go overboard."

Reggie smirked and said, "To hell with that. I'm eating all I can before I head back to the mainland. I'm getting as much sleep as I can, too. Chances are, I'll need _both_ for dealing with my folks."

"Fine with me," she replied. "Me? I'm getting a massage, hitting the spa, getting my hair done, and then sleeping… period. Not necessarily in that order. Maybe some room service too, but mostly sleeping." She smiled and said, "Oh, it'll be so worth it." She looked up towards the moon again and said, "Besides, I have a sudden inspiration to surprise my tom back at home."

Looking towards her for a moment with a raised eyebrow, Reggie asked, "And what would that be?"

Callie turned towards him and winked. "Not telling, because it's not for you."

He smirked and said, "Whatever."

With that, the minutes wound down until the final wake-up call...

* * *

**Chapter 39: Hell Week (Part 4) – **_**Man Up**_

And there you have it. Another two days survived. There are only eight remaining out of sixty-six, which of course is what usually happens after this kind of thing. Except in the real thing, classes are usually a hell of a lot larger. Still, it ends in the same fashion. You all let me know what you think.

Speaking of what you think… it is Reviewer Appreciation time.

**Raiden Snake** has finally dropped the hammer and reviewed the last few chapters. Can't reply to them all, but let me say this. You say I'm turning her into Solid Snake, huh? Nah, I'd rather think of it as turning her into The Boss. But you are the judge of that, hmm? And I see we have yet another new addition. Welcome, **Imagination Queen**! Glad you could join us. I'm going to admit, I took a bit off of _Batman Begins _for this one, but it was worth it if you think she's cool. Here's hoping you review again.

**GeekGirl2**, thanks for believing in me. A lot of authors need their fan base to provide support, and you guys are what give me that fire to write. Not like I'll stop writing just because reviews aren't coming in, but you know me. I like to hear the views of others. And there we have **RaidenSilversword**. Simple, and yet fitting as always. Glad you're having such a good time- shame it has to end soon for this story arc.

**Kodachi Claws**, thanks for the comment and suggestion, but this chapter was already planned out in my head. However, I did include a scene about how Callie was thinking about Chance, so hopefully that will be some sort of consolation. How do you like my name for the gang kat? I think it works. And of course, last but not least, **ulyferal**. I am… shocked. You're an awesome writer, prolific. And yet you say such things? Yeah, well… I don't know what to say here. _Thank you_ isn't even appropriate enough. But it's all I've got, so thank you.

Well then, that was a ton of people on just this one chapter. Yes, six people are a ton, as far as I'm concerned. I must be doing _something_ right! And as always, the Fanfiction Mercenary keeps on ticking- you think this is good? You haven't seen the half of it. Check my profile for other stories.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	40. Hell Week Finale

Two a.m.

It had become routine by now. Wake up in the dead of night, move towards the surf line, get wet, do some workouts, get wet again. No one cared, Callie least of all. She did not care what orders were thrown her way now, just that this was the last few hours of a very long day. She had showered, she had eaten dinner, and she had successfully navigated her team thus far.

It had gotten to the point where her orders went unquestioned.

When she sensed the instructors coming, all she had to do was tap the kat behind her on the shoulder. His eyes snapped open, knowing exactly what that signal meant without having to wake up. That one tap led to another, and another, until all eight were awake and quietly began getting themselves ready. So by the time the megaphones started blaring and the flashlights pointed towards the boat, they were surprised to see that Boat Crew Two was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

"Hot damn, I think they've got it," One of them said with a small trace of pride. "You know what's coming next, then. It's time for a bath!"

And they pretty much treated it like that as they headed into the surf zone without saying one word. Those that were half asleep were all the way awake by the time the third wave hit. "Nothin' like a good dunk to start the day," Callie shouted. The others were inclined to agree- this was certainly an efficient way to wake up. Were it not so damned cold, it would have been even better, but no one minded the cold anymore.

Fifteen minutes passed and they were ordered to get out of the water. With that, the hard work began- lifting the boat, both standing up and laying down. They squatted while it sat on their heads; they ran with it, they lifted it with their feet. And then after a while, they were back in the water again for round two. It just kept on repeating itself, over and over again.

But perhaps the toughest part was the four-mile run, in the dark. Fortunately for them, this was done without the boats. The bad news was that they had to do it in fifteen minutes or less. This meant they would have to sprint just about all the way. If they had been improving on their running times, this would be a cakewalk. If not? Well, it would suck, and they would have to get wet again, and then try the run again.

Callie was having none of that.

"You guys ready to get this done?" Her team nodded and Reggie said, "Hooyah, Captain."

She nodded and said, "We've been getting better times lately, so remember- all we have to do is relax, breathe, and keep moving. Fast as you can, for as long as you can. Don't let your mind tell you that it hurts or that you're about to pass out. Keep on moving."

"What are you _bitches_ bickering about," an instructor said, "Get your asses ready to run!"

They did. As soon as the word go was said, nothing else mattered. They got moving, and fast. Eight kats were a blur as they made their way towards the other instructor that they knew was there. By now, they had learned how to run with proper form and keep their breathing steady, even at a high cadence. By the time six minutes had passed, they had traveled two of those four miles.

And not a thought crossed their minds.

Oh sure, the same old things were going on physically- burning lungs, pounding heart, aching limbs. Having to run four miles in thirty-two minutes or less for four days tended to condition one to move faster, however. The distance was nothing, the pain was nothing, and the cold was nothing. Their minds had practically shut down. If it were not for their movements being so choreographed, one would think they were on autopilot.

The plan was to reach the end at just about the same time so that they would beat the clock without having anyone lag behind. And at the third mile, with eight minutes having already expired, they were on their way to doing just that.

'Keep moving. We can't stop for anything now, just keep going.'

They sure as hell were lucky they were allowed some time to stretch before this started; otherwise one of them would be in big trouble by now. Within the next forty-five seconds, another quarter of a mile was taken out. The standard was a mile in less than ten minutes for just the physical challenge. With how they were moving now, it paled in comparison.

They were close now. Some of them swore they could smell the other end of the run, even though there was no tape, no line, nothing to mark the finish. They kept moving anyway. One of them began lagging behind. Callie could feel the imaginary strings tugging at her. "Come on, push! We're almost there!"

The tom said nothing, just kept on running, his teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed. There was no going back now, was there? No. He had to get moving, and he had to do it for his Captain. She was putting out just like everyone else, why shouldn't he? The complaints of his body came back in force. He made an attempt to tune them out.

"Hang in there!" Callie shouted without looking. She didn't have to look, she knew. She felt his pain. But this was nothing. Five days of this had taught her how to adapt.

Her encouragement pushed him forward. He caught up with the others. One minute and thirty seconds had passed, and they were almost there. Within the next three minutes, they would run past the instructor, once again all together. "That's enough, stop! Damn, what the hell has gotten into you today, grunts?"

They all halted, their breathing heavy, turning to face the instructor.

"That has to be the fastest time I've seen four miles run in. That's what I like to see- you're hungry for it. This Boat Crew just clocked in at eleven minutes and twenty-five seconds." They cheered. Yes, it felt that good. And yes, it was possible. "Get your asses to the van, we're gonna drive you towards the obstacle course. I want to see how fast you move with shit in your way. Let's _move_!"

They moved.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_A black H3 Hummer arrived later that morning, unbeknownst to the recruits. At around five a.m., it stopped in front of the instructors' quarters on the base, and a tall, well-muscled black panther stepped out. A pair of mirrored sunglasses covered his eyes, but though one could not see his eyes, the intimidating profile was unmistakable. His navy blue, muscle mapping shirt underneath the black leather coat that hung to mid thigh and the pair of tactical pants adorning his legs and tucked into the eight inch leather boots gave him the look of someone who could very well kick a kat's ass. And look good doing it, too.

As he walked towards the building, those that saw him saluted sharply. He briefly saluted back at them before heading inside. "Ah, there you are, Master Sergeant. I've been hearing some… interesting things," he said in that deep baritone of his as he approached the desk in his subordinate's office. The kat saluted as he stood from his desk. "Yes Sir, very interesting things indeed. But I bet you're not here to talk about it."

Captain Marcus Puma shook his head and said, "No, I'm not here to talk about it. But I will anyway for the sake of wasting time. How are they doing?"

The Master Sergeant sat down and said, "Surprisingly well, sir. We're down to one Boat Crew- the one belonging to Briggs, sir. They just got done running four miles in less than fifteen minutes."

The panther raised an eyebrow. "Well damn… what was the best time you've seen?"

He shook his head and said, "Twenty minutes, forty-six seconds."

Marcus closed his eyes, placing his elbows on the table and folding his hands in front of his face. He was silent for a good while before he said, "Either I woke up at the wrong time of the day, or you have just told me that eight kats have a new record for the four mile run. One that not too many will be able to set again."

The Master Sergeant nodded. "I didn't think they'd be able to do it either, until I saw the time on paper, for myself. They're busy on the obstacle course now, trying to beat the time that was set for them on it. Would you like to-"

The Captain raised a hand and said, "No. That's easy shit right there, anyone can post up a time on that. Time doesn't matter. I want to see how they stand up when it comes to the battlefield simulation."

His subordinate smirked and said, "Well it _is_ So Sorry Day, after all. And they are going to be _so_ sorry that they ever set foot in this place after we're done with 'em. That's not for three hours though. May I ask Sir, what we do to kill time?"

Marcus smirked and said, "I'm sure we can find something, Master Sergeant. Let's start with breakfast, shall we? And somewhere other than the mess hall would be nice. Sure there's good stuff there, but… there's better elsewhere." He stood and said, "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Eight a.m.

Explosions and smoke from grenades was everywhere. The sound of gunfire filled the air. Callie and her remaining seven kats crawled through the dirt, keeping their heads low underneath the simulated rounds over their head. "Hurry up! Get those asses in gear," one of the instructors shouted through his bullhorn. "Would you move this slow if you were _really_ being shot at? **Go, go**!"

Muddy, scum-filled water was what they went through at times, and just above them was a mesh of barbed wire. It would be painful if any one of them lifted their heads, or even crawled on all fours. Not like it wasn't painful already, dragging around in the dirt. But they had been in pain before. They had been wet before. Hell, they had been a combination of both.

Callie was silent as she tuned out the distractions of her mind. The defeatist voice in her head was turned off immediately as she led her team forward… from the rear. She had decided that she would be the last kat in the pack in order to keep everyone in front of her going. The smoke was everywhere, and they couldn't see three inches in front of their faces, but they kept on moving.

"There is no such thing as easy," another instructor said as they continued their crawl through the chaos. "If you think anything in life comes for free after this, you might as well go sulk in a corner somewhere! I wouldn't be surprised if you all washed out right damn now! You do not have to be here! There are a couple of nice hotels over at the resorts- you could just go to one of those and sleep for the rest of the day! Hot food, warm beds, none of our bullshit! All you gotta do is hit that button!"

Callie wanted to say no, she wanted to shout above the gunfire and the explosions for him to go to hell. But she didn't. She gritted her teeth, narrowed her eyes, and kept moving. When she had passed that instructor and was good and clear of him, she shouted, "Sound off! Are you still alive?"

"Hooyah," they shouted as they kept moving. They had cleared one of the demo pits and were now in the process of moving through a series of concrete tubes. Wet again, but not so cold this time. Reggie was stone-faced as he continued his crawl, trying to get moving as quickly as he could. But then he saw him out of the corner of his right eye, and almost froze in place.

'Holy shit… Captain Puma.'

A few noticed that he had hesitated, and two others peeked towards where he had his head tilted. They slowed down to stare, and noticed that he just stared back at them, his eyes hidden by the shades. He was observing every move they made, his gaze locked on them.

Callie noticed that there was a halt up ahead and yelled, "What the hell are you doing? We're being _shot at_ here!" They snapped out of it quickly as she continued talking, goading them forward. "You stop, and you get filled with holes like so much Swiss cheese! Now, get it together and **move**!!"

She didn't notice the Captain looking towards her direction, but he noticed what she had done. She had gotten them to keep going. She might not have understood what his intentions were, but she had been able to retain situational awareness under stress. An explosion went off nearby, simulating artillery fire, and that got many of them moving in a hurry. Briggs was icy calm, even as the sky fell around her ears.

'I am now officially impressed,' he said to himself. 'There really _are_ eight remaining. More than the last few years, when there were two or four. If she's responsible for this, I just might have a potential asset.' He looked towards Reggie and mused, 'He's not bad either… he's got drive. I saw the look on his face before he noticed me, and he didn't stop moving when he saw me- he only slowed down. That'll get him killed, but he was less stunned by me watching him than the others.'

He was evaluating and measuring each one of them, checking to see if there were any he could use. But then again, the choice was theirs whether they wanted to join him or not. He honestly hoped that those who he saw promise in would step up and get themselves paid for being their bad-ass selves. For those that did, training would not end here. But they'd be able to handle it.

'If anyone passes this week with their souls intact, they'll be able to handle anything,' he mused with a smirk.

Two hours of slogging it through the demo pits and it was ten-thirty five in the morning. They had cleared the hump, so to speak. The few that saw Captain Puma wondered why exactly he was here, but they didn't care for long as they were told to stand up and get moving back towards the tents. It was not over yet… or was it? They weren't sure.

They didn't know what the Captain being here meant, but some of them began to hope that it was all over. Entirely offset, they headed towards the tents as fast as they could. Only Callie kept her iron resolve, even when she had that tingle at the back of her neck. She wouldn't look, not now. It would happen later today, when everything was squared away.

For now, she just told her team to keep on moving. Whatever order was given next, they would have to follow it. It was nowhere near over yet, she knew it. Something was going to happen soon, and they had to be ready for it.

* * *

"Stand at attention, grunts, officer on deck!" They snapped to attention in front of the sleeping tents, the eight of them in perfect harmony. It was soon confirmed that the Captain was on base, and he was dressed differently from the last time they had seen him. He still radiated power and authority, though. And right now, he was busy taking his mirrored shades off, slowly and meticulously.

Brown eyes, deep and penetrating, stared through the remaining eight kats.

"Remove your headgear," he said softly.

They did. What, was it over? Just like that? This was bullshit, this was wrong, this was…

"First of all," he said, "You have my congratulations. I had no idea that you all would make it this far."

…This was it. This was their moment. Some of them stood a bit straighter, and the Captain noticed. It wasn't like he minded- they deserved to stand tall. This week was the formal form of torture, and they had persevered. He had heard about the injuries, the other dropouts, the boat races, and the tension. And yet here were eight kats who wanted it more than anyone else.

"You have demonstrated," Puma continued, "A mental and emotional fortitude that not many kats are able to display. You have shown your instructors what it means to have sheer, undiluted grit in the face of adversity. And you have successfully navigated Hell Week."

Some of the kats had the beginnings of tears at the corners of their eyes, but they did not move.

The Captain was silent as he looked towards the ground for a moment, trying to piece the information in his head together. "But that's not all," he said after a few brief moments. Puma looked towards the cadets again and said, "You are the first full Boat Crew of eight to have survived the most intensive training in the world. For the past four years since this program started, there have either been four remaining out of the original lot, or two. The dropout rate is simply that high."

Callie said nothing, but she could feel her heart performing back flips. Was that true? She had led the first full team through all that?

Marcus looked at the team before speaking again. "Behind you, in your sleeping tent, you will your brand new battle dress uniforms in your beds. They will be a different color, a symbol of your passing." He pointed towards them and said, "You came in here wearing black. You were unrefined, blemished. You were sent here or came here yourselves because there was something that needed to change, or else the consequences would be severe. I don't care what those reasons are, and I bet you don't either, do you?"

They replied, "**No, Captain Puma!**"

He nodded. "The new color you will be wearing is white. The blemishes are gone; the rough edges are smoothed out. You came in one end as you were, mundane, ordinary. Today, you emerge from the fires of Hell Week different, and yet the same within. I say you are the same within because your _true selves_ have been brought forth. This is the essence of this training- not to make you soldiers, but to tear away all that is selfish and hateful, and replaced it with what one truly is."

He continued speaking, once again having captivated their attention. "It happened to everyone during the past five days. Those who quit demonstrated who they truly were. Those who were injured and kept moving demonstrated who they truly were. And now you eight kats see who you truly are."

Some of their eyes widened. Yes… they _did_ see.

He kept on going. "I'm going to say it again, I'm a selfish bastard. But even I believe that a kat has both an essentially good and bad nature. It is the choices they make in life that defines them. Bad choices lead to bad ends and bad kats, good choices are rewarded and circle back onto themselves again, simply due to life itself. The choices you've made this week, make no mistake, are good ones. And they will circle back one day."

He turned towards his Master Sergeant and said, "I want your choices for the two best in this Crew. You've had time to make them."

The Master Sergeant nodded and said, "I will now call out the name of one cadet to step forward for the title of Honor Kat for this Boat Crew. Imprint his or her face into your memory, for this is your example, and the example of every cadet who should desire to navigate this course. We believe that this cadet is as close to the ideal citizen and soldier as one can come to, and should be treated as such."

He paused to let it sink in before calling out his choice. "Briggs, step forward and stand easy."

She wanted to cry. Like last time, it couldn't be stopped. She blinked the tears out of her eyes and walked forward four paces before stopping and relaxing, stepping her left foot out to shoulder width and putting her hands behind her back. The Master Sergeant walked forward and presented her with a hat pin and a shoulder patch for her uniform.

The gold hat pin was a pair of crossed sabers with an eagle imposed above them and a pair of olive branches, one on either side of the blades. The shoulder patch was the same, except it was imposed on a black background and had the word honor beneath it. "You wear the patch on your left arm, at the shoulder. The hat pin goes on the beret, about an inch above the headband. And here, you get another one…" He gave her another hat pin that consisted of a golden anchor fouled with a silver chain. The title of captain was underneath, in gold lettering. "This signifies that you were the Captain of this Boat Crew, the only one in years to have made it all the way."

He stepped away and saluted her, and she saluted back in turn. "Rejoin the ranks, Captain."

She did. Callie was still crying, damn it. Of course, seeing her cry made some of the other she-kats shed even more tears, but they had to keep standing there. She turned a full one hundred and eighty degrees until she faced the front, and then stood at attention again.

"The next kat is the one who we thought would _never_ make it this far," The Master Sergeant said as he peered at the cadets. "He or she is the unexpected element that we, the instructors, never saw coming. And yet here this kat is, standing amongst you, amongst the eight that made it to the end. This kat has a real fire in their gut, and they will receive their just due at this time."

He was silent again, letting the recruits realize what that meant. "And thus, we present the recipient of the Fire in the Gut award. Bengal, step forward and stand easy."

Somehow, he knew it was coming. It seemed that the instructors just plain did not like him, but now he realized why. He was being a total rat bastard, acting like a spoiled kitten. Now here he was, and not because of his own strength like he had first thought. The trust he had gradually placed in others had saved him from… well, himself.

The pin and patch he was given were once again the same thing. They were both a pair of golden rifles crossed in front of a shield, with a combat knife behind the two rifles pointing straight up. Underneath the patch was the word strength. And it didn't just mean physical strength either.

"Well done, Bengal. You started out a punk and ended up bringing out that fire. Personally, I knew you had it. I never hated you, not for one second. But you had to get rid of that ego of yours and find something else to draw strength from. I made sure… that I did everything I could to bring that out." He nodded and shook his hand. "I wish the best of luck to you."

With that, and the explanation of where everything went, Reggie was allowed back into the ranks. He was, frankly, humbled. No one thought he could make it, but here he was anyway. And they had always believed in him, hadn't they? He just didn't see it for wanting to get the hell out of there.

He had to make it up to them somehow.

Captain Puma nodded and said, "Instructors, give the cadets their badges of merit. They've earned them."

Callie was right- it wasn't quite over yet. Another set of shoulder patches and hat pins were given out, but this time they were black and silver patches that signified that they had successfully passed Hell Week. Once again, they went on the left arm and for those that didn't have a patch already, it was on the shoulder.

The hat pin was the same as the patch; a depiction of a pair of lions on either side of a short sword, rearing back on their hind legs as if to maul something. There was a shield behind them, and on the patch, underneath the shield, were two words instead of one: Hell Week. That alone would let everyone know that these were some bad-ass kats.

The Captain nodded and said, "Now then, for the real meat and potatoes of all this. Don't get too excited yet, but you see those hotels over there?" He pointed towards the resorts. "They are all five-star resorts, each one of them the best experience that money can buy. We have rooms booked at three of them, and all expenses paid up to two thousand dollars for each of you. But two will be cancelled depending on your choice. This isn't an order- it's a simple decision. Either way, you won't regret it."

He looked towards Callie. "Captain Briggs, it's your call. I trust you've done your homework this week?"

She nodded. "Yes I have, Sir."

He smiled. "Good. What's your choice?"

She answered without hesitation. "I'm going with the _Twin Doves_ Hotel."

Several faces lit up. Apparently, they had heard of it. It was one of the best resorts that the island had to offer. Marcus smiled. "You heard your Captain, cadets. Once that bus gets here, I expect you all to be packed and off of my base. But before they get here, I want to make you an offer. You eight are the best that MegaKat City has to provide. You have proven that today. I'm offering you a way to get more money than you ever would in any other job. We have positions in KatGuard open for those who are interested in taking this the next step further."

Silence reigned. He had their attention...

"Anyone who is up for it and wants to know how to be a real soldier instead of playing like one, stay at attention. The rest, stand easy."

They realized that it was their choice. It would be easy for some, and quite hard to make for others. Callie however, immediately stood easy after about five seconds. Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Briggs... I'm going to ask you this because you are the Captain of this Crew. Can I not ask you to reconsider? What you showed me down there in the demo pits was one hell of a demonstration in leadership. We _need_ kats like you."

She nodded. "I know, and thank you, Sir. But," she said softly, "There are others who need me just as much. I can't sit by in one place while others need help. I think this is more suited for someone who wants to _learn_ leadership than one who already knows it, Sir."

Silence again, and then Marcus nodded. "I can't see a flaw in your logic, even though it's far from logical. If that's how you feel, then go with it. I won't stop you." He looked towards the others and said, "Anyone else?"

Five more stood easy. The other three that stood at attention were one she-kat and two toms, one of whom was Reggie. Marcus looked towards the former gang kat and said, "I figured you would want to, son," he said calmly. "I just don't know why. This isn't an opportunity for an ego trip. I don't want you regressing on me out there."

Reggie nodded. "I know, Sir. But I want an opportunity to make up for my piss-poor performance out here. I also want to make up for the things I've done… I figure this is a good start, to learn how to do something that's actually useful for a change. There's just one thing before I head in for training."

Marcus nodded and said, "Name it."

Reggie was silent for a moment before he said, "I want to patch things up with my folks before I get started. This whole thing was their idea, and now I see why they sent me here. I want to make things better."

At the very least, he would do it for his little brother.

Marcus nodded immediately. "So be it. Once this weekend of rest is finished, you have two weeks to reconcile with your family. Whatever result is reached, you are to report to headquarters in Downtown MegaKat City, first thing in the morning. Understood?"

Reggie saluted. "It's understood, Captain."

"Good. Stand easy, all of you." They did. "You'll have to forgive me for calling you cadets," Captain Puma said apologetically. "That's not what you are anymore. From this point forward, we are on equal footing, you and I. Congratulations, Soldiers. Hell Week is secure. You're all dismissed."

Chaos ignited as hats were thrown into the air and a cheer split the calm of the air. It was over… it was all over. Callie was encased in a group hug as she grinned, her tears still falling. 'I did it, Chance,' she said to herself. 'I did it. I can't wait to tell you everything.' But first, it was time to try on her new duds!

* * *

'Damn, even the shoes are white,' Reggie mused as he laced and tied the eight inch boots, the pants having already been tucked into them. The short-sleeved tactical shirt and the white beret with black headband made him look… well, professional. "I could get used to this," he said as he put on the beret, the hat pins having already been placed in. They shone and glistened merrily in the lights of the bathroom, and it made him grin.

With that, he made his way out of there, only to almost run into Callie. "_Crap_, don't scare me like that," he said as his heart jumped a few inches up his throat.

She smiled and said, "Sorry. It looks good on you, y'know." She had three pins instead of two, but who cared? "So you're joining? That's great. I think you'll do fantastic, no matter what they have you do."

Reggie nodded and said, "God knows I'll try. Anyways," he said as he waved it off, "What are we gonna do about these patches? Can't exactly iron them on… and I suck at sewing." They both had a good laugh at that. Oh yes, they both wanted to put them on right away, to let everyone know.

"I'm sure we'll find something in the city," Callie said as she walked back towards the tents. Their bags would be there by the time they got back. It wasn't a question- she knew, as always. Everyone would either be at the mess hall or waiting for their ride to arrive, but personally, she was hungry. Her clothing was in her bag as well as a few necessities, so she'd need it later. Right now, she needed food. She had gone the whole _morning_ without breakfast.

Reggie placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Hey… I just wanted to…"

Callie shook her head and said, "Don't thank me. I wanted to help you, so I did. You just be happy, all right? That's all I want in return. It's all I've ever wanted for _everyone_ on the team," she said as she continued walking. "I don't like seeing a kat hurt or put down. I tried my best to keep that to a minimum."

Reggie was silent for a moment before he said, "You know, you really are a good leader. I was right about the den mother thing, but… that's not so bad."

Callie turned to look over her right shoulder and said, "Well that's what a leader is, right? They're the mother or father when your own isn't with you. And that's not even in battle- they're in everything. Being a good leader means motivating those who are under your command and giving orders without telling people how to perform those orders. The leader is to use their initiative and move forward, telling others to follow them. When kats have someone that knows what they are doing, they will follow that individual."

Reggie nodded and said, "I gotcha. I'll try and remember that."

With that, they headed for breakfast, neither of them saying a single word to each other. Perhaps nothing needed to be said anymore, and it wasn't because they didn't want to talk. On the contrary, it was because they were at peace. No more yelling, no more arguments, no more threatening stares. They had reached equilibrium.

'I can't wait to see you again, Reggie.' She meant that with everything she had.

* * *

Within her room in the _Twin Doves_, Callie had taken the liberty of unpacking her things, keeping her battledress on for the moment. After she was finished setting herself up, she began withdrawing a sheet of paper from her pack, along with a pen, and sat down at the desk located in the suite.

She was writing a letter to someone.

_Chance,_ the letter began, _First of all, I want to say that I love you with all my heart. I can't say that enough. I love you for sending me here, to this hell on earth. You've opened my eyes to things I never thought I could do, and I've met people that I otherwise wouldn't have. I am truly grateful for each and every second spent here, and can't wait to tell you about everything that happened._

_But let's start with first things first. Today at ten forty-five a.m., my Boat Crew received their award pins and patches for wear on their uniforms. We have successfully navigated the program and are currently staying in one of the resorts here on Bobcat Island. Call it a bit of a recovery period, if you will. My Crew was the first full group of eight to successfully complete Hell Week since its conception, something which was said to be a major accomplishment._

_I can't begin to describe to you what I felt when I got that little pin that is on my hat right now. Such a little piece of metal means so much. And the patches too, though they aren't on my uniform yet. You should really see me in this uniform by the way- it looks cute on me, beret and all._

_Speaking of those, I have three award pins on said beret- one for completing the course, one for being the captain of a completely intact Boat Crew, and one for being what they call the Honor Kat. From what I can recall, I'm the model example of a trainee in this program; a kat who motivates and inspires and puts out more than anyone else. I swear I did more yelling at one specific kat, named Reggie, than the rest of any kat I have ever yelled at in my life._

_We're good friends now though, so it's all right. He was driven and ambitious, and when I got to know him, a very dedicated tom. He's going to be joining KatGuard after all this is over, so please inform Felina that she'll have to show him the ropes soon._

_I could go on about what happened on what day and when, but it's too much for a letter. Besides, I miss you. And that is why I'm inviting you to come to the Twin Doves Hotel and Resort at Bobcat Island. Bring Jake and Felina, if they're not busy. I would love to have you for the next two days, and if you do decide to come, I might even have a surprise or two for you._

_For now, I'm going to sleep. Sleep is something that I need a bit of today, actually._

_With all my heart,_

_Cpt. Clara Briggs

* * *

_**Chapter 40: Hell Week (Finale) – **_**The Graduate**_

And thus ends another exciting tale in the world of the SWAT Kats. It's been a real pleasure, this one, and I had fun with it. Sometimes you just have to write a storyline like this one to take the edge off. Rest assured though, the next one will be all sorts of insane. I'm going to give you one hint, and one hint only- the Metallikats.

In any event, I'm going to execute the Reviewer Appreciation segment, and today we start off with **Kodachi Claws**. Thanks for pointing out that little slip last chapter. I appreciate you reminding me that Callie is trying to operate under a cover. Anyone who catches oversights like these are a boon to my writing, and I appreciate every mistake caught. And now it's time for today's new reviewer: **Bladestar**! Hey there- welcome to the show. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself so far here, and glad that you see what's going on. Hopefully you can catch the next chapter.

Okay, continuing on… **Raiden Snake**. Unfortunately, this is where we have yet another difference in opinion. Let me be the first to inform you that I intended for the SWAT Kats to be a full fire team by the time all this was over, but I didn't want to stick an OC into the mix. I'm not too good with OCs, besides as side notes or filler characters. I admit I did all right with Reggie and Captain Puma, and even Benny, but you'll probably be seeing them sporadically. So yeah, it's a bit late to comment on it now that things have been set in motion, but I hope you'll stick around to see what goes on afterwards. And yes, I'm being stubborn.

Okay, let's move on to **ulyferal**! Yes, it's at its end here. Yes, there will be more filler chapters. And yes, I will try to make them as entertaining (and as short) as possible. Air Force is awesome, by the way. My grandfather was in the Air Force, so you're all right with me. And thus we move to the final review, but no less important. This one's from **GeekGirl2**. Seriously, thanks for sticking up for me there. As stated before, it's too late to change the course of events, but it's not too late to watch until the very end. I'm not going to have the SWAT Kats end at a three-kat cell, period. Four is the magic number here, come hell or high water.

Right, now that those are out of the way, I'm going to start writing the downtimes now. Though to admit, this whole thing was technically one great big downtime. But if you look at it as it is, it had as much excitement and tempo, and it developed one of my favorite she-kats in the series. The next three chapters will see a change in something else on her person, sooner or later. Thanks to a suggestion from Kodachi Claws, of course.

All right, I'm outta here.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	41. Vacation

Four p.m., on the mainland, that same day.

Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson were busy working off their debt, which they were used to by now. Each car they worked on happened to be a work of art to Chance, and he treated it like one. Well, not always… but Jake hoped that his influence was wearing off on him somewhat. Chance still loved big engines, he wanted more power, more speed, more of everything. Jake of course figured that all it needed was a new exhaust system, but most of the time he went along with what Chance said, fixing things here and there that the big tom missed.

Most of the time, it worked.

Felina was busy at KatGuard for the whole week, finishing up a contract that entailed security detail for the mayor as he made his rounds of the city. From Callie's "funeral" to the meetings that he had over the past five days, the Mayor went through his own period of suffering as he actually had to do some work for once. Without the Deputy Mayor, he began to see the true gravity of situations he would rather have left alone.

It made all parties that were not involved with the whole thing laugh.

But all the while, Chance was notably distracted. He performed his duties on auto-pilot, the body having memorized the steps it needed to take, and even Jake noticed after a while when he made a complaint once that Chance was making the valves on an engine too big, he actually agreed without arguing or stating a reason why they should be bigger. Jake was concerned, to say the least.

"Okay, stop," he said as he placed a hand on Chance's right shoulder, stopping him from walking back to get a more manageable size, "You're worrying me here. You just _agreed_ with me on an engine-related topic. That's never a good thing. You, sit, now. Have some lunch and talk to me."

The big tom blinked for a moment, then shrugged and said, "If you say so."

All work ceased for the moment as they washed their hands and headed towards the now fully-stocked refrigerator, thanks of course to Felina and Callie. They wouldn't have their toms going hungry, especially not Callie. With that, they actually made themselves mega-sub sandwiches. Jake had memorized his and Chance's favorites to the letter by now. Once they were done with that, they headed into the break room and sat.

There was silence for all of five minutes before Chance sighed and said, "Really, why are you having me talk like this? I thought you _wanted_ me to agree with you on things, Jake. Shouldn't you be, I dunno, happy?"

Jake shook his head and said, "I would be, if you had put up a fight first. Just agreeing without saying that the big ones would make for better air flow or something like that is… creepy." Jake took a bite out of his sandwich and said, "So spill. What's eating you?"

Chance looked down at his meal for a moment and said, "Callie. It's been a week, Jake. Five days without her. I mean, I've been without her sometimes, but it wasn't for this long. It's starting to get to me." He couldn't help but be worried for her. Was the decision that he had made a bad one? What if she really couldn't handle it?

Jake smiled and said, "Should've told me earlier," as he produced an envelope. "I got this in the mail just a few hours ago, but I never thought about giving it to you until now. We kinda had work to take care of and all that. Seeing as it's from Callie, you should crack it open; find out what it's about."

Chance raised an eyebrow before he took a look at the envelope. Apparently, the only thing it had on it was the exact address of the garage. How Jake could tell who it was from, he didn't know. There was only one way to find out, so he opened it.

From the first word, he knew it was her.

But as the big tom continued reading on, he found that he need not have worried, though he had been gnawed at with dread for most of the week. Chance couldn't help but feel proud of her, his heart swelling with joy at her passing the gauntlet that he had thrown down for her. It only kept on increasing as he continued to read, and by the time he had reached the end of it he had come to a decision.

"Jake… how would you like a vacation?"

Clawson raised an eyebrow as he was given the letter. He didn't exactly read it; he just knew who it was from due to seeing the handwriting style. But now that he did, his eyes widened. "Holy shit, she's staying _there_? That place costs an arm and a leg; it's gotta be sponsored by someone."

The big tom nodded and said, "It's the only explanation for it. So are we going or not?" He had to see her. He couldn't wait a second longer.

Jake grinned and folded the letter up again, handing it back to Chance. "I'm calling Felina. She's gotta know about this. And _hell yes_ we're going. I'm not about to miss this for anything!"

As the slim tom headed off towards the phone, Chance lay back onto the couch and sighed in relief. Then he grinned. 'Callie… I knew that was the right thing to do.' Now all that was needed was the last piece of her change. For all that week while she was gone, they had placed the finishing touches on her new identity. She was legally Clara Anita Briggs, and since they had decided that being related to Callie was bad news, they had searched for a loophole. Fortunately for them, Briggs was a common surname, so they could use it to their advantage.

There was just one more thing that needed to take place. She would be able to get herself work, a new identity, a new life even. But it wouldn't be enough. She wanted to stay with Chance, so he had to make a compromise. That compromise was planned from the beginning of this whole ruse, though it was a big step as far as he was concerned.

But for now, he would be glad that she had made it. After all, they wouldn't have to worry about the last step just yet…

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_"You do know," Felina said after she had arrived over at the garage twenty minutes later, "That Bobcat Island is about two thousand nautical miles away from here, right? It's going to take you most of the day to get there." That didn't mean that she didn't want to go. She just had to make sure they knew what they were getting into. "Last time I checked, you guys didn't take the TurboKat out for regular joy runs unless it was testing out an engine or making sure a new component was working."

Jake nodded and said, "You got it, right on the dot. And we can't exactly have the StealthKat going out on a run either. We haven't had to deploy in quite some time thanks to Dark Kat's disappearance, and the Enforcers have been handling most of the robberies in the area. Rest assured we're not taking the TurboKat."

Chance smirked and said, "We _are_ taking something similar though, and almost as fast. That's where you come in, Felina."

She blinked and said, "Who, me? I mean, I'd love to go, and I just got done with the security detail since they have someone else on it now, but how are we going to get there? Unless of course, you're planning on taking those…" She paused as she realized just what they meant. "You're going to take the Strike Eagles, aren't you?"

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "There a problem with that?"

Felina shrugged and said, "Not really. It makes sense, considering our mutual situation. I'm just going to have to pull a few more strings to get them for free. After all, we can't have ourselves spending money before our little vacation starts, now can we? And don't you dare ask if I'm coming along or not, because I am."

Jake and Chance both raised their hands defensively and said, "Not at all!"

Felina nodded and said, "Then let's go now. I'll make the call as soon as we get moving."

With that, the four of them got into Felina's tuner and headed towards KatGuard Headquarters, all the while making a few key calls that took anywhere from five minutes to as long as twenty. She had to make several promises, such as to bring them back with at least a half-full tank, to report any engagements of any sort, to not break the damn thing.

When it was all over, an hour had passed, and they had gotten clearance. For free, at that. Thus, Chance looked at the F-15E with a sort of reverence. Sure, the TurboKat was the best thing out there, but this… this wasn't too bad. "So this thing," he said softly, "Was what dropped the big one on top of Dark Kat, huh?"

Felina nodded. "Well yeah. It's no big deal when you think about it," she said with a raised eyebrow. "But I see what you mean- it's pretty, isn't it? A pair of conformal fuel tanks, drop tanks for auxiliary, can carry tons of ordinance, can super cruise on a clean configuration…"

Chance pouted. "Damn… Now I want to try it with nothing else on there." But he knew that the drop tanks were needed, so he stuck it out. Or at least, he would try to. "So what's the range on this baby? We gonna be able to get there on one tank?"

Felina smirked and said, "You must not have heard me, Chance. With all the fuel tanks on this thing, we can get there and back without the _main_ tank even being dried out. Two thousand miles is nothing to this piece of work." Insert proud grin here.

Chance grinned and said, "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go see Callie!"

With that, they leapt upwards toward the cockpits, Jake fitting perfectly in the WSO position. By now they had their helmets, pressure suits, and oxygen masks set and ready for action. As Chance rested his hands on the controls, he felt an odd sensation. 'It's just like the TurboKat…' Only that it was slower. He knew that without that third engine, it would be sluggish in comparison.

'Still… I like it,' he thought to himself.

Chance shook off the eerie feeling of déjà vu and said, "Let's see what this thing can do."

With that, they started their engines. Forty five seconds later, they were in the air at fifteen thousand feet via the underground runway and launch tunnel. At supersonic speed, they would arrive at their destination in less than two hours...

* * *

Callie resided within room four twenty-nine within the confines of one of the most luxurious hotels in MegaKat City. Bobcat Island was, indeed, a part of the mainland and under its jurisdiction, so she didn't have much to worry about. What she _did_ have to worry about was that she couldn't sleep. It wasn't the fact that she didn't want to, just that she was not able to. The events earlier in the day had gotten her so wired and jacked that she had become the epitome of restless.

Part of it was because she couldn't wait to get her uniform all set and ready. An even bigger part was that she had sent the letter out and didn't know whether it would reach its destination in time. She knew she had to sleep, but didn't know whether or not it would be possible at the time. And so now, at five in the afternoon, she was deeply entrenched in a meditative state, tuning out her mind's complaints about how she really should be going to sleep.

With her shoes and socks off and wearing a pale lavender camisole with a pair of grey Capri pants, she folded her legs, straightened her back, and meditated. She turned her mind outward, ignoring the distractions from within. She was tired, she needed sleep, she needed food, and she needed a decent bath before any sort of mystical things. Callie ignored all of it and turned her senses and attention towards her breathing.

The stress from her training, her constant movement, the harassment of the instructors (which she knew was only them getting the cadets to pay attention); they all wore on her in some way or another. Contrary to her current state, she had not come out of it entirely unscathed. Sometimes, what they said really, truly hurt. She was a sensitive she-kat at heart, and the hard shell of tenacity and cool unresponsiveness was only a cover.

Thus, she cleared her mind of it, cleansed herself of all the mess that she had in her system. Crying had done her some good, but that was earlier in the day. The rest of it had to be cleaned out, and no bath could do that for her. So she breathed, and allowed her mind to silence itself, cleaning out all the yelling and the torture and everything else.

It took ten minutes to put her mind at a state of rest again, longer than the usual times.

With that, she extended her senses outward, getting a feel for the room she was staying in. Callie's breathing became secondary as she expanded her perception, stretching it to the very corners of the suite that she stayed in. Within the space of a few seconds, she knew that there were two king sized beds, one quite elaborate bathroom, and a high-definition television. Her very presence permeated the air, extended towards the door, the desk, the table for four, the phone, and the window.

She knew where everything in that room was now, and could probably walk around blindfolded with perfect confidence. The training had sharpened her intuition to a startling degree, and yet she wasn't surprised at all. She held it for the next five minutes, and everything in the temporary domicile felt as if she were touching it with her hands.

She stretched further, past the room, past the door, testing her limits. Insecurity was not an issue, she just kept on pressing. There were two kats outside, walking past her door. They didn't even know she could feel them.

'Hell with it.'

Where was Chance now? She asked herself the question, and then immediately let the question drift away. She wasn't expecting an answer. Five seconds later, Callie got one anyway as a sudden feeling seemed to take over, something of joy and pride. It almost made her want to laugh, were it not so distant. Yes, he had gotten the letter, and yes he was on his way.

Right now, even. At this very moment, he was heading over to see her.

Callie's eyes opened and she said, "Well I can't see him like this, can I?"

She got up and stretched her arms upwards, enjoying the feel of her body relaxing even further. Oh, this was going to be fun. And she had the perfect idea, too. Now was a good time to take that bath, wasn't it? With that, the she-kat headed into the bathroom. With her eyes closed, just because she wanted to. She wasn't surprised when she immediately found the doorknob and confidently turned it.

'And for my next trick,' she said to herself with a laugh, 'I'm going to knock Chance Furlong's socks off.'

The door closed, and not but two minutes later, the sound of running water was heard.

* * *

The control tower on Bobcat Island's training facility was quiet mostly. There weren't too many personnel inside, besides a few technical and radio officers. On a busy day, one that they hadn't had for a while, they would be deploying the rest of their fleet of strike fighters and a few C-130 cargo planes carrying anything from supply and munitions crates to entire vehicles. On a bad day, they would be mobilizing just about all of their forces.

They were, after all, a private military.

In any event, flight control picked up two contacts heading towards the base, approaching at mach 2. "Heads up, radar's pinged two bogeys hauling ass in our direction. Line abreast, angels ten." one of the radar officers said. Immediately, those who sat idle got to work. "Hit the IFF; see if they're buddies or baddies."

"Roger," a radio officer said. "Attention unidentified craft, this is Bobcat Tower. We have you painted, requesting that you squawk 1362, over."

"Roger that, Tower." Felina and Chance activated their transponders, and it was pretty much all good from there. "Received, stand by… Huh? Jaguar One and Two… what are you doing here, getting a tune-up or something? We thought you guys were supposed to be back at the mainland."

Felina grinned to herself and said, "Oh, just here to see the sights, get some fresh air and check on the recruits, things like that. You know how it is."

The radio officer raised an eyebrow and said, "Wait a minute, is that you Ms. Feral?" He grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, didn't know who you were for a moment there. Go ahead and make your descent run, Jaguar One. Jaguar Two, follow her in."

With that, the Strike Eagles landed on the tarmac, one hour and forty five minutes after leaving the mainland. Of course, seeing as a radar ping had to be documented at all times, someone was waiting for them by the time they had finished taxiing. A big black panther, muscular and intimidating, with arms folded and one foot tapping impatiently, waited to see who had arrived unannounced at his base.

Of course when he found out who it was, he wasn't all that surprised. "How many times have I told you Feral that you need clearance from me first before you go off and ride in those strike fighters? They're only to be used on missions and when necessary."

She didn't look repentant any. "I know Sir, but this was a special case. I was told that Hell Week had just ended, and I wanted to evaluate those that wanted to continue further. How many are there, by the way?"

Marcus Puma sighed and said, "Three. All of them are rather promising." He then noticed the other two kats and said, "Didn't know you had friends outside of work, Feral. Allowing civilians to ride in our aircraft is a broken rule. I don't like broken rules." He turned towards them and said, "But since you're here, you must know how to fly, and fly pretty well. Identify yourselves."

They took off their helmets. "I'm Chance Furlong. This is my buddy, Jake Clawson. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir." With that, they shook hands, and Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Mmm… that's a hell of a grip. I like that. So then, Chance, what brings you to our corner of MegaKat City?"

"What brings me here is a she-kat," the big tom said immediately. "Her name's Clara Briggs. I'm the one that sent her here, and I'm the one that should find out how she did. Heard she was staying at some resort here, so I decided to come visit, get some fresh air."

Marcus nodded and said, "So you're the one that shipped her over here, then. Why? It didn't seem like she needed it." He smiled and continued with, "She's a hell of a queen, Furlong. Briggs led a whole Boat Crew through the whole week, no dropouts on her watch. That has _never_ happened since this program started. I trust that means you got her ready for it."

Chance shrugged and said, "I might have."

Marcus smirked and said, "You might have, hmm?" He chuckled and said, "This kind of training is meant to simulate that which the Enforcers have to go through, and then take it to its extreme. The fact that she was a block of ice during this whole exercise denotes that she was trained beforehand, by someone who either is, or used to be, an Enforcer themselves."

Chance was silent.

"Thought so," Marcus said as he placed a hand on Chance's shoulder. "So the question is, how many years and what unit?"

The big tom raised an eyebrow and said, "Wait, you used to be an Enforcer?"

The panther nodded. "Twenty years. Yeah, I knew Feral when he wasn't so much of a hard ass. Guy was ambitious, but he loved his job and he was good at it. Prideful bastard, but not so much in a bad way as it is now. I heard what happened back at the mainland when he raided Headquarters. I expected it, but it didn't stop me from being pissed off." He looked towards Felina and said, "Glad my best operator handled it for me."

Felina smiled and said, "Glad I could help."

Marcus nodded and said, "If only she would listen to protocol a few times. But of course, it was for a good reason, so I'll let it slide this time." With that, he turned back towards Chance and said, "So, you and the lil' guy here… what unit?"

Chance focused his attention back on the conversation. He was still eager to see Callie, but here he found someone with something in common. "We were part of the Special Tactics force, two years ago. We had the rank of Colonel and LTC before Jake and I got booted for getting in the Commander's way."

Marcus grimaced and said, "I can imagine. So then, you two were in the force that was allowed to execute full military action against high-risk criminals when they could not be detained. The bad-ass platoon, so to speak." Marcus smiled and said, "Get comfortable then, gents. Welcome to Bobcat Island. I'm Captain Marcus Puma, at your service. Now then, let's get down to business. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to your she-kat."

* * *

Seven p.m., room four twenty-nine.

Callie was in her best dress this evening, since she wanted to look important. She figured that she had to make a good impression, though she didn't know why. It was a strapless cocktail dress, silver in color and made entirely of silk, that stopped a hand span above the knees. A pair of matching shoes… well, not shoes, more like open-toe sandals with slight heels, adorned her feet.

She was definitely set to go as she placed a pair of diamond studs in her ears and looked at herself in the mirror one final time. "Yeah, this will definitely get him to react in some way." She giggled to herself as she headed back towards the bedroom. She was most definitely prepared for a great evening, and wasn't afraid to show it. At the very least, she had done everything she could besides fix her hair and she refused to do that at this point. She liked it how it was, all brushed and set the way she wanted it. Well not entirely, but she would take care of that tomorrow. At the moment, all she was focused on was Chance, thoughts of his reactions floating through her head.

She expected him to either play it off, stand there looking shocked, or just smile and say hello.

Either way, she would try to handle it as best she could.

Of course, she had no idea what would happen when she actually sensed him coming. Just to make sure, she extended her senses once again, and suddenly felt a tingle along her skin as her perception registered that yes, he was coming. In fact, the elevator that he was in had finished making its way up. In the next instant, confidence turned into apprehension.

She suddenly didn't feel ready enough, feel right enough, or feel pretty enough. She suddenly had the urge to go hide in the bathroom and try to fix her hair in the next five minutes. Callie's toes flexed and fidgeted and her ears twitched.

'Get it together, Callie-girl! It's only Chance!'

That made it worse. She began shivering slightly.

'Stop shivering like a kitten at her prom night and straighten up. It's _only Chance_, and you've been around him what, forever? What happened to the Captain that led a whole Boat Crew to victory? What happened to that tough hide that was there earlier? You're better than this, so act like it!'

Her mind had changed from the nagging and complaining voice to her own personal motivator. Unfortunately, it didn't work this time. No, not this time, because he was at her door. She could feel him standing there, fixing his clothes, adjusting his hair. Callie moved on instinct. He was getting ready to knock, and just before he did, the door was flung open and a blonde she-kat leapt towards him, enveloping the big tom in a powerful hug and a kiss that was designed to set the senses ablaze.

The fear was gone.

'There, that's better.'

The kiss lasted for a whole fifteen seconds before she dragged him into her room and closed the door behind him. "Whoa, take it easy! I'm not going anywhere, you know that."

Her back was still turned to him as silence pervaded the room. Callie remained motionless, wondering why she was afraid in the first place. Or was it just nervous energy? Either way, it was released now, and her head was remarkably clear. What she said next was without any sort of logic behind it. She simply knew what to say.

"Five days, Chance. Five days of being cold, wet, tired, in pain, and entirely miserable. I could take it; I could handle all that because of my team. But you want to know what was hard about it?" Her hands clenched at her sides as she fought off the urge to simply pounce him again. "I was without _you_, Chance. For the first few days, I was all right. I think it was the third day that I really started wanting to go back, though."

A tear ran down her right cheek as she continued on. "It wasn't so much that I needed you to coach me or anything. You already did that. But five days of not having you hold me, not waking up and seeing you next to me…" She felt him approaching from behind, but did nothing. "It sounds shallow, I know. But I need you like other kats need air or water."

Chance said nothing, just held her. Hadn't he gone through the same situation?

Callie sniffled. "I mean, it's not like I haven't been able to do it before, right? You must think it's entirely silly, but since we started this whole thing, I…" She shook her head and said, "I can't be without you. I just can't. I can keep going, acting like I can, I can ignore it, but I just can't-"

Chance nibbled on her left ear. He still said nothing. That was most definitely her signal to be quiet as well, wasn't it? So she did, and simply let herself cry and feel his teeth gently chew on the sensitive ear. A heady sensation began spreading along her skin and through her veins, and in the next two minutes she was lit up like the city itself at night. After a few more seconds of this, she finally relaxed and said, "Despite all that, I did it."

The big tom smiled and said softly into that same ear that he had just finished tasting, "Yeah, you did. So do you want to celebrate now, or…?"

Callie nodded. "Now is good," She said with a content purr, "But I don't want to leave." She turned to look over her right shoulder and said, "You want room service? I'm good for it. Might take a while to get here, though… but I'm sure we can find something to do before then, right?"

Chance's hands rested on her hips, and the very feel of him through her silk made her shiver again, but not in fear. "Well if you say so. I'm sure we got the whole night to catch up. What exactly do you have in mind?"

Callie placed a finger on her chin and said, "Well from what I can tell, room service delivery usually takes approximately forty five minutes." She grinned and said, "I wonder if I can finish you up before they get here?"

Chance smirked and said, "Well you sure can try." Of course, he would most certainly not win this. On the contrary, he _wanted_ to lose, especially to her. Five days without each other, and now that they were back together, Callie had decided to be adventurous. Well, he would go along with the adventure. After all, that was what made things so interesting between them, wasn't it?

'This is gonna be one hell of a victory party,' Chance surmised as he watched the she-kat walk over to the phone. "I already know what I want, so go ahead and look at the menu," she said almost too casually as she pulled it out and tossed it towards him. Catching it with one hand, Chance opened up and checked out what was there. Sure there were plenty of awesome choices, but he really wanted what Callie was having. So he performed a cursory scan before closing it with a shrug. "I'll just get what you're getting for now."

She looked behind her right shoulder and smirked. "You're obviously eager for something other than food, but I'll take you at your word for now."

Chance raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I might just want what you want! Is that so hard to believe?"

Callie stuck her tongue out at Chance as she dialed in. "You're lucky I'm ordering a pizza, or you'd be in some major trouble, Sir." But see, that was the thing… as she ordered a sixteen inch pizza for the both of them, he began approaching her from behind. Trying his best not to be sniffed out or anything, he moved as slowly as he could, his boots not making a sound on the carpet.

It only took a few seconds to order what she wanted, the Sicilian Special along with a few sodas, but within those few seconds her preternatural radar pinged. When she heard that the delivery would be made in forty five minutes, she nodded and said, "Thank you," then turned around to find exactly what she had expected. Without hesitation, she kissed him soundly, attempting to slide her tongue down his throat as she wrapped her arms around him.

His hands immediately met her hips, stroking them through the silver silk, and when the kiss was finished, Callie had a grin on her face. "You can't sneak up on me anymore, Chance."

He pouted and said, "That's a shame. It takes the fun out of it." Then he smiled and said, "But maybe we can put some of it back in."

Callie began walking him backwards, towards one of the beds, and replied, "We can… but we only have about forty-four minutes and fifty-six seconds. It's best to get started."

And get started they did as Callie placed a hand on the zipper that held Chance's pants together, running her fingers along what was buried underneath. Chance moaned softly, and as they hit the bed, he noticed that her green eyes flashed slightly. "Five days without you, Chance. Now, it's time to make up for it." Thus, they began getting re-acquainted with each other…

* * *

**Chapter 41: **_**Vacation**_

Well I tried to make this one as short as possible while keeping it fresh. I wanted to have the Captain and Chance meet at least once. If they know each other, it'll make things easier down the road when the shit starts flying. Hope you guys don't mind. With that said, let's all have a toast! We're clear of forty chapters, and still going strong! Thanks to your reviews, I'm pretty much locked in for the long haul here, which is not a bad thing. But you know, I think I'm going to take a break after these downtime chapters here to work on LionHearts.

Don't worry, it won't be long.

And now we have Reviewer Appreciation. Today we start from the top down, and at the top is **RaidenSilversword**. Oh, I'm sure you could find something wrong… you just don't want to. Regardless, thank you for sticking by me this whole time. Your loyalty knows no bounds, dude. Next in line here is **Kodachi Claws**. Oh yes, you know that he'll be a help to Felina- she'll be the one training him, after all. I suppose that he's straightened out enough, but there are a few more things that he needs to work on. That's for a later date, though. Right now, enjoy this latest addition to the arsenal. And last but not least, **ulyferal**. This is, for lack of a better explanation, what a SEAL commando has to go through during their initial training session, especially Hell Week. It's just as muddy, just as painful, and just as visceral as I've tried to do last chapter. Or at least, I hope so. In any event, I hope that's enough heat and teasing for you for the moment. I wasn't planning on a full on love scene in this one, just a hint of one.

Well, there it is guys. You know the drill by now. See you all next chapter, which promises to be very soon.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	42. A Change in Me

Seven forty-five a.m., the Twin Doves resort.

Calico Briggs was awake earlier, and yet later than usual. She should have been sleeping in, honestly. But something made her restless - something that she felt she needed to do. And when Callie felt she needed to do something, she damn well did it. Her eyes opened and she let out a haggard sigh. Her mind would give her no rest, would it?

She had been told last night by Chance the details of her new identity. She was Clara Anita Briggs, Age twenty-three. She was apparently born a different time on the same day and month, but a different year. Had a bank account and new social security number, as well as a new credit card. She knew the ups and downs, ins and outs of who her new persona was.

Despite that, Callie just didn't _feel_ like a different kat yet.

And if she didn't feel like a different kat, then everyone around her might as well take it for truth.

As she surreptitiously slid out of bed so as not to disturb her exhausted lover, she headed towards the bathroom and quietly turned the knob, opening the door with minimal noise. The lights turned on automatically as she walked in, and she headed towards the mirror. There she was, with shoulder-length blond hair, pale green eyes, extremely cute ears (if she did say so herself), and without the trademark glasses that she was usually never seen without.

But she didn't _feel _different.

'Something's missing. I _know_ it. Just can't put my finger on it. What is it that I'm leaving out…? What could possibly be-'

An image flashed in her mind. Earlier in the week, during training, she had been inspired by the full moon and its color, bright and shining. Callie's eyes widened as a tingle ran along her spine. That was it, wasn't it? That was what needed to change. She had forgotten from all that time spent last night with Chance. The she-kat giggled and said, "I guess that's a good thing," as softly as she could. "He could always make me forget about the bad things."

Callie wasted no time in changing her clothing, the negligee that she had donned the night before coming off swiftly. Soon she was in a pair of slim fitting jeans and an emerald green tube top. You know, just to be flirty. She was suddenly glad she had brought it, because it went so well with her eyes. Complete the whole thing with those same silver sandals she had worn the night before, and she was good to go.

But she couldn't go quite yet- not without leaving something to reassure Chance. Sure he was patient, but she wasn't thoughtless enough to not leave a sign of her passing. She found a post-it note and wrote upon its surface, _I love you. Be back later, have things I need to take care of._

She then placed it on his forehead and stuck her tongue out at him. Yes, she felt like being silly. She hadn't felt like this since… what, when she was a kitten? But that was just how it worked, wasn't it? He brought out things that not even she knew she still had in her. And yet she remembered them clearly.

'I hate leaving like this, but I have to do this. I promise you'll like it,' she said to herself as she made her exit, once again as quietly as she could.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame **_

* * *

Thirty minutes later, she was downstairs at the front desk, asking where she could get some tailoring done and if there was a good salon around here. She got both answers rather quickly, and her first stop was the tailor. She had to admit, she wasn't any good at sewing either, and she needed someone who could put those patches on without pricking their fingers. She found it without any sort of problems, and took a bit of time to observe more of the building as she got moving. 

In keeping with all five star establishments, it was expansive, to say the least. She hadn't really had time to take a good look, but now that she did, Callie was impressed. This place really was the best that the city had to offer, and to think. There were more of them on the same island. But this was the one she had picked, due to its reputation. And she found that she had picked well. But her attention was swiftly brought back to the forefront as she arrived at the tailor and ran into…

"Hey! _Reggie_!"

The tom turned to look over his right shoulder and grinned. "Hey, figured you'd be coming down here sooner or later, Clara. Check it out." He gestured to the interior and said, "Looks like _no one_ here knows how to sew too well." It was the rest of her Boat Crew. Well this was a surprise, wasn't it? They were just as surprised to see her, but they had grins on their faces as they stood up and offered a round of hugs.

Two minutes later, she was leaving with the she-kats in her Boat Crew, and was invited to a session at the spa. "I dunno… I have a tom waiting for me upstairs and all that. Promised him I'd be right back. Besides, I doubt the place has a salon or anything." Well she was lucky that Reggie wasn't nearby to hear that, otherwise her whole operation would be blown.

The other she-kats giggled and one of them said, "Of course they do! And they do coloring, too… I'm gonna get my tail colored pink!" The other one grinned and said, "Oh that sounds fun! I want mine done too!"

Callie placed a finger on her chin and thought to herself, 'This could end up being a very, very good day.' She wondered if they could do a little something for her, too. Right now, all that needed to happen was that she had to get herself over to that spa. 'Sorry Chance, this is going to take longer than I thought!'

But it would be worth it. Not only would she be changed in yet another area that she felt was important, but she would also be entirely ready for whatever else was in store for her. At least, she hoped so. At the very least, she would be irresistible for that evening, and that was worth any sort of change.

* * *

Ten a.m. 

"What the…?"

Chance had found the note. It was stuck to his forehead. Well at the very least, he had an immediate grasp of the situation. Smiling to himself, he crumpled up the note and sat up, scratching the back of his neck. He must have been out for a few good hours before now, and it was all thanks to her. He was right, that _was_ a good victory party.

"Back to the real world, I guess," he said with a sigh. Reaching for the nearby remote, he turned on the television and switched to the news. Scaredy Kat could wait- they had been out of action for five whole days, going on six. He needed to know the situation.

"And in other news," Ann Gora's voice rang out through the speakers on the high-definition screen, "Recent gang and drug activity in the wake of Dark Kat's disappearance has started to climb, with the Enforcers having made seven arrests this week for possession with intent to sell and three for armed robbery. While the upswing of activity is a mystery, there are several sources that suggest it is due to the power vacuum left in the criminal underworld. One thing is clear- the city cannot yet rest easy, and the Enforcers have a difficult time still to come."

Chance scoffed and said, "_Difficult_ ain't the half of it, Ann. The Enforcers couldn't last _five seconds_ without us." It appeared that a hasty departure was in order for the next day. There was no resting for a SWAT Kat, apparently. But with the way things were going now, just the three of them wouldn't be enough. No, they needed someone to get on the ground and paint targets for them or assess and tackle the situation from more than a bird's eye view.

Sure there was Jake, but he was more efficient as his WSO in the TurboKat. And Felina probably needed to be up there in the StealthKat during all this. So that left one more spot. For this next deployment that was no doubt coming, they needed to be a fire team. Of course, this was the part where the rest of his plan came into play. In order for Callie to have a completely different identity, she would have to become not one completely different kat, but _two_.

That way, no one would be able to tell who she really was, and it would also sate her desire to help them out in any way she could. He knew she would want to, and her chance was probably coming up very soon. She had the training, she had several experiences, and she was entirely fearless. Well not entirely, no kat was without fear. But she could ignore the nagging, self-defeating voice in her head and take action despite how afraid she was.

It was what being an Enforcer and a SWAT Kat had in common.

Discipline was another part of it, though not in following orders. The SWAT Kats did things their own way, please and thank you. For them, it was more along the lines of remaining calm and in control of oneself, even during complete and total insanity. Callie had proven that she could do that as well. Hell, she had gotten an entire Boat Crew through Hell Week. What else could she do?

Chance couldn't wait to find out.

Thus, he grinned as he looked towards the little surprise he had brought with him. 'She's gonna go out of her mind,' he mused to himself as he opened the box that had his little graduation gift for her. Now all he had to figure out before she got back was her call sign… it had to be something unique and original, something that was an extension of her personality.

'Never thought picking one would be that hard,' he said to himself as he headed towards the bathroom. This required a shower to think things through…

* * *

The first thing to happen was the baths, and Callie hadn't taken a shower this morning. Well she certainly was glad that she hadn't done so yet, because the warm water and whirlpools felt heavenly. It wasn't the first time she had been to one of these, but it was the best time so far. Being constantly busy with the Mayor facilitated a lot of stress. She had to have some way to bleed it off, right? 

Thoughts of Mayor Manx turned her attention to what would happen to him next. He was hopeless in situations that did not involve political savvy. She knew it, he knew it, and by now, everyone else knew it as well. All he knew how to do when the proverbial shit hit the fan was duck and cover. Still, he had to remain in office for at least a while longer so that stability could be maintained, but with his incompetence, how could he manage that?

'I'll just have to help him again,' she said to herself, 'But not in any open way. I am, after all, hiding.' The only question was how to support him from a clandestine angle while maintaining her status as… well, being dead?

Her mind immediately released the question, letting it drift away like so much steam coming from the hot water. The only thing she concentrated on was the bath seeping into everywhere it could reach as she dipped her head under the surface again. In case it was not mentioned before, she loved swimming. Like the moon, there was something about the water that made her feel more alive, somehow. She couldn't put her finger on it, and she didn't want to. It just was.

Speaking of things that just were, the answer to her question came to her while she was underwater. Twenty-five seconds after she had asked. Her eyes widened as she felt a sudden lightness in her head, but not in the manner that signaled a headache. Her head popped above the surface and she took a big gulp of air, having almost sucked in water down there.

'That's it! It's so obvious too- how couldn't I have seen it before?'

She was sent into situations that the Mayor either didn't want to handle or was too afraid to. The ones that he didn't want to handle, he'd just have to handle. The ones that he was too afraid to handle though… well she could take care of those, now couldn't she? And there was only one way she could think of to do that.

'Besides,' she said to herself with a grin, 'Chance needs me. He can't deny that I've become an important asset. I've helped before, why can't I help this way too?'

She was done thinking about being a SWAT Kat. The next time she saw him, she'd ask to join. In the meantime, she was going to let it all pass and enjoy herself. The sudden grin caused the other two she-kats to giggle. "You sure are having fun, Clara. So what do you want to do first?"

Callie placed a finger on her chin, as she did when she was thinking about something, before she said, "Let's go get a massage. I haven't had one of those in so long; I can barely remember my last one." With that said, they headed out of the whirlpools and towards their day of sheer bliss. Two hours of running the spa circuit later, and Calico Briggs was feeling… well, really damn good. That was the only way she could put it. It was lunchtime at the moment, and she was not going to waste the opportunity to try out some of the finer meals that the resort had to offer.

"So then," one of the she-kats, named Amber, asked, "Are you going to tell us about this tom of yours? You've been spouting on about him all week, you know. Why don't you let us know a few details?"

Callie didn't mind, really. They still had a bit of time before the next activity anyways, and they deserved to hear. With that, she began going into a full explanation of how old he was, that he used to be an Enforcer, how they met (she had to make that one up, and she did it on the fly), and that he was the most handsome, gentle, courteous and outright strong tom she had ever met.

Amber and her friend were sent into a fit of giggles by the time it was over. They really wanted to meet this guy for themselves. He sounded great. In any event, the trip to the salon was next, and they were about to get some shocking reactions from their parents when they got back home. On Callie's end, she was about to give Chance a big surprise, especially when he found out that she had her tail done as well.

Of course, the first step was to get her hair bleached to a pale blond. In fact, her hair had to be just about white, but not entirely. Because then it would be, as they called it, toasted. After about fifteen minutes, she was done and ready to get it washed out. Of course, she couldn't see too well, and her head itched, but hey, it was worth it.

After it had been successfully lightened, rinsed, and washed out, the toner was put in. Callie decided to close her eyes for this one, since she didn't exactly have any sort of way to see what was going on anyway. With that said, she wondered how long it would take for all this to sink in. But then, wondering made her anxious, and anxiety made her fidget.

'If this messes up, I'll never forgive myself,' she thought with a marked dread. But hey, she would have to trust these kats, right? After all, they were professionals. Then again, even professionals could make mistakes. And damn it all, she couldn't see!

But there were too many complaints, so she sighed to herself and attempted to calm her mind again. The constant nagging was ceased within five minutes, and she simply continued to focus on her breathing from that point forward. By the time an hour had passed, she was told that it was finished, but didn't bother opening her eyes. She couldn't see it yet anyway.

However, when her hair was done being toyed with and conditioned and dried, she was allowed to look into a mirror. Callie's pale green eyes widened as she observed the results of her transformation. After about thirty seconds of observing both the front and back of her shoulder length hair, she grinned. "Could you do the tail too, please? I know it's going to take longer, but I don't mind. If you can do that again, I will love you forever."

Two hours later, it was finished… and Callie walked out of the salon. The others had finished earlier, and were now waiting for their Captain. When she emerged, their eyes lit up like a pair of beacons. "Oh, wow… that's amazing! How did you get them to do that?"

Her hair and her tail were colored silver. She had disguised herself quite well, literally turning her hair into the shade of the moon itself. Her inspiration had come to life, and the first time she looked in the full-length mirror, she really did feel like a different kat this time around. "Well, they _are_ professionals, after all."

'Chance is going to go crazy.'

Of course, this was exactly what she wanted. "Come on ladies, let's go get our clothes," she said as she began making her way back to the locker room, and thus out of the spa.

* * *

Chance had since gotten lunch out of the room and was now eating dinner inside of it. What he had at the moment was a nice hamburger with all the fixings, a side of fries, two pickles, and two glasses of soda. Yes, two. He needed more than one for this. For some reason, he was anxious to see Callie. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew it was something good. 

'Then again with her, it's always something good,' he mused.

Maybe it was just the fact that she had been out all day, doing what she-kats did. For all he knew, she could be somewhere outside the hotel, playing in the water. He knew that the cold didn't bother her by now, so he wasn't worried. But it was late now, and she wasn't in yet. To be honest, he was starting to worry, just a little.

Then again, when he had gotten a knock at the door to his room, he found that he need not have worried. As he opened it, he found a pair of pale green eyes peering into his. Calico Briggs was wearing full battledress, her white uniform now neatly pressed and with both badges on the left arm. Her beret did indeed have three pins, and they glittered in the light of the room.

But what intrigued him the most was the color of her hair. Hell, her tail as well. They were both silver, shimmering as if her hair were spun of the precious metal. The black backpack on her shoulders offset all that white, but all in all she looked stunning.

"Wow…" was all he could say.

Callie smiled brilliantly. "Glad you like, Chance. I figured that if I wanted to have another identity, then I should at least change the color of my hair. I've seen kats with natural silver hair before, so it's nothing big. Besides, this'll set me apart from my old self well enough, right?"

Chance nodded, entirely thunderstruck. She was radiant, shining. Callie was beautiful, to put the term lightly. But then he always thought she was beautiful, just that this had taken it to an extreme. He wondered how it happened, how she had managed to get that kind of color. But as soon as he wondered, he found that it was pointless to ask.

"You look…" he stumbled for the proper word. "…You look great, Callie. Come on in."

She stepped in, and Chance noticed the patches on her left arm. Once again, he was full to bursting of pride for her. After he closed the door, taking a good look at her quite attractive tail, he said, "So I guess this means you feel better about who you are now, right? I mean, who you've turned into."

She nodded as she placed the beret on the table. "I'm not Callie anymore, that's for sure. Not for a while, anyway. But no matter what my name is or when I was born or anything like that, I'm still me. That might sound confusing, but there it is. At least now I feel better about the whole thing, now that I've changed my hair."

Chance nodded and said, "That's a good idea anyway." He walked up to her and snuggled from behind, "We have to leave tomorrow."

The she-kat in his arms widened her eyes. "But… but _why_? I was having such a good time, too… and the other kats in the Boat Crew wanted to meet you guys. I've already told them so much about you. Except for the part where you're the SWAT Kats, of course, but enough to get them interested." She looked over her right shoulder and said, "You don't want to leave. I _know_ you don't. So why…?"

Chance had a solemn expression on his face as he said, "Things back at MegaKat City aren't exactly kosher, Callie. The Enforcers have been having a rough time keeping it together, and I think that we're going to deploy soon. We need to get moving, or else they're going to be overrun. And as much as I don't like Commander Feral, I can't let him drown like this. We gotta do it."

Callie fell silent, lowering her head so that her bangs hid her eyes.

"Callie?" Chance looked over at her, worried.

She couldn't believe it. Were the Enforcers really so useless? They couldn't last a week without help? It would be laughable, if it weren't so sad. Perhaps it was time to start getting things straightened out after all. And yes, part of her was pissed because her vacation would be cut short. She couldn't help it- it was the first time in quite a while that she had been able to relax.

"You are _not_ leaving me behind," she said softly, "Not this time."

Chance smiled and said, "Didn't say I was going to. That's why I brought something along with me. Think of it as your graduation present." With that, and a kiss to her cheek, he retrieved the box that he had been hiding earlier. No gift wrapping, no ties needed, no extra packaging. He wasn't about that, because it wasn't needed.

She took the box and simply opened it. Her eyes didn't widen, she didn't gasp in surprise. She just looked at the helmet, pressure suit, open-fingered gloves and Glovatrix with an almost impassive expression. The red and blue that she had always seen when she had been rescued now lay before her, for her to claim as her own.

"I figured after all that, you deserved it," Chance said softly. "That is, if you want it."

Callie was silent for a moment, and then she replied, "Are you _kidding_?"

She took the white gloves off and replaced them with the black ones. She wondered how exactly they had gotten ones that fit so perfectly on her… but shook it off as she picked up the Glovatrix and put it on her right hand. It fit snugly, just right for her arm and hand. It felt light… but she knew it would be heavier once it was loaded. For a brief moment, she hit one of the buttons on the cover, and the triangle near the weapon ports slid backwards to reveal a radar. And it was active at that, because she could pick up Chance in the room, just behind her.

Silently, she closed it again and without warning, turned towards the tom behind her and kissed him, rising up on her toes to do so. A content purr ran through her and into her tom, and he purred in response, hands on her hips. The kiss quickly became heated as they introduced their tongues to the mix, and before it was over, Callie had worked up a good blush to her cheeks. They were most certainly not from embarrassment.

"Glad you're so eager to join," Chance said. "Now all I have to do is think of a call sign for you. I had all day to think of one, but I couldn't seem to get anything…"

Callie chuckled and said, "I'm sure we can think of something. But right now, how about we set our minds on other things? Like me spending my last night here with you." She looked over to his food and said, "I should probably let you finish that, huh?"

Chance nibbled on her right ear, which made Callie shiver and gasp. "I'm hungry for something else right now. You wouldn't mind helping me with that, would you?"

Callie silently shook her head as she once again pulled the shirt off of Chance's back, a pleasure induced haze in her eyes and a lazy smile on her lips. She didn't know whether she could take much more of this affection- she already loved him so much she swore it was coming out of her ears and nose. But the attention he was paying to her made her want to cry all over again.

'I never mind helping with that, Chance. Take me any way you want.'

She didn't have to say it, he was going to do it anyway, and she loved him for it. Before they hit the bed without the plate full of food on it, Chance had enough good sense to turn the lights out.

* * *

**Chapter 42: **_**A Change in Me**_

And there you have it, another quickie but goodie from your Fanfiction Mercenary. Always ready to deliver the goods, any time, any place. Yet another filler chapter, but it does serve its purpose in finishing Callie's change. Now all that's left is the return to MegaKat City and the final step in turning her into a SWAT Kat. Don't worry; it won't be long before things come to a boil here, so hang on tight!

And now, it's time for Reviewer Appreciation. Today, we start with someone who hasn't popped up in a while, **inferno1**. Sorry, no luv-luv for you. Not yet, anyway. I decided to hold off on it for a while until I found a good lull. Trust me, there's no time for a lull here, I'm just rebuilding Callie from the ground up here. They're only going to be implied for these filler chapters, but the next set will more than likely have a scene in them. Next up is **GeekGirl2** and yay for romance indeed. She got the uniform, and I think it played out quite nicely. She was thinking about asking him anyways, really.

And here we have **ulyferal**. Don't worry; I'm going to have a nice buildup here before things get hot. Not like they're not hot already, eh? But I didn't want it to get too bad just yet. I wanted them to have a reason to get back before things went to the shitter, so this was it. Besides, Jake will probably wonder how all this has been breaking out over the past week. Awful short time for a major crime uprising, isn't it? Oh, he'll find out soon, don't worry. Moving on to **RaidenSilversword**, no it isn't to advertise-y. In fact, it's just advertise-y enough. Can't believe there is such a word. In any case, glad you're having fun here. Stick around, because it's about to get messy again.

Last but not least, **Kodachi Claws**. Hey, don't worry- the whole thing with short reviews is that they are a simple way to get some complicated issues out in the open. I love short reviews. If I think a story is bad, I'm blunt about it sometimes. In rare occasions, it gets to the point where I use just four words: "You suck, go away." But seriously, thanks for sticking with me here. Oh, and as an addition... yeah, I'm not doing too well in creating her new identity. I admit, I'm not getting all the details right here. Hopefully, the small changes I've made in this chapter will help mitigate the sting of that review somewhat.

Okay, next chapter will feature some explosions that are not simulated for once. Stay tuned.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	43. Fireteam

Six forty-five a.m., Twin Doves resort, room four twenty-nine.

Seven kats stood in a row in their white battle dress uniforms, just in front of the television. From the beret to the six inch boots, each kat looked sharp and professional, their posture relaxed, and yet entirely straight at the same time. They had learned the fine art of standing at attention without their backs or necks hurting by now.

Each had a solemn expression on their face, as if they were carved out of something more than just stone. Pacing methodically before them was their Captain, the one who had gotten them all through the past week of strife and pain. Her blond hair had since been chanced into rich silver, and while the newly-formed soldiers were surprised at her change, they said nothing of it. Only three had seen it themselves, and they were still surprised.

"Stand easy," the she-kat said softly. They stood in the at ease position, feet shoulder width apart and hands behind their backs. Their timing was uncanny, as if they could read each other's movements without looking. Their Captain was silent for a while longer, peering at each of the kats before her. Then, she took a deep breath and began speaking.

"I want to thank all of you for sticking by me for the last week. To be honest, I wouldn't have made it without you, just as much as you wouldn't have made it without me. And I'm not saying that to gloat, either." She stopped pacing and stood in front of them in the same relaxed posture. "I don't want anyone to forget this, ever. I sure as hell won't. I have a long-as-hell memory, and if any one of you forgets what you've learned during all this, I will personally kick your ass. Get me?"

They responded in the affirmative with, "Hooyah, Captain!"

She nodded and said, "For those of you going on to KatGuard, you know what to expect now. You'll be pushed, and pushed, and pushed some more. They'll teach you how to shoot, how to run, how to move, how to fly and drive if you want to. They'll teach you how to stay alive during a bad situation. But most of all, though it may sound corny, they'll teach you character and self-respect. If this hasn't proven that today, you might as well not go through with the training."

They were silent.

Callie nodded and said, "I wish I could go with you, I really do. But other kats need me. I can't sit around idle knowing that other kats are in distress out there. Today, I'm leaving this place. But I am not leaving without saying goodbye. I would never do that, ever. You're all my friends now, and I'll be keeping in touch. We're going to exchange telephone numbers, e-mails, whatever else. I want you all to stay safe and stay out of trouble, or else I'll find out where you live and go to town on you."

She grinned. They grinned. Hell, even Reggie smiled as she opened her arms wide. "Come here, guys."

With that, it was group hug time. It wasn't like they were afraid of it, after all. It just seemed a good time for it. "I am going to miss you so much…"

The feeling was mutual.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents 

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame _**

* * *

The F-15E Strike Eagles that had arrived at the base earlier were now being refueled and prepped for takeoff as Marcus Puma watched. He couldn't help but be grateful for Pumadyne- they had given him this nice fleet of strike fighters to add to his arsenal, as well as the armored personnel carriers, a few tanks, and even four C-130 cargo planes. That just proved that money talked, and respect talked louder. 

"I heard what happened back at the mainland," the CEO of KatGuard said gravely. "Situation doesn't look good. We may be mobilizing soon, Feral. I won't be able to join you- I'll be busy coordinating the deployment efforts from here. So it's up to you and my branch officer to get any contracts that are sent out."

Felina nodded and said, "I understand perfectly well how this works, Sir. I won't let you down."

Marcus turned towards her and smiled, "You never have." He looked toward Chance and Jake with that same smile. "I sure as hell wish you two were sill Enforcers… we could use more good kats like you. Hell, I could use you in KatGuard, but you probably wouldn't take it. Got other things to do, I imagine."

Chance nodded. "Right you are, Captain. But we'll keep in touch- there's a lot I wanna talk about with you." He turned towards Callie and said, "You ready to get going?"

Callie shook her head. "There's just one more thing before we get in, okay?"

Chance nodded, understanding perfectly. "I got it. But make it quick, all right? We're leaving in a few minutes here."

Callie smiled and finished zipping up her flight suit. After putting the g-suit over her legs, she turned towards Marcus, peering at him silently with her helmet in one hand and her gloves in the other. The panther simply stared back without saying anything.

After about half a minute of this, Callie was seen crying. She hadn't known when she had started doing it- probably earlier when she realized that she wouldn't be seeing him for a while. She had been crying a lot these days, hadn't she? Then again, the fact that she could still cry after all this was… good, right?

"Stay alive, Captain," she said after a while longer of imprinting his face in her memory. "I'm going to worry about you every day now, you know."

Captain Puma smiled warmly and said, "Well it does my heart good to know that someone does. You take care of yourself too. I don't want my best student dying out there. You remember what you learned here, all right? And if you ever decide to work for me, there's always a place for you. I just wanted to let you know that."

Callie was silent for a moment before suddenly setting herself upon the big kat, nuzzling cutely into his chest. "I don't want to leave… I just don't. Too many good things happened here, and I don't want to leave them behind." She was crying again.

The Captain simply held her and ran a hand along her back. "You won't forget. You're not leaving anything behind, because it's all inside of you now. You remember that. Now why are you still here, Captain? You don't have time to waste here, so Hotel Alpha, double time."

She knew what that meant. Haul ass.

She pulled away and gave him a watery smile, snapping to attention and saluting. "Roger that, Captain."

With that, she turned toward her friends and teammates and said, "Take me home, guys." They nodded and while Chance and Jake leapt upwards into one Strike Eagle, Felina and Callie took the other. Felina wanted to help her friend up, but was surprised when she leapt into the WSO seat with almost no effort. Well she didn't have to worry about Callie keeping up, did she?

With that, the engines were started, the Strike Eagles pulled out of park, and after approximately thirty seconds of taxiing, noses were in the air. Callie simply kept her eyes closed and her mask on as she was pressed back into her seat by the afterburners. Other than that, she didn't feel the bite. Maybe it was because she didn't care all that much.

'Commander Feral…'

She sighed and said, "Is it just me, or do I get the feeling that the Enforcers have had these problems you're talking about all week, Chance? I'm going to guess that the situation has become steadily worse ever since it started. I can almost see it slowly going downhill, and it just now reached the bottom."

Chance scoffed and said, "These days, they don't exactly have a good track record. I just hope we can get back in time, or else the Commander is gonna eat it!"

Felina was silent for a moment before she said softly to Callie, "The Enforcers aren't entirely useless, you know."

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "I wasn't talking about you, Felina. You're the best Enforcer I've ever seen." She smiled and said, "I wouldn't have anyone else out there watching my back than you. But you have to admit, they're not exactly the best force around… even a private contractor has more firepower than they do."

Felina nodded. "I know. But the Enforcers could be _great_. It's just that my uncle believes there's only one way to solve things, and that's by plowing through them instead of going around them or under them. Not to mention that they're entirely outgunned and outnumbered most of the time, and then there's conflicts in leadership. And then there's his pride- he's entirely unwilling to ask for help."

Callie grinned and said, "Well he's about to get it, whether he wants it or not. Sometimes one just has to intervene. Don't worry Felina; we'll get there before he gets hurt… again."

Felina smiled and said, "I sure hope so. Because if he does… I'm going to kill him."

They both laughed as the F-15Es headed into the distance. As they approached the city however, it was not looking too good. The laughter stopped as grim expressions crossed three out of four faces. They could see it- billowing black clouds rising up in the air, the signs of fires breaking out. Hopefully, they were just cars that had been blown up… and not buildings with kats in them.

"Is that smoke down there?" Jake asked as his eyes widened. "I didn't think it would get _this_ bad… We gotta floor it, Chance! There could be more than just the Enforcers in trouble down there!" Well that much was obvious, but the big tom didn't say anything. Now was not the time for sarcasm. Seeing as they couldn't do anything with those Strike Eagles without having to pay for them, they returned them to KatGuard headquarters and immediately headed towards the Garage.

"Usually, we'd put you through a few final paces," Chance explained as Felina drove them towards the base, "But there's no time for that. Consider this your final exercise, Callie. This'll tell me whether or not you really are a SWAT Kat. Get it?"

Callie nodded. "I got it. I can't wait."

Chance smiled. "I figured you'd say that. Gear up as soon as we hit the lair, we're heading topside in less than three minutes." It took longer than expected to reach the garage, since they were all the way downtown. Even with the nitrous, it was a longer trip than usual. But once they made it, the four of them scrambled, blowing through the garage, lifting up the hidden trap door, and sliding down the ladder.

Callie didn't have much time to do anything else but put on that g-suit, zip up, and don a pair of eight inch boots, black in color. How considerate- they had even included footwear. But never mind that- she was tying on her bandana when Chance… or rather, T-Bone said, "Lioness, take the new girl out on a Cyclotron- we're going up in the TurboKat."

Callie peered towards the big tom and said, "Hope you won't call me that all the time. I know I don't have a code name, but at least call me Clara."

T-Bone scratched the back of his head and said, "Sorry, can't. You're operating under a cover. But hey, do well enough and I'll figure out a call sign for you. Matter of fact… Lioness, keep tabs on her and tell me what she can do. I'll think of something from there."

She assumed her disguise voice and said, "Sure thing, T-Bone. Come on… new girl," she said with a teasing grin, "Let's go beat some skulls in."

Callie nodded and put on her helmet, gloves, and the ever-trusty Glovatrix. "Ready when you are, Lioness."

With that, the SWAT Kats deployed, heading out into the burning streets…

* * *

The Enforcers, as usual, were pinned down. Trapped in particular was the Second Battalion, Alpha Company, First Platoon. Walls of lead came thundering down upon their squad cars, with only a few managing to return fire from out of their cover. The platoon of peacekeeping soldiers was not exactly in the best of situations, but since when had that not happened before? A pair of machine gunners on their respective tanks was busy staving off what was turning out to be a persistent force of two hundred. 

Yes, two hundred. And they were using small unit tactics. This was, to be honest, strange. They didn't go for a mass rush like ordinary mobs did, but they actually used military tactics, at least to a minimal degree. Cover, suppressive fire, even a few grenades thrown to keep the intensity up. The kat with radio gear began making an emergency call, again.

"Repeat, any available units, this is Two Alpha Lima One, we are pinned down and need _immediate_ backup! Choppers, extra tanks, whatever you can spare, over!" And oh yes, they were tearing apart helos. A few of them were on rooftops with RPG-29s. Sure they were a sloppy, unguided way to fire, but they got the job done.

How the hell were they armed like this? But it didn't matter, because soon a pair of those same RPGs fired from the streets instead of the roofs, ramming into a nearby squad car. The three kats behind it were shredded as the explosion sent the car flying. The rest of them barely managed to duck. There was now a hole in their cover… and that was not good.

'Shit…' The First Lieutenant in charge of these guys was not having a good day right now. "Let's get one of those tanks moving! _Restore cover_!" He didn't have to ask twice as one of the M1A2 Abrams maneuvered in to replace the squad car that had just been totaled. .50 caliber machine guns spit fire at the enemy forces, and for a while it seemed that they were gaining an advantage. Those who were outside of cover were not doing too well right now.

Unfortunately, this did not last for long as the ruse was revealed.

Those that were in the rear of the group suddenly got a nasty surprise as they were hit from out of nowhere. Those who turned to look saw that they had just been outflanked. Immediately, they returned fire, but by then, sixteen had been reduced to ten. A bad day had just gotten worse.

Now trapped with fire on both sides and with one tank moving to cover the rear as fast as it could, the call was made again. "HQ, we are FUBAR over here! They are using outflanking tactics and we can't hold them off for much longer! Taking losses by the truckload here- we need heavy backup, _now_!"

Unfortunately for them, all available units were busy cleaning up their own little messes. With the Enforcers' hands full, there were only three options. Run, die, or call in the SWAT Kats. Too bad they didn't know how to do the third, and the first was out of the question since they were surrounded. But hey, they always came at a good time, right? The Enforcers began to hope so, because it was looking grimmer by the moment.

* * *

Ulysses Feral was not having a good week. 

The street thugs had grown increasingly bolder for some reason, and he suspected it was due to the disappearance of Dark Kat. He said disappearance because the big bad kat's body had not been found after the explosion. Feral figured that was the end of it, but apparently it wasn't. Now he had a rag-tag army after their hides, and it was not going well for his side. Even with his own personal Special Response Team, his best, it was not looking good at all.

They were in a similar situation as the others- pinned down. But this was Feral- pinned down meant nothing to him. He ordered his men to fire back, use grenades, whatever they could muster. His personal platoon was doing fairly well, but they were still outnumbered and outgunned. There were still a good two hundred and fifty here, and the armored personnel carriers they had arrived on the scene in couldn't take much more of this.

One good rocket would end their cover.

"We will not let up to the likes of you," Feral said as he continued firing his M4A1 Carbine. It wasn't that difficult to shoot rounds downrange and hit something for him. He was good- he was just inflexible. Getting himself deeply entrenched like this was a bad idea, but he didn't think it was at the time he had ordered his men to dig in.

He began regretting his decision when kats started dying. His platoon was reduced to fifteen Enforcers from what was once thirty-two. Despite his losses, Feral refused to go down. But even he could admit when he was entirely screwed. Fortunately for him, backup was on its way. Let it not be said that he did not have his own set of special choppers.

One of them, as a matter of fact, came in at that moment. Carrying one fireteam, the pilot and the gunner, they were here to relieve the troops down on the ground. And immediately, they began doing so as the auto cannons on the helo began firing. 30mm rounds ripped through a good portion of the gang kats, though not enough to have any real sort of diminishing effect. Why? At that very moment, someone on a roof noticed the helo.

One RPG was on its way, and another soon after it. The good news was that they were able to get out of the path of the first one. The bad news was that their evasive maneuver had placed them right into the path of the second. Boom they went, and the helo was down in flames. Their backup was gone, and if Feral's memory served him right, that was the last one. He couldn't spare any more kats, or else the Enforcers would be decimated.

'I will not go down without a fight, dammit!'

He would not be going down at all, fortunately for him. He heard it before he saw it coming, and five seconds later the Special Response Team watched as a rapid-fire spray of quick-drying cement rained down on the incoming enemies. Thus knocked to the ground, they wouldn't be going anywhere for a good while.

'It can't be… they were all but _gone_ for the past week!'

But as he looked up, there was no mistaking it. The black silhouette of the TurboKat blotted out the sun for a brief moment as it roared past. "Need some help, Commander Feral?" T-Bone said on the loudspeaker as the jet prepared to make its return pass.

Commander Feral gritted his teeth and snatched the radio from his communications officer. "And just what are you doing here? You haven't bothered me all week, and now you show up? Get lost- this situation is ours to handle!"

Razor replied this time. "Oh, like you've been handling it all week? We've been letting you guys do your jobs for once, and this is what happens when we do. But hey, if you don't want our help, you can deal with 'em on your lonesome, like you want to. I'm sure they would love to come have a chat with ya."

The Commander grimaced. They were right, damn them- the situation all week was not the ideal. In fact, it was far from it. Feral said gruffly, "_Fine_, you win this time. Just get these clowns off of my back so I can help out my other squads!"

T-Bone grinned as he brought the TurboKat around. "You got anything for a wide area, buddy? I bet these guys could use a lesson in manners. Don't worry about the RPGs on the roof; I'll take care of 'em." And take care he did as he set his sights on the gang kats on the rooftops, spraying cement at them. They were covered in the stuff, and were immobilized almost immediately.

"I got just the thing for 'em, T-Bone. I've got tone. Tarpedoes locked…" Razor took one of the control sticks and hit the switch that deployed missiles. "…And launched!" Two of them were sent in the direction of the gang kats, and within seconds a good part of the enemy force was covered in the stuff. "_Bingo_! It's a hit! That got most of 'em!"

T-Bone set the TurboKat to hover and watched as the Enforcers rallied. "Well we sure as hell gave them their morale back… I wouldn't be surprised though if Feral took credit for this." T-Bone had to make sure. He said through the loudspeaker, "Well, you sure don't need our help anymore, Commander. Just remember, you owe us, _again_."

With that, they peeled off, heading towards the next conflict zone.

Commander Feral gritted his teeth as he looked at the retreating TurboKat. Yes. He _did_ owe them. That's what he hated- Ulysses Feral did not want to owe anyone anything. But even he could admit when his ass had been pulled out of the fire. With a haggard sigh, he turned towards the troops that had stayed with him and said, "Let's get moving, grunts. We have a battle to win."

* * *

The platoon that had radioed in for backup was now officially screwed. Were they before? No, they had a reasonable position to recover before. Now that they were running low on ammunition however, they were definitely screwed. And what's more, the tank that had been covering the forward position was now being targeted by another RPG. Now normally, an Abrams would be able to stand up to one of these, but this was a tandem-charge rocket. Two different explosions equaled armor piercing capacity, especially against reactive armor. 

Not good for tanks.

Two of those rockets headed straight for the tank that was being used as cover. "**RPG,**" the First Lieutenant shouted over the noise, "**Get away from that tank!**"

They did not have to be asked twice. The tank was history, and the resulting explosion made the cars next to it absolutely worthless as windows shattered and frames were bent beyond recovery. Their cover was not looking good at the moment. In fact, one could say it was almost gone. As the Enforcer squad recovered, the looks on their faces suggested that their morale was visibly shaken.

'Damn,' the First Lieutenant brooded with a grimace, 'It's coming to a close here, and without any sort of-'

Then his ears perked up. What was that sound? If he didn't know any better, that was the sound of an incoming vehicle. The high pitched whine suggested a high-RPM motor, which meant either a tuned car or a motorcycle. As the bike came closer, the sound of a pair of jet boosters became evident as well. That only meant one thing…

"Stand firm, squad! We're almost outta here!"

Sure enough… a two-seater Cyclotron came into view. The cavalry had arrived, clad in blue and red and black. Lioness was at the wheel while her silver-haired partner was behind her. When they were one hundred meters away, close enough for several gang kats to hear, she shouted, "This is it, new girl! Time to earn your stripes! You ready for this?"

The silver-haired she-kat nodded and readied her Glovatrix. "I was _born_ ready. Let's kick their asses!" With that, Lioness unleashed a flurry of missiles from the Cyclotron as the gang kats opened fire on them. Unfortunately, they couldn't get in more than two seconds of fire before the missile heads popped open and revealed their surprise. The Bola Missiles were designed to entrap and capture two or more kats at a time in their standard variant, and it showed here as ten of them were neatly gift wrapped.

The other she-kat began firing into the crowd, net shots containing whole groups of thugs as the Cyclotron attempted to break through the center of the battlefield. But of course, she couldn't reach everywhere… "Sorry, this is where I get off."

Lioness raised an eyebrow. "_What_? Wait a sec-"

It was too late as the silver-haired kat leapt off of the Cyclotron and rolled twice, her shield deployed by the time she had recovered. She was immediately pelted with suppressive fire from several sub machine-guns, and was grateful that shield was there. And it was nice and big too. Getting her head tucked behind it, she moved forward while withdrawing an Electro-Grenade.

Two seconds later, the group that was firing at her was given a nice hefty three hundred thousand volt shock. They had plenty of trouble breathing and a hard time keeping their heart rate up. Stunned, and succinctly rammed into with the shield. They weren't just stunned at that point, they were knocked out.

The she-kat recovered and the skin between her shoulder blades itched. Immediately she jumped upwards, arching her back neatly to hop right over an RPG before tossing yet another grenade towards the kat while he was reloading. He got hit with the stun as well.

Two used with one remaining. She had to be more careful.

As she landed, someone else was on her, and this time the kat had decided to come in close enough for her to smell him. Not cool. Before he could shank her with the knife that she knew he had, the she-kat rammed her shield into his gut and kicked him towards a few of his buddies. Immediately she ran into the crowd again, constantly on the move. She seemed to disappear into the horde before she popped a smoke grenade, and a good part of the group was blinded. Bodies flew everywhere before she came out the other side, shield up again.

Lioness was out on the Cyclotron, firing more missiles and causing general havoc, but she caught glimpses of her partner here and there. One moment, she was fighting amongst the crooks, the next she was on the move again, as if from out of nowhere. One time, Lioness saw her partner fighting her foes off systematically, one after another as they came at her from a surrounded position.

The one from behind was first as he was hit with an elbow, then tossed over her hip into the kat that was headed towards her from the front. The kat to the left was rammed into with her shield, right into the gut, before he was launched away with a right front kick. That same right leg snapped behind her, neatly covering the rear angle again and nailing the kat that almost stuck her with his knife before being brought around in a wheel kick.

It looked as if she were only paying half-attention as three more kats fell to the powerful swing of the leg attack. She settled back into a comfortable stance and said, "You really shouldn't be worrying about me, you know."

Some of them raised their eyebrows, but began to realize what was going on when the Enforcers began fighting back. "Shit-"

And that was when the second smoke grenade was popped. The silver-haired she-kat was gone again, headed towards the Cyclotron. Lioness smirked as she drove towards her, and when she passed, her partner hopped into the back seat. "Are we done here?"

Lioness nodded. "We're done. They can manage it now."

Her friend grinned and said, "Right. But let's see if we can't do one more thing here…" She used her third and final Electro-Grenade, carelessly tossing it behind her. It happened to land right in that smoke cloud she had just run out of… and she heard the satisfying sound of kats being fried.

"Luck," Lioness said.

The silver-haired SWAT Kat shrugged and replied, "If you say so."

With that, they peeled off without even saying goodbye. Then again, they didn't need to. Their actions had said enough.

* * *

The Enforcers, even though they had taken heavy losses, managed to win the battle. Those that were not killed were taken in for questioning, and there was no further property damage or loss of life. Of course, he had only one group to thank for that, and it was the last one he wanted to thank. 

The two that stood before him were nothing but a pair of hotshots and vigilantes to him. But they had saved his ass more times than he could count… and done more in a shorter time than even the Enforcers could. If this didn't prove it, nothing would.

Feral looked away and coughed slightly, as if clearing his throat. "I won't say that I like you two. On the contrary, I dislike anyone who takes the law into their own hands when there is already someone to do it. But this situation could not have been mitigated without your aid… so…"

He didn't want to look at them. He refused to. But let it not be said that Commander Feral was not grateful. "So I'll let it slide this time. And since you caused no significant property damage, I won't press charges. But tell me…" He finally looked towards them and said somewhat gruffly, "Where the _hell _have you two been? I could have used this level of support earlier."

T-Bone smirked and said, "Well you heard Razor. We were letting you do your job, like you wanted."

Feral was silent. So they did not interfere this time… and thus, he had no one to blame for this but himself. It was a smart move on their part. He nodded in grudging acknowledgement and said, "Well, you certainly have opened my eyes… somewhat."

T-Bone and Razor looked towards each other silently for a moment, and then shrugged. "Good enough," the big tom said as they headed back towards the TurboKat. "Don't bother trying to contact us when something else goes down- we'll know. And we'll be there before you even get moving, as usual."

That was the point that Feral growled at them. He almost took his revised opinion of them back, but then figured that he deserved that as they flew away. Right now, he deserved everything that was coming to him. Oh, and he knew that plenty was coming his way, especially from Mayor Manx… For the moment, Commander Feral sighed and said into his radio, "All personnel, return to base."

Speaking of returning to base, Felina and Callie had already taken their masks and helmets off, having left the combat zone earlier before anyone was the wiser. Stories would probably spread among the Enforcers of the silver-haired she-kat that was seen appearing and disappearing again from one spot to another, fighting like a wild thing and moving just as fast.

That was how Felina wanted it. She had an idea that suddenly sprang from her ever-quick mind as she watched the newest SWAT Kat fight. "You were _awesome_ out there," she said with a grin. "But why did you just jump off of the bike like that? What exactly was going through your head?"

Callie was silent for a moment before saying, "Nothing." The former Deputy Mayor smiled and said, "Besides, I couldn't get all the fields of fire I wanted on the Cyclotron. Had to ditch and let you do your thing."

Felina shook her head and said, "You're crazier than I am. Not to mention you were just everywhere and nowhere all at once…" Her eyes widened just then and she snapped her fingers. "And that silver hair… That's it! I've got the _perfect_ name for you, even if Chance hasn't thought of it yet!"

Callie blinked and said, "Well I think we should let Chance pick it. I mean, I don't want to go and take the opportunity away from him." As if his very name had summoned him, they both heard the sound of the TurboKat touching down in the hangar. "You know, somehow I knew that was going to happen," she said, scratching the back of her head.

Felina rolled her eyes and took Callie by her right wrist, almost dragging her along. "Come on, I'm going to give him the name I made up for you just now. Don't you worry about him being upset- I'll take care of it." The silver-haired she-kat's eyes widened as she was almost literally dragged along. 'What am I getting myself into?'

* * *

As T-Bone and Razor hopped out of the TurboKat, they were suddenly faced with a grinning Felina and a Callie who was trying to hide her face, a slight blush on her cheeks. "It's not my fault," she muttered, "I was just along for the ride." 

"Oh hush up and smile," Felina said without looking.

"Okay, we missed something here," Razor said as he took off his helmet. "Spill it, both of you."

Felina lifted her chest and said proudly, "I thought of a name for her. It came to me while I was going over how she fought. T-Bone, I'd like to introduce you to the fourth SWAT Kat- _Ghost_."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? And how did you come up with that?"

Felina looked behind her right shoulder and saw Callie's eyes open wide. "Well with the way she was going crazy everywhere, it looked like she disappeared one moment and then popped back up the next. And every time she did, something bad happened to a kat or two. Besides, it matches her hair color, right?"

Callie blinked and said, "I was thinking something more along the lines of the moon for my hair, but… if that's what gave you the idea, then I'm all for it. Just…" she looked towards T-Bone and said, "Is it okay?"

T-Bone took off his mask and said, "Callie, it's perfect. I don't think I could have picked a better name for you. That's why I had Felina watch you move- she's better at these things than I am." He smiled towards Felina and said, "Good work. That's her call sign then, and it's nice and easy to remember, too. Thanks."

Callie's bright smile came back, and in full force. "So, what happens now?"

Chance smirked and said, "Now we get to work. All that was the fun part; now that you're a SWAT Kat, you gotta train like it. It's gonna hurt…"

Jake grinned and said, "And it's gonna be messy…"

Felina laughed and added, "...And you are going to spend every second on the move."

Callie folded her arms and said, "Sounds like fun, actually." She smiled and said, "Let's get this done so we can get on with life, okay? I need to find myself another way to get paid- one that hopefully doesn't involve leaving the place for once."

Well, that was a good sign, wasn't it? She was ready to move on. But Jake had a feeling that she wouldn't be doing so just yet. "Guys… I have a bad feeling about all this." They all went quiet and turned to look at him. "I mean, they were a bit too organized for a bunch of street gangs. And I saw how well-armed they were- those guns were entirely off the market. Someone armed and trained these guys…"

Chance grimaced. "...Which means this is only starting." He turned towards Callie and said, "Let's get started on that training. You're gonna need it, big time."

And thus, the SWAT Kats were a four-kat team. If this party were just getting started, T-Bone was now confident that they had all the members they needed to make sure it didn't boil over. The ranks were closed.

* * *

**Chapter 43: **_**Fireteam**_

And there you have it! Four SWAT Kats, no more or less! Callie is going to have all sorts of fun learning how to work the rest of the gear and vehicles. Not like she doesn't know how to drive already, but it doesn't hurt to learn new ways to drive, right? Not to mention she gets to hit the centrifuge and all that other fun stuff. Of course, I'm not going to do anything but hint on those in the next chapter, since we're getting started on a new story arc. But rest assured, she will be just as good as everyone else.

Now, on to the reason we're here… It's time for everyone's favorite section, Reviewer Appreciation.

Today we start with **ulyferal**. Yes, I do love throwing someone. And despite her wearing pink most of the time, silver, light greens, light purples and pearl should be her colors. I think they just plain look better on her. Besides, they match her personality better. Don't you think so? Next up, we have **GeekGirl2**. Oh yes, the new era definitely begins, and with a bang. I love how Callie didn't like being called "new girl". It's a classic Callie reaction.

And up next is **Kodachi Claws**. Hope I didn't turn it into Charlie's Angels here. I really wanted to give Callie a distinct skill, you know? So I figured, why not make it speed of action? Her intuitive abilities give her the advantage in reaction time, and in an individual situation she can defeat a larger force easily on her own, like she did in this chapter for example. The next one will test her capacity in a team. Of course, we wouldn't be complete without **RaidenSilversword**, now would we? As usual, not much to say, but it's enough for me. Nah, you weren't shouting out too much- it was just enough to spread the hype. I would have you do it more often, but that would be overdoing things. I like letting the story speak for itself.

Speaking of the story speaking for itself, you guys know the drill by now. Tell me what you think of this one.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	44. Untouchable Part 1

"_Unquestionably, it was going to be highly dangerous. Yet I felt it was quite natural to jump at the task. After all, if you don't like action and excitement, you don't go into police work. And, what the hell, I figured, nobody lives forever!"_

-Eliot Ness

When the city was still new, what used to be the Inner City was the high-class sector, filled with life and all sorts of glamour. After Mega War II, the city's reconstruction included an opera house, which catered to the higher members of society. It became a venue for all sorts of movie stars and heads of big business, and the very air of the place proved that the best music was not always contemporary.

Of course, the opera house was used for other purposes as well, not all of them pristine.

The rise of organized gangs and crime syndicates after the war was unprecedented. MegaKat City's criminal underworld started to become quite the movement, so much so that it was able to act in more clandestine means, despite its growing size. Business meetings between bosses began taking place in the box seats, and smugglers found various entrances into the place where they could hide their contraband until the police cooled their heels.

The opera house was raided at least ten times, three of the raids taking place during performances. It was indeed a place of much drama, and many a crime lord was captured within the very walls of the place. Still, it was just as difficult to discover their operations as it was to find which seat was theirs.

These days, the opera house is not even a tourist attraction- simply a forgotten corner of the now very modern city. However, for this night and a few more to come, it would be alive again, and for the worst of purposes. Its seedy history was about to be brought forth in a rather ugly manner as several organized gangs began to gather within the abandoned building.

Murmurs and whispers began to spread as they filed in, some of them casting malevolent glares towards rivals. And there wasn't anyone around to check weapons in, either… so this could get very ugly, very quickly. Of course, the big question was why were a bunch of scavenger gangs mixed in with major territorial rivals?

That question soon did not matter. Thirty minutes after the five territorial gangs entered into the opera house, the three most prominent corporate gangs outside of Dark Kat's former criminal empire entered. The room fell silent as they marched in with an almost military precision. Rivalries were suddenly forgotten as the gravity of the situation dawned on the rest of the group. Three gangs with enough training, personnel and firepower to kill every living thing in the room.

If _they_ were here… and they weren't shooting at each other… then this event must be of great significance.

Entire sections of the floor were cleared for them as they took their seats. They were definitely something to be feared, and respected. Many of the scavenger s looked at them in sheer awe. The rest looked at them as if they were something from their nightmares. But all remained silent as the curtains opened up just then, stage lights coming on in full shine.

Dressed in dark blue suits, their red eyes scanning the crowd were Mac and Molly Mange. And they were not only decked out, but they were polished to sheen. These two had died once upon a time. But their minds were still intact. Those minds were now inside of machines, and while the two were much more resilient than before, they retained the same nasty inner core.

The Metallikats were back.

Mac smirked as he observed all that were there. It was enough to fill all the seats of the floor, which was fine with him. This place was big enough. "I'd like to thank everyone for coming out here tonight. It's dangerous out there with all the Enforcers running around and I figured we could use a more… outta the way location for us to do business. And before you go pulling out your toys, I'd like ya to take note of our… special friends."

The other gang kats looked around, and took note once again that they were in the midst of the corporate gangs and their soldiers. "We called in a few favors," Molly said as she ran a hand through her brown wig of hair, "And this is the result. You think of pulling out your pieces, they'll pull theirs, and we'll have our plans go on with less to worry about. Now, listen up!"

It was entirely still as those who were actually paying attention out of curiosity looked forward.

"Dark Kat is gone," Molly continued onward. "We dunno for how long, and we ain't gonna ask. All I know is that with him gone, this city is ours for the taking. What needs to happen first though is this- you runts need to stop with these tiny little wars of yours and _form up_! Everything's up for grabs, but if we want it, we have to take it together."

Mac chimed in and said, "That's right! It'll be no good if the Enforcers catch us separated. They nailed one of the most dangerous gangs on the streets, all thanks to those SWAT Kats. I say we strike back, and with a vengeance! And with the plan I…" That deserved a smack from Molly. "I mean, _we_ have in our pockets, not even the Enforcers will be able to pin down our operation!"

Well to be honest, that sounded pretty damn good. The real question however was this. What about the _real_ problem in question, the SWAT Kats?

Molly smirked and said, "I was just about to get to that. We met a new friend just recently- someone who knows how the Enforcers tick. And he just so happens to have a grudge against the SWAT Kats. Come on out… new friend."

Clad in a black tuxedo and a pair of slim mirrored shades was a tom that would look familiar to many. He wasn't exactly a good Enforcer, but he was as slimy as they came, and indeed knew how the inner workings ticked. Alex Steele had a self-satisfied smirk on his face as he entered the spotlights. This was his chance to get back at Feral, the SWAT Kats, the Mayor… everyone.

He would get what was coming to him at last.

Many of the gang kats began to believe that this plan just might work.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_Ghost gritted her teeth and attempted to trust in the restraints a bit more as the centrifuge was kicked up to mach five. She had heard that the TurboKat had this standard top-end before its re-build, and decided to try it out for herself. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to do anything else these days until she had a steady flow of income again, so she would make the best of it. Lioness was in the other seat, having to do less to brace herself against the strain of mach speed and g-forces. She used to be an Enforcer pilot, after all.

But admittedly, after ten seconds, Ghost was doing well.

Mach one, for lack of a better term, was child's play. For some reason, going supersonic, as far as the standard speed, was no problem. It was mach three that started to put the pressure on her, literally. Pulling over six Gs was not her idea of a good time, and the breathing was difficult at best. Felina had explained it to her once- the goal was to keep oneself from passing out by keeping the blood above the legs and abdomen, all the while breathing in a specific timing and method.

Oh yes, it was tough. But she was a tough she-kat.

And now here she was at mach five, and on a roll. "Twenty seconds," Razor said through the loudspeaker, "You're almost there!"

She didn't hear him. Everything was too quiet. The current, that simple, sure energy, ran through her like a live wire. Did it matter what happened next? No, just as long as she could keep her head clear enough to get through this. She had practiced this with Felina before and as long as her body remembered, the mind could forget.

"Thirty seconds. Good work, ladies! Terminating now…" Razor was impressed, really. Mach five and Ghost hadn't succumbed to the Black Tunnel. She was still tight, just in case something stupid happened, and she simply seemed to know when it was over, because as soon as the ride slowed to a certain speed, she visibly relaxed. Good, she knew the deal. Hell, with a few more years of training, she could be a damn fine pilot.

'Let's hope this doesn't go on for that long,' the slim tom thought to himself.

"Well that was fun," the most recent SWAT Kat said with a smile as she unbuckled her harness. "It didn't feel too bad, really. So what's next?"

Razor nodded from where he watched and said, "You get to take a rest for a few minutes, then we're gonna teach you how to drive. And no, not in any way you know. You're a SWAT Kat, so you have to operate a vehicle like one. Head towards the vehicle bay in five minutes; it's down in the hangar."

Ghost nodded and said, "We're on our way."

She was excited, really. These were things she never got to do before in her past life. Well, not exactly a past life- just one that was on hold for the moment. Her past life was spent in an office, doing paperwork and heading to locations that a lazy, greedy tom was to afraid to do himself. The only things that he did do were things concerning wealth, fame, and power. She smirked as she thought, 'Sure. Everything he did that was actually a part of his civic duties was for _his_ wealth, _his_ fame, and _his_ power.'

She saw what was going on with the city at street level. She knew what was really going on, while the Mayor only knew by proxy. And because she knew, it gave her an edge that the Mayor perhaps did not think about. But she didn't want to follow that line of reasoning any further. After all, she wasn't the Deputy Mayor anymore.

In any event, Ghost was within the vehicle bay within that same five minutes, and Razor was waiting for her and Lioness. "Good, you guys made it. All right, let's talk about bikes first. I don't have to tell you that they're the fastest way to get around and get to places most kats normally couldn't get, but what I do have to tell you is how _these_ bikes operate. Lioness here already knows, but I figure she should be here for this too."

The silver-haired she-kat nodded and said, "Well then, let's get started."

Lioness smirked and said, "You say that now, but when you ride it, you'll think twice."

She looked towards the brunette and stuck her tongue out at her. "Don't underestimate me."

Razor raised his hands defensively and said, "Okay, back to your corners. I'm not finished here."

He explained about how the miniature turbofans worked, how the two-stroke engine managed to power the whole thing, how the brakes worked, and all in detail. Lioness yawned, having heard this before, and mostly ignored it. Ghost however, fixed her green-eyed gaze upon Razor, taking in every word he said; she'd need it, after all.

After about twenty minutes of this, the slim tom grinned and said, "Of course, that's how it works. Now we get to my favorite part- the toys!"

Lioness' ears perked up as Razor got to her favorite part. Suddenly, she was wide awake. The former Enforcer never got tired of this part, and she always thought it ingenious how many rockets and missiles could fit in a single motorcycle. But as expected, he started with the basics. "Come here for a second, Ghost. Let me show you what's up with the Cyclotron."

There was radar and multiple methods of controlling said radar. There was the silent running system that controlled a noise frequency inside the muffler for better noise reduction. There was a radio that, like the TurboKat and other vehicles, hooked into local municipal and emergency frequencies. The systems worked perfectly well with the in-helmed HUD and radio. "And of course, there're the missiles and rockets."

Ghost couldn't help but find all this very fascinating, and yet she was concerned about driving the bike and actually firing those weapons. Still, she listened, because she would need it later. But of course, once Razor actually got to the part where he was going to talk about _riding_ the damn thing, the mock-up of the radio began to transmit an emergency broadcast.

"As you can see," Razor said with a grimace, "This isn't just a practice radio."

* * *

Earlier that evening, a pair of Enforcer snipers peered through their night scopes, observing the situation at the port. Apparently, the deal was going to take place at Pier 35, or somewhere near. Wherever it would happen, these were the weapons that were supplied to the opposing forces they had encountered before, if the information was right.

One of the snipers yawned. "Geez, aren't they here yet? I swear if this info was false, I'm going to kick that punk's ass until his grandma has boot prints on her backside."

The other sniper shushed him and said, "I think I got movement down there." The tom looked through his scope again and said, "There's one… no, two of them. They're getting off of that boat there."

The other sniper began looking around, slowly scanning the area with his scope, until… "Hang on, we got unknown contacts inbound, four of them. I think it's show time here…" Indeed, the headlights of four black SUVs headed towards the two toms that were heading down the gangplank of the boat.

Down below, the doors of the SUVs opened, and kats with assault rifles piled out of everything but the driver's side seats. Two of them however, had no weapon at all, with one of them wearing a pair of black gloves along with the trench coat over his immaculate suit. The other had a titanium suitcase that obviously had cold, hard cash in it.

All in all, a total of twenty-eight armed and dangerous kats who were looking for a few ways to be even more armed, and even more dangerous. "See that?" one of the snipers whispered, "We got pay dirt. Tell the squads below to get ready to move."

As the doors closed and the engines were left running, the tom looked around him at his personal vanguard. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, you may stand easy for the moment, if you aren't already. This should not take long." He walked towards the two arms dealers and says, "Let's get to it. Where's the hardware?"

One of the two arms dealers thumbed toward the boat. "In there, two crates. We got all the newest stuff. But it's unmarked and laundered- we can't be traced by any authorities. For all they know, these are clean, and are on their way to _them_."

The kat clad in the trench coat nodded and said, "Show me."

Within the next ten minutes, the crates were pulled out, and pried open. The kat with the suitcase shined a small flashlight on the content, and lo and behold, there they were. One crate held multiple assault rifles that looked brand new. And they were indeed unmarked- no company names, no designations. They were entirely clean.

The other held multiple RPG-29 launchers, with another crate for ammunition. When the third crate was brought out, the kat who was to receive all this raised an eyebrow. "Ammo's free," the gunrunner said with a grin. "You are, after all, a valued customer. Same tandem-charge HEAT warheads used on those tanks earlier."

The tom in the trench coat nodded and said, "Excellent. For a moment there, I thought we were paying for more than expected. That would have been bad for our operations." He gestured towards the kat with the case, and he nodded, setting it down atop the ammo crate. The arms dealers inspected it, did a quick count, and then nodded. "It's all here."

The kat that represented the corporate gang nodded and said, "Of course it is. Ah, but there is one thing…"

The arms dealers looked up from the money. "What's wrong?"

The gang kat grimaced and said, "Pack up and leave. We are being watched. Even as we speak, the Enforcers are setting up an ambush to take us down. You may take the payment as compensation- just move yourselves as far away from this dock as you can. And don't worry- I have already made arrangements for a distraction."

The weapons dealers raised an eyebrow and said, "But what about the deal?"

Without pause, the gang kat said, "Someone will call you with a revised time, date, and location. We have already planned this out in advance. Do not worry. Now go!"

They began packing up their wares, and all at once, the snipers knew something was wrong. "Wait a minute, where are they going? They're…" The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. "Shit… we've been made! _Seven hundred yards_ out and we've been made!"

The other sniper grimaced and replied, "Then it's time to bust 'em up." He spoke into his radio, "All units, move in on…"

Unfortunately, he couldn't finish that. The other sniper wouldn't be able to say much of anything either, because at that moment a pair of suppressed Glock 21 pistols were unloaded into the back of their heads. The two kats behind them, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas that only exposed their eyes, quickly made their way from the rooftops before they were seen.

"Sniper team, do you copy? _Respond_, sniper team!" No answer. "Shit… we've been had. All units, we have no more time to wait. Move in on 'em, now!" With that, the three Enforcer Squads moved out under cover of darkness. Of course by the time they got started, the engines and headlights of the SUVs were cut off, and everyone activated their own night vision goggles. Oh yes, this was going to get very ugly, very quickly.

Once the Enforcers were within five hundred yards of them, it started. From out of the darkness, an anti-tank rocket was sent firing at them. Apparently, it was from the direction of the boat- but that didn't matter. Half of one squad was decimated by the explosion. Another rocket followed, and the Enforcers managed to get out of its way, but immediately after that, they were fired upon from behind the vehicles. They took what cover they could, but not before they began taking losses to the bursts of automatic rifle rounds.

The Enforcers headed for any nearby cover they could find.

"Shit… we have _definitely_ been had." Thus, the radio call was sent out. "Dispatch, this is ambush team, we are taking heavy fire and need backup at the docks! Repeat, the bust is SNAFU; we need someone to pull us out of the fire here!"

Meanwhile, the sound of the boat's engines starting up became quite evident, and the suppressive fire intensified. "What the… holy crap!** They're getting away!**" Unfortunately, the Enforcer that yelled that out had to get his head back down due to all the bullets coming their way. "No time to worry about the boat, son," his squad leader yelled, "We need to hold together until backup arrives!"

But of course, backup would arrive a bit late. It always did with the Enforcers.

Then again, backup didn't always have to come from the authorities, now did it? Just then, they heard the sound of something coming in from above. They didn't bother looking out of cover- they just hoped that whoever it was, they would take care of this mess…

Had they looked, they would have been relieved.

The TurboKat neared the hot zone as Razor switched on the night sight mode. "Well damn, we came just in time for the party," he said as he began training his sights onto the SUVs, preparing to launch one of the missiles.

T-Bone grimaced and said, "Yeah, but we _missed _whatever came before. We came just in time to clean up the mess, not take care of the problem. Whatever- let's do this before the cavalry arrives. You got a lock, buddy?"

The slim SWAT Kat nodded and said, "I got tone, T-Bone. That cover isn't gonna to be cover for much longer! Releasing Drop Tops… now!" Four whirling tops attached to cables lowered from the TurboKat, and once they made contact, they tore through the armored vehicles like so much rice paper. Nope, no more cover.

"Damn it, just when things were getting along fine," the tom with the suit muttered with a grimace. "Everyone, bug out! We don't need the SWAT Kats capturing us this evening!"

The Drop Tops were retrieved, pulled back into the TurboKat's bomb bay. "Razor, they're fleeing the scene! If they get away, they'll let their buddies know, and then we're really screwed! We gotta keep 'em from heading out," T-Bone yelled as he pulled a vertical reversal, preparing for another run.

"I hear ya… Octopus Missiles, locked and primed," Razor said as he secured a lock-on again. "You're not going anywhere," he said with narrowed eyes as the slim tom launched the TurboKat's signature weapons. The quite obvious result happened after that- the missiles opened up in mid-course, and seeing as they had a good lock, the whole group that began to flee were caught, pinned to the ground.

"_Bingo!_ Snagged and bagged!" Razor pumped his fist in the air and said, "Only a few more to go, now…"

His big buddy frowned and said as he checked his radar, "They're getting out of range and starting to spread out. We can't get 'em all…"

Razor grinned. "We can't. But _they_ can!"

T-Bone smirked and said, "I gotta say, this is a crazy plan here, Razor. Then again, we never were ones for doing things the normal way… you sure they're gonna be okay?"

Razor placed a hand on his chin and said, "Well in theory, yeah. There are a lot of factors we're not taking into account here, but hey, there's only one way to find out!" The missile bay opened yet again, and the familiar sight of a very interesting looking projectile appeared.

"It's away!" The projectile was dropped, and the motors kicked in. The gang kats that remained on the move, but when one of them looked behind her, she grimaced. "They fired on us, the crazy bastards!"

They scattered to move out of its way, but then there was a problem. They would not be able to run from _this_ missile… because it wasn't really a missile. As soon as it neared touchdown, the top of the back section and the nose popped off, the forward section slid forward, and two she-kats in SWAT Kat pressure suits were revealed.

'Gutsy move there, Razor, but it worked,' Lioness mused with a grin as she launched multiple Octopus Missiles from the Cyclotron. Ghost had a somewhat crazy grin on her features. She had never, ever done anything like that before. And she had to admit, it was fun as all hell. But of course when they started firing on them, the fun was over.

She returned fire, a miniature cement machine gun popping out from the top of her Glovatrix. From there, it was just a matter of laying down bursts of quick-drying cement, and the weapons were disabled… along with the kats themselves. Those who weren't able to run fast enough from the missiles were knocked to the ground. Seconds later, Lioness tied them up with net shots from her Glovatrix.

"We're lookin' good here, only a few more to go," Lioness shouted over the engines. She took a look at the ammunition counter and said, "Shit, almost out… that's okay, though." She pressed a button on the control panel, the missile compartment on the Cyclotron slid down, and after a few clicks were heard, it popped back up again. "I got more than one kind of missile!"

The Bola Missiles were much more effective anyway, and soon they were all rounded up. They were all over the place, too. But the fact remained that the SWAT Kats had gotten the opposition all tied up, glued down, or anything other than moving… without killing them.

"Got 'em all," Ghost said into her radio. "Should we deliver them to Feral?"

T-Bone responded with, "Affirmative, we're already on that. Prepare for pickup in ten seconds, we're leaving before their backup gets here. I wanna get to Enforcer Headquarters and have a talk with the Commander myself- see if he can't tell us what's up."

Razor raised an eyebrow and said, "You sure that's a good idea, buddy?"

T-Bone nodded and said, "We don't have much choice. With the communicator not being an option, this is the only thing we got. I'll just have to bite back my… distaste for Feral." Within the next forty-five seconds, the gang kats were rounded up and in the hold of the TurboKat, and they were off to deliver the goods to their destination.

* * *

Down on the launching platform, Commander Feral was just about to head out in his personal helicopter. He had gotten the call for backup a while back, but he was entirely confused. How exactly had they been discovered so easily? The plan was supposed to be entirely flawless. The information was right, the timing was perfect.

Of course, that meant only one thing- the information had been leaked. It couldn't have been mere coincidence or superior tactics, though the second one was not beyond these lowlifes. This made him wonder who exactly was training them. But never mind; there was a mole, and whoever it was, they were in so deep that he probably couldn't fish them out quickly enough to get anything of importance done.

'Damn it! Lost before I even started playing… but there's one card left that I haven't tried.'

Feral had impeccable timing this evening, because just as the thought popped into his head, a loudspeaker blared out, "Hey, Feral!"

He looked towards the source of the voice, and lo and behold, the TurboKat hovered upwards until it was level with the flight deck. "Don't leave just yet, we got a special delivery that we need you to sign for," T-Bone said with a smirk. The Commander of the Enforcers raised an eyebrow, but the truth was soon revealed when the weapon bays of the TurboKat opened up.

"…I won't even _ask_ how," he said as he watched the criminals pour out of the jet. He spoke into the radio inside his helicopter and said, "When you're done here, step into my office as… discreetly as you can. I'll explain once you're there."

"Roger that," T-Bone replied before he simply flew off. Not long after, the TurboKat alighted atop a nearby building. As Ghost and Lioness climbed upwards from the weapons bay, coming out through the WSO seat, the other two SWAT Kats were busy putting on their Glovatrixes.

"So how exactly are we getting in?" the silver-haired maiden asked. "He said discreetly, but… this place isn't exactly easy to get in via any sneaky means. Not impossible, just very difficult."

T-Bone grimaced and said, "Well I don't know about Felina, but we've been in here for long enough to know that there are two ways in, besides the service entrance, the sewer lines, and the front door. Sure as hell aren't taking any of those, so…"

Razor finished the sentence for him. "…We either head in via the ventilation, or use grappling lines to climb upwards towards Feral's office, providing that he has enough good sense to leave the window open."

Lioness placed a hand on her chin and said, "But there's a problem with both of those. On the one hand, the ventilation system is complicated. We could end up at the wrong place and seen by the wrong kats. That's gonna cause us no end of trouble." She pointed towards Commander Feral's office. "On the other, heading up the side of the building is a dead giveaway if we're not careful. I don't know what's up, but if he doesn't want us to be seen, heading up from the side would be a bad way to stay quiet."

Ghost was silent through all this. She had closed her eyes, listening to both ends of the deal. Both were bad, but one was a lesser evil. Silently, she asked herself the question of which that lesser evil was, and then let it drift off. She felt the building out, searched for the best possible entrance, but did not think. Her ears twitched, making her eyes open.

It took twenty seconds for her to come up with an answer, from the time Lioness had started talking.

"We take the second way." Before anyone said anything further, she continued onwards. "But not in the way you think. Instead of climbing up, we head up to the roof and rappel _downwards_ toward Feral's office. That way, no one in the lower offices will know what's what."

Razor nodded and said, "Simple and effective, and a hell of a surprise to the Commander, too." He grinned. "I _knew_ we had you on the team for a reason!"

T-Bone sighed and said, "Yeah, but it means we have to get back into the TurboKat, fly up there, and then head down. I was really expecting an easy way here… but I guess we don't get that tonight. Let's do it."

So it was that soon, Feral was sitting in his office and heard a knock… on his window. His eyes widened as he looked over to his left and found the SWAT Kats hanging from the grappling lines coming from their Glovatrixes. He sighed and said, "At least you didn't break anything on your way in," as he opened the expansive window that looked out from his office.

They swung in, retrieved their lines, and the window was closed.

"So there are _four_ of you now…" He moved towards his desk and said, "Normally, I would complain about having more vigilantes to worry about, but… I'm out of options. Besides, you all seem quite capable of handling things that the Enforcers cannot. I'm not exactly proud of it, but I need your help."

T-Bone folded his arms across his chest and said, "We're listening."

Feral paused for a few moments before he began to speak, sitting down at his desk as he did so. "What you flew in on," he said sternly, though not at all angry at them- or at least, not as much as he used to be, "Was an illegal arms trade. According to the intelligence given by the gang members we detained during that first battle, the ones making the deal were the ones that supplied weapons to the enemies we faced."

Lioness grimaced. "That would explain that," she said in that purr of a voice she used for her disguise.

Feral continued onward. "Yes, well this bust was supposed to be perfect. The location was confirmed, the timing was on the mark, but they still knew we were coming. From what I gathered from the squads involved, the snipers were taken out first… and then after that, everything went haywire." He looked towards the four dark-clad kats and said, "My guess is that there was an information leak."

Razor gritted his teeth and said, "In other words, the Enforcers have been compromised. You got someone on the enemy's payroll."

The Commander nodded. "Glad we're on the same page. It seems you _are_ smarter than you appear." He walked towards the window and said solemnly, "I don't like this situation. I don't like asking for outside help, especially not from you reckless hotshots. But as I said before, I've run out of options. The Enforcers, as of the current moment, cannot move without our actions being relayed to an outside source. I don't know how many moles there are, but I will start finding out immediately."

He turned towards the SWAT Kats and sighed. "I need a close-knit, elite team to handle any further situations that may come up, starting with the next location of the arms deal, once we find out where that is. Since the informants could be in any one of my Special Response Teams… "

T-Bone smirked. "… We're all you got left."

Feral simply glared back at him. "_Don't_ make me regret this decision, SWAT Kat. I trust you with the city's safety, for once. When we get the intel…" He shook his head and said, "That's right. I don't have a proper means of contacting you, do I?"

Lioness nodded. "That's right, and for good reason, too."

Razor shook his head and said, "Hey, look… since we're working together and all, let's do this with no hard feelings." He pulled something out of one of his pockets and said, "Here, this is a direct frequency that connects to our Glovatrixes. If you want to send a message, try and get in a place where you're out of sight, and then enter in this number into a PDA. Once the encryption process is finished, which shouldn't take longer than a few seconds, you'll be able to send us messages without having to worry about eavesdropping."

Commander Feral picked up the small sheet of paper and began to memorize the number. "And I suppose you have something in mind for when you do get the message?"

But when he looked up… they were gone, with nothing but open windows to show for it. "How…?"

Thirty seconds later, he heard the TurboKat's engines. They were already on their way back to… wherever it was they were holed up at. He sighed and said, "I hope this works… because if it doesn't, we're going to be overrun."

* * *

The next evening, they were in the bowels of the Inner City. Ghost was parked on top of a roof nearby the closed-down restaurant where the deal was said to be taking place, lying prone with her visor down. She scanned the area below, looking for any signs of their prey.

And all the while, she was trying to stave off boredom.

As soon as she found that there was nothing in sight, Ghost tapped a panel on the right side of her helmet, and the visor slid upwards. "Guys," she whispered into her radio, "I don't quite get why I have to play scout. I think I would be much better down there with _you_… and besides, I feel a bit slighted, being safe up here while you have to go get yourselves shot at." After all, hadn't she proven herself time and time again?

T-Bone sighed and said, "I figured you'd say that. I can understand why you feel that way, but we need someone to cover the street, just in case we have any extra company. If we move from back here, we'll be spotted."

Razor nodded from where he was stacked up at the service entrance with the others. "He's right. We're counting on you to let us know when they're coming, and take out any backup that might be on their way. Besides, you're the best kat for overwatch."

Lioness raised an eyebrow and said, "And what's that supposed to mean? Are you saying _I_ can't do it?"

Razor looked behind him and said, "That's not what I'm saying, just that…"

Ghost wanted to laugh. She wanted to chide them for losing focus. She wanted to do all sorts of things at the moment, but the itch between her shoulder blades flared up. The most recent SWAT Kat lowered her visor and checked her displays, and sure enough four vehicles pulled up to the empty, boarded-up building.

"Heads up kats, we got contacts inbound. I spot four vehicles, unmarked." She zoomed in as they slowed to a halt and counted how many got out. "I see them now- sixteen of them, four each car. Dealers aren't in sight yet, but you'd better get ready anyway."

T-Bone nodded and replied, "Roger that. Keep watch for more of them. We're stacking up at the back door."

After a few minutes more of watching them loiter and taking note of the weapons they had, she saw something out of the corner of her right eye. As Ghost turned to look, her eyes widened. Well crap- this was not looking good. She understood why she was overwatch now. "More contacts inbound. Looks like all the players are here… get ready to go operational."

T-Bone grinned and said, "I hear ya. Just say the word, and we're goin' hot!"

* * *

The boarded-up front entrance to the old restaurant was violently kicked in by two kats dressed in black. The guns they carried were brought quickly to bear as they began securing the room, followed by three more sets of two. As four of them secured the front entrance, the other two moved further back to search everywhere else, from the kitchen to the store rooms, to even the bathrooms.

It took three minutes.

"Building secured," one of the gang kats said into his earpiece, "Bring in the VIP."

Two more kats came in, their guns raised and ready to fire. As they headed towards the back entrance, another kat came in. This one however was different… he was a white Siberian tiger with an equally white suit and a blue silk shirt underneath. His powerful, six foot three frame seemed to stalk rather than walk, flowing almost effortlessly along the dusty floor.

"What a disgusting place to hold such an important deal," he said under his breath, "But we do not really have many options, do we?"

The two kats from the night before walked in at that moment, one of them holding a titanium suitcase. Of course, it had no money in it; the payment was secured away. This suitcase carried something other than cold, hard cash, as they would soon find out. But it wasn't anything bad- not for their buyers, anyway. "Good evening. I trust that we won't have any interruptions this time?"

The white tiger grinned, displaying a row of impressively sharp teeth. "No interruptions. The Enforcers have been defeated before they even started the game. They will not go any further for a while, I assure you. And without their being in danger, the SWAT Kats cannot _possibly_ know about this location."

Unfortunately, they were very, very wrong about that.

With the sound of an explosive charge being set off, the back entrance was busted wide open, and the white tiger's eyes widened. "Impossible…"

The sound of a flash bang confirmed it however. "**Surprise, assholes,**" T-Bone shouted as he came charging in, Glovatrix firing at the first enemy he saw. Immediately after, Razor followed suit, aiming towards his own sector of the room while Lioness took the opportunity to punch through the middle. Several small bola missiles and net shots went flying, tying up their targets and pinning them against walls.

By the time they recovered from the shock of the flash bang and began returning fire, eight were incapacitated. The big white tiger gritted his teeth as he got behind whatever cover he could find. "Damn those SWAT Kats… how did they find us?" He grinned then and said, "No matter. _This_ will stop them."

He reached into his coat and withdrew a gold-plated Desert Eagle, chambered in .50 Action Express. Yeah, that was not good, especially when he peeked out from his cover to aim it towards Razor. "Eat this, annoying pests," he growled before firing a single round.

From the corner of his eye, Razor saw something going on. Instinctively, he activated the shield on his Glovatrix and stepped out in front of the others. It happened only a few seconds before the shot actually went off. When it did however, something unexpected happened. Razor was _blown back_ by the slug that was fired from the hand cannon as it hit his shield. He was lucky that it didn't just punch through!

When the thunderous report of the gun going off was heard, Lioness had enough time to see him move toward her. "Awww Hell..." WHAM. They were both sent moving towards the nearby wall. Of course, T-Bone took up position to cover them both as they got back up, activating his shields as the second shot was fired.

This time however, his stance was dug in. The shot made him move, but it only did so by forcing him to slide backwards a short distance. "Razor, that guy's got one _hell_ of a piece on him!"

The slim tom got up almost immediately. Thank goodness for helmets. "So I noticed! He's _gotta_ be the ring leader!"

Lioness grimaced and activated her radio as she began peeking out from behind T-Bone's shield, firing a few miniature Bola Missiles back at them. While she was behind him, the she-kat doubled as a support against further Desert Eagle shots. "Ghost, _now_ is a good time for that backup! Can you distract these lowlifes shooting at us? We need a way to cut off their suppressive fire!"

She did not get the immediate response she wanted. "Negative- you have _multiple _hostiles inbound on your position. Their backup is here- I'm busy distracting them. Find a way to get to better cover while I round these guys up, over."

Indeed, a whole new platoon of gang kats was on their way, moving towards the position of the white tiger and the two arms dealers. Ghost saw them through her visor and got a good lock on, just before she grinned and said, "That's far enough."

She began firing into their ranks with a series of Mini-Tarpedoes, gumming up their weapons and slowing them down considerably. Those that were not hit quite yet began firing back at her, which forced her to get prone again. "Great… at least I got their attention," She muttered to herself as she immediately withdrew an Electro-Grenade and tossed it over the edge.

It quickly went off in the midst of them, catching several in a nice area of electricity. Those that were stunned were immediately caught in a goodly amount of net; the rest of them got behind cover, but Ghost was having none of that. "Sorry, this just isn't your night." She switched to the smaller variant of the Blowtorch Missile, locking onto the vehicle that they were using for cover.

"Better run…" It was the only warning she would give before firing on them from her overwatch position. Their cover was disintegrated in a series of three explosions, sending them flying in all sorts of directions from the shockwave. Ghost zoomed in and checked to see if they were all right. When it was confirmed that they would live, she spoke into her radio. "I'm almost done here. There are just a few more things to be taken care of. How are things on your end?"

Razor replied this time. "Was that explosion out there you? Well whatever you did, it sure as hell worked- they've halted their fire and are retreating! _Don't_ let them leave in those SUVs! We're in pursuit now!"

Ghost stood up and grinned to herself. "I was wrong… playing scout is fun." With that, she continued raining missiles on the cars, destroying them one after another as they attempted to scramble for them. Down below, she could hear the tiger roaring, "What the hell, there's _another_ one? How many of these SWAT Kats are there?"

And that was the point where they found that they had nowhere to run. Even as they tried to get a bead on Ghost, those that were aiming towards her got several Bolo Missiles in the back and another Electro-Grenade just to be sure. T-Bone and Razor aimed their Glovatrixes at them while Lioness turned on her radio again. "All targets neutralized. Nice work, Ghost. That was damn fine shooting up there."

She grinned and replied, "Well it was nothing, really. It was just due to a lot of practice and a crazy idea." Ghost's ears twitched as she heard the sound of police sirens. "Looks like the party's over."

T-Bone nodded and said, "Roger that. Head to the Cyclotrons and RTB; we're done here, SWAT Kats."

* * *

"You got _lucky_," Feral said gruffly as they stood in his office yet again. "The reports of explosions led us right to the crime scene, and we happened to turn up on several kats bound, tarred, and restrained by nets. They had all the evidence we could ever want on them. I'm sure however that the mole in the ranks will relay this to whoever they report to… but we'll just say that the Enforcers were doing their job."

T-Bone smirked and said, "Taking credit again, Feral? I expected as much."

The Commander glared at the SWAT Kat for a few moments before saying, "Actually, I'm doing it to keep your activities clandestine. Should the enemy find out that you were behind last night's raid, we'll be entirely out of tactical solutions and the whole thing will be ruined."

Razor raised an eyebrow and said, "Wait a minute. Is this the Feral we know and… well I wouldn't say love, but you're not acting like yourself. For once, you're being…"

Lioness, ever the brash and bluntly truthful she-kat, smirked and said, "…Smart. I never thought I'd see the day, really."

Commander Feral grimaced. "Don't push your luck, SWAT Kats." He sighed and said as he turned his back to them, "Regardless of what I think of you all, we're getting some work done thanks to you. Expect more work in the future, just as soon as I get the information that I need from the kats you captured. Especially the one in the suit…"

And of course, that was the point where he turned and saw them gone again.

"…Fine. I'll contact you."

One day, he would ask how they did that.

* * *

In the light of the early dawn, a two-seater Cyclotron sat idle in the Scrap Yard, prepared to start kicking up dust on the makeshift track again. It appeared that there was never a moment's rest for a SWAT Kat, especially one as new as Ghost was. Yes, she was driving the Cyclotron, with T-Bone sitting in the rear position. Fortunately for her, he was a good teacher. Then again, wasn't he a good teacher last time?

_He's nicer this time, though,_ she thought to herself as she continued learning how to counter-steer. "Okay, let's try this again, and this time without me taking the controls from here. It's all up to you- you just remember not to be afraid of the bike, okay?"

Ghost sighed and nodded to herself, her mind too occupied with how exactly she would do this. The theory was simple- turning the front wheel to the outside of a turn to get inside. Once the desired lean angle was reached and the turn was well underway, the front wheel would lean into the arc of the turn on its lonesome, partially. At least, that was how it was supposed to work. Not to mention that it only worked at high speeds.

'No problem, no pressure.'

Yeah, right. But she couldn't think about that. Ghost revved the engine, her nerves in disarray. "Here I go…" And the bike was on the move. Don't be afraid, he said… but she knew better. Everyone was afraid of something sometime. At least she was riding instead of just sitting there looking at it. And she was afraid of the first right corner, because everything within her screamed to turn the wheel into the corner instead of to the outside.

She had learned a while ago not to ignore such things… but at sixty miles an hour on a bike like this, it was a bad idea. She knew that, and yet her intuition went off like klaxons in her head. 'Screw it… _shut up and let me drive_!'

She turned the front wheel to the left and the bike began leaning to the right on its own. Her eyes widened. It happened, just like that. But now all she had to do was keep that turn going and pull out of it. So she felt it out, tried to get a good angle. And once she did… well, there was a light-headedness that couldn't be described as a headache- more like a signal of sorts. She turned the wheel to the inside of the turn, and the bike… stabilized.

'Wow… this is actually not too bad.'

She grinned as T-Bone reached out a hand and nearly touched the ground. "That's three inches of clearance! Not bad for your first successful corner; now pull out!" She did, and though this part confused her to no end, it was easy enough to do. She turned the handlebars further into the corner… and the bike just plain popped back up as she exited the corner.

'That was…'

Awesome, yes it was. She grinned and shouted, "I did it! I'm actually _driving_ this thing!"

The rest of the course wasn't perfect, but this was just about her fourth or fifth time that morning trying to get the steering and braking right. Whoever said the third time was a charm was definitely lying, but either way, she got it. T-Bone decided that at that point, she was set to go. "All right, let's go over the three things that make a SWAT Kat."

Ghost nodded as she negotiated another turn, this time with less trepidation. "The first thing is that a SWAT Kat doesn't work for money- they work for the kats!"

T-Bone nodded. "Good! What's the second one?"

She grinned and said, "The second thing is that a SWAT Kat doesn't retreat, they re-arm!" She pulled out of the turn and immediately banked into the next corner. She was in the groove.

"And now for the best one," T-Bone said as the silver-haired she-kat pulled out of the corner and began winding her way through the rest of the course. "A SWAT Kat is always, always and forever…"

They both said the last part at the same time. "…_One step ahead of the Enforcers_!"

By the time they were done laughing their tails off, Ghost had gotten the hang of the Cyclotron. Well, at least the basics of it. To be honest, it took a shorter time than expected, but she would need fine-tuning. That'd take a while, to be honest. But at the very least, she was learning. And T-Bone knew that what she learned, she would not forget. You might as well say that information just seemed to get stuck in her brain, because she had a very, very long memory.

After a few more laps of this, T-Bone called the ride to a close and opened up the hangar again. "We gotta get you underground before Burke and Murray get here. Otherwise, we're gonna have a lot of explaining to do."

Ghost nodded and said, "Right. But you know, you don't have to work right away… there's always time for a quick snuggle before you get going on those beat-up old tin cans up there."

T-Bone smirked as he pulled into the hangar. "You mean a quickie?"

She chuckled and said, "Not quite yet, big guy. I'll just snuggle for now. Besides, you need sleep, and that'll keep you up for longer than you should be. That is, unless you want to pass out on an engine block."

He laughed and said, "I've done that before- it ain't pretty."

Ghost blinked and said, "You have?" She grinned. "I have gotta hear this. Come on, let's get you squared away."

And thus, a new day dawned. Hopefully, with enough sleep for everyone. Heavens knew they would need it…

* * *

**Chapter 44: Untouchable (Part 1) – **_**Force Recon**_

And there we go! The next big show has started, and with plenty of explosions for everyone. I loved writing this one, because it got me to demonstrate how the SWAT Kats would operate if they were a working fire team. And you gotta admit that dropping an already loaded Cyclotron from the TurboKat is something that you have to do at least once.

It gives a new meaning to the term clandestine insertion.

Okay, now that the HYPE is over… Reviewer Appreciation time! Today we start with one I figured was important, from **ulyferal**. Okay, I admit. I don't know how lasers work. I don't pretend to know. All I know is how conventional arms work and it's the only thing I've done any real research into. Besides, it makes it all the more visceral, right? Just bites into you and doesn't let go, like a Tom Clancy novel. By the way, read one of those sometime- it will give you a lot of insight on how Special Forces teams work.

Next up is **Kodachi Claws**, who stated that the name Ghost sounded a bit masculine. You do have a point, but you also have a point that when you're trying to pick kick-ass names, you don't have too many options remaining. Well hopefully, this will pretty much show another reason why she's called that- when she hits you, it comes out of nowhere.

And now we have **RaidenSilversword**, who produces the typical short but sweet review. Yeah, I know. As stated above, I gave her a name that was entirely, seemingly unfitting. But it worked, and I doubled the effect (I think) by throwing some people for a loop. Which I love doing. Thanks for keeping up.

**Bladestar** and **The Dark Lord Redrall**, I'll take in one paragraph here. So many reviews for one lil' old chapter! Wow, is all I have to say. Thanks a lot for sticking with me here. I know the sexual tension and all that isn't that high, but the filler chapters after Hell Week were actually building that up. I'm saving a scene for when it's appropriate to put one in, and since that wasn't the time, I didn't. But it did serve its purpose, right? And yeah, as you can see at the end there, she's having a bit of trouble taking the wheel. But hey, at least she's got the basics of riding a motorcycle. Now she's got to learn how to drive _and_ shoot… Here's hoping that this is another awesome chapter for you guys.

**GeekGirl2** and **Raiden Snake** fill out the list, though they are no less important. First of all… I told you, didn't I? I told you that it would get interesting. I told you that I had something groundbreaking in mind. And what do you know? It _worked_! Sorry to have put you in that situation man, but I had to show you a new way of looking at the series. Speaking of putting people in positions… Feral is in a bad spot right now, ain't he? And it's just getting started. But hey, to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs. Commander Feral must be making one _hell_ of an omelet.

Anyways, thank you all for your support. Honestly, SEVEN people? Damn. I did not expect that many on this one. I had to shorten it just to keep it under ten thousand words! And it's nearing the 9,500 mark now. I'm going to cut it here before I run myself ragged and lose sleep, again.

Yes, I lose sleep over writing stuff like this. That's how into it I get.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	45. Untouchable Part 2

Several days prior to the gang riot in MegaKat City, a funeral was being held at MegaKat Memorial Graveyard. Over twenty-thousand kats were in attendance, all wearing black and with solemn expressions on their faces. Nearly all of the Enforcers' Parade Corps had turned out, a platoon of fifty dressed in ceremonial navy blue. Kat's Eye News and Inside MegaKat City had arrived on the scene, cameras rolling on this tragic event.

It was the day of the funeral of Calico Anne Briggs.

Mayor Manx, who had arrived hours before the ceremonies had started, was at a public event without any sort of ulterior motive, for once. Even now, in the end, he had really needed Callie, but he had not realized how much until she was gone. She had been able to keep the criminals at bay when he had not- or rather, did not want to. He had heard about how she had intercepted the bribe from the Metallikats before it reached him. He had heard about how she had been inside MegaKat Towers as Doctor Viper turned it into his own personal greenhouse.

He had heard about the night she was kidnapped- about how Feral had intelligently pieced together how she had defended her own home.

She did things that he couldn't even have thought of.

'But most of all,' he thought solemnly to himself, 'She had a direct line of communication with the SWAT Kats. Now that she's gone, they'll never know what's going on until it's too late. I can't entirely trust Feral with this city… and I have no idea what to do with it myself.'

Without her, the whole city was lost. He knew it, and now he was all alone. There was possibly no one else who could take care of the position of Deputy Mayor like she did, though there were probably many that would try. There would never be another Callie, ever again. Keeping this in mind and with no words prepared what so ever, he stepped up to the podium and gave the crowd a speech that was, for the first time in his long tenure as Mayor, was nowhere near pompous.

In the process, he declared the day of the funeral a day of remembrance.

Commander Feral gave his two cents as far as the matter, stating the honest truth. Most of the time, the two of them did nothing but butt heads, especially on the topic of everyone's favorite vigilantes. And yet at the same time, he considered her a competent and compassionate she-kat, hard-working and loyal to her city. His speech was just about as long as the Mayor's, as Ulysses Feral vowed to protect her legacy with everything he had in him.

A twenty-one gun salute followed, tracer rounds firing into the air as the rest of the Parade Corps saluted. They were also responsible for putting the coffin into the ground, so they would have to stay until the end. The body of course, had not been found, and thus it was empty. The kat that had killed her made sure that she was good and gone, putting her somewhere that was impossible to locate. It made the crime a hell of a lot more atrocious in Feral's eyes.

The flag of MegaKat City was draped over the coffin that had no one inside, which made it all the more eerie. Still, the truth was there all the same.

But of course, the biggest speech of the day was from the Commander's niece. Though she was not an Enforcer any more for the time being, she was still a commanding presence all the same as she took the stage. For a moment, Felina took a look at the coffin, a soft shudder at the possibility. She knew it was empty. She knew why. But this was real all the same, and it could still happen at any time.

Taking a deep breath, she began speaking into the microphone.

"During my tenure in the Enforcers, I never made any friends." It was… difficult to admit that. She chuckled to herself and said, "Funny, isn't it? I had team members, officers that worked under me, fought beside me. But they were not my friends, just my co-workers. People I saw every day in the office.

"Callie… Calico Briggs… was my best friend, and one of my only friends outside of the Enforcers. I wouldn't consider it too forward if I said that I know her better than anyone else in this crowd."

She peered out into the distance, knowing of two more that she could say the same for. They were out there somewhere amongst the multitudes, hiding in plain sight. They knew the same thing that she did, and all of them shared a very, very big secret besides that one. Commander Feral had no idea, Mayor Manx had no idea, and just about the entire city had no clue.

"She came to me one day asking me to teach her how to defend herself. I could understand- she's been captured and targeted by more bad guys than I can count. When one goes through so many stressful situations, they begin to grow tired of them." Felina smiled and said, "I taught her how to shoot, how to fight, how to move and think in a bad situation. And what I found out was this- she was tough as hell."

Silence reigned as she continued speaking.

"On top of all that quiet, gentle sweetness and caring that she possessed, she had a casing that's made of steel and has been pounded so many times that it can withstand just about anything. I threw my best at her, and she had the gall to ask for more. It's one of the things I liked about her- when Callie really wanted something she went for it without any sort of restraint."

Felina looked up towards the crowd again, her head having lowered during her recollections. "There was no end to the things she would do for the city and for anyone close to her. She was, and still is, the definition of courage. Callie had plenty to be afraid of, but she carried on despite how utterly terrified she was. When she was captured by Dark Kat's army, they tried to get information out of her that would have meant the end of the city. I wasn't there, I didn't see, so I can only imagine what she must have felt. But when I talked to her later… she said that never, not once, did she tell anyone _anything_."

A few faces in the crowd lowered. She heard a few of them begin to cry, and it almost made her cry too, but she kept herself poised. This was not the time for it.

"But today, we're not here to remember how she died," Felina said, beginning to wrap things up. Wishing that she could say more but knowing that time was short. "We're here to remember how she lived and what she lived for. This city still stands because of her. Remember that, all of you. There will never be another Calico Anne Briggs… so remember her for as long as you live."

Rousing applause followed her as she walked off of the stage, her head bowed slightly. Her uncle met her at the bottom of the stairs and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. He wanted her to sit with him, and she knew it. With an awkward half-hug and a smile, she politely refused his offer, promising to visit him more often from now on. Besides, she had to go take care of a few things today.

But the real reason why she was leaving was because it was pointless to be at a funeral… for someone who was not dead.

Calico Briggs was gone.

She would be back, and sooner than anyone expected.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

"She said all that, huh?"

Chance nodded and said, "Yeah, she did. I don't think she's ever told anyone all that before. It took a lot for her to walk up there and admit that she hadn't had any friends before us. I think she wants to keep herself professional around the Enforcers, and even in KatGuard. But around us, she figures she can get a bit closer."

Callie was silent for all of ten seconds before smiling, a tear running along her right cheek. Well, that told her plenty about what the city thought of her. And she was also surprised that Mayor Manx had said what he had about her. She thought that he considered her as nothing more than a secretary and a shield, which would have been fine with her. But he had called her a valuable asset, someone who he could never have gone as far as he had without.

The silver-haired she-kat wiped her eyes and said, "Thank you, Chance, for telling me all this. You have no idea…"

He smiled and placed a hand against her left ear, scratching softly behind it. "No, I think I do, Callie. You needed to hear it, all of it. It's just a shame you weren't there to hear it yourself, but that would have been awkward. If someone recognized you, I doubt that funeral would have ended well."

Callie nodded and had to laugh at the image that popped into her head. "No, I guess it wouldn't have!"

The two of them were outside at a restaurant somewhere within Chance's old neighborhood. He had decided to take her out for a bite to eat, and told her that he knew of a place that had the best mega-burgers around. And fortunately for him, he was right. If there were one thing that Callie was serious about, it was food.

"So anyways," Chance said in a change of subjects, "How's the bike treating you? I mean, driving all the other things is relatively easy, but a motorcycle is tough stuff."

Callie nodded and said, "I've noticed. It's like learning how to drive all over again, except on two wheels instead of four." She smiled and added, "But don't you worry- I'm getting the hang of it. It's easier than you make it seem." Then she placed a hand through her alluring silver hair and said, "To tell the truth, I'm getting the hang of just about everything, really. My new job, my new place, and having my own…"

Chance smirked and finished the sentence for her. "…Your own life? Yeah, that other thing you did probably kicked your ass seven days of the week- you probably didn't have any sort of rest time at all. Come to think of it, if I were you, I'd just leave that other job behind altogether." He knew exactly what he was saying, and he knew the answer.

The she-kat across from him shook her head with a smile. "You said it yourself… I don't have it in me to just abandon a kat that needs me. Even though it was a rough job and I was nothing more than a secretary… I was actually happy. I was getting paid, Chance. I had a good job, a good house, and I knew a few good kats that could help me. But without you…" She shook her head and said, "I think that without you, I couldn't have done any of that at all."

Chance smiled and scratched behind Callie's ears again."Well you've done a lot for me too. I would be crazy to say that I didn't appreciate you being around."

She halted any sort of conversation as she lowered her head and lifted her eyes up to peer through the veil of her eye lashes. This time, Chance did not look away, as he used to. The big tom simply stared back at her, fascinated with how she was able to appear as if staring right through him. As their gaze held for several moments that seemed like an eternity however, Chance's cell phone rang. With a groan, he plucked it from its resting place and flipped it open.

"This is Furlong."

A familiar voice was on the other end. "Hey, it's Jake. Sorry to interrupt your date guys, but it's important. Head towards the hangar- we're going operational, ASAP."

Chance sighed and said, "On our way. We'll be there in twenty minutes."

He hung up and said to Callie with an apologetic smile, "Time for work. Let's do this."

* * *

Commander Feral walked the halls of Enforcer Headquarters, heading towards a location that he knew of in a rather intimate fashion. It was a place that he didn't necessarily want to know about, but he did anyways. The holding cells were double-reinforced with mega-alloys, near impenetrable by bullets and entirely indestructible by any other physical means. They had been re-tailored ever since Dr. Viper was finally captured, and one of them happened to hold a high-risk warrant within them.

Earlier, another had been filled, and it was this one that Commander Feral was going to go visit. It had been several hours since they had run his lawyers off, stating that the evidence found was already overwhelming. Besides, that same lawyer could be working for the mafia. So they denied him any further access to his client.

'I am not putting up with any more bullshit,' Feral brooded to himself with a grimace as he headed towards the cell in question. As he stopped in front of the maximum security area of headquarters, passing his eyes over the retinal scanner and ID card reader for the briefest of moments, the doors slid open to the side and the pair of guards saluted as he walked through.

He paid them no mind.

The cell was nearby- he had stood there and memorized its location for a few minutes before leaving for the first time, letting the detectives do their work on him. But of course, the big tiger did not talk for hours, remaining silent. They almost had to kick his ass, but refrained from doing so. There was someone else that could do that for them.

Still, being locked in there for a while seemed to have upset something. His usual patience was running out- perhaps he hoped that someone would spring him from this kat trap soon. But after an entire day of waiting, he assumed that no one was coming to save him.

When Ulysses Feral arrived at his cell, the guard in front of it snapped to attention and saluted. "Report," Feral said gruffly.

"Sir," the guard replied, "He's ready to talk. Don't ask me how- but he said he's ready to deal with you. He said it had to be you and only you though, Sir..."

Feral nodded and said, "Open it."

The guard did, running his key card through the slot next to the door. It opened smoothly, and inside sat that big white tiger, still in his suit from the night before. He had his blue eyes fixed straight ahead, focusing on nothing and staring through everything. For a moment, it seemed as if he did not even notice the Commander walking in, or the door closing behind the imposing kat's figure.

Silence reigned as Feral attempted to refrain from beating the ever living shit out of this bastard who had killed so many of his officers without even being present on the battle field. His tone was even and measured when he finally did speak. "You wanted to talk? Then let's talk. But let me say that I will make no deals with a terrorist like you." His eyes narrowed and said, "You are lucky I didn't _shoot you_ on sight the first time I saw you."

The tiger looked up with a solemn expression and said, "Perhaps you should have. No one's coming for me. And not even that matters, because the Enforcers are useless now." He smirked and added, "Tell me, Feral… how it feels every time you are stopped by forces outside of your control."

Feral grimaced. Maybe this would make him feel a bit better… but no. No, he needed information.

"I will pretend I did not hear that if you will answer my questions. Since we are not dealing and there is only one place you are going when you leave here, you have no choice but to tell me what I want to know." Feral sat down in a chair that was within the cell and said, "So start talking. We have all day."

The two toms did not emerge from that cell for two hours, and when the door finally opened, the tiger was bleeding from the right side of his mouth. Feral had broken his jaw.

"Thanks. You don't need to talk anymore."

The situation was much worse than he had thought. The Metallikats were back in town, and while it was not exactly a good thing in the usual sense, this case was worse. They were difficult enough to take care of on their own, but now they had gone and gotten themselves an army, including captains.

'The Mange Mafia is reorganized… this is one of our worst case scenarios, including the goddamned mole.'

Hell, if they were smart, there was more than one. Of course, he had his countermeasures in readiness, even now. And now that he had heard that the tiger he had just knocked around was one of the capos, he could start that right away. With that, he began sending a text message towards the SWAT Kats as soon as he was within a secluded location. Didn't want anyone to see him, did he?

_This is Commander Feral. I don't need to tell you why I am sending you this message- you are to go operational as soon as you are geared up. I am about to announce several open bounties on those who were behind the earlier large-scale riot and your team has first crack at it, since you are in direct contact with me. Use whatever assets you have to, but I want the leaders alive for questioning._

_KatGuard may be in on this as well, since they no doubt need the money. If at all possible, you are to coordinate your efforts with them. Split the bounty whichever way you please- I don't care. Just get the capos and bring them back to me. You will be paid handsomely upon their capture._

_Oh, and one more thing. I want you to come by the office later. The kat you brought in happened to be one of those same leaders. I have 12,500 in cold, hard cash waiting for you. Spend it however you want. This next capo that I am about to give you information on is worth double that, so look sharp and stay on point. I'll be busy rooting out the infiltrators that are giving away our movements, so you will receive no support from the Enforcers._

_Then again, that's just the way you like it, I suppose. Take care of it._

* * *

In the early evening, Lioness and Ghost stood atop a few nearby buildings, their visors covering their eyes and on true-sight mode. Seeing through all those cars was rather odd, to be certain, but it was necessary to check for the contraband. "So Mac and Molly Mange are behind this," the tanned she-kat said. "To be honest, I didn't think they had it in them."

Ghost raised an eyebrow and said, "And why do you think that? It seems to me like you're underestimating them."

Lioness smirked and replied with, "Well if you haven't noticed, those two aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the cabinet. Especially Mac, from what I've read from his profile. If there's anyone that's most likely running the show, it's Molly, though I doubt that she has as good of a hold on it as Feral thinks she does."

Ghost chuckled and said, "Well, we'll see how good of a hold she has once we get to that point. For now, let's concentrate on…" That was the point where Ghost saw what they were looking for. "_Hello_, beautiful. We got contacts- four of them. Moving in a convoy, and they've got… yeah, that's them. They've got the drinks in there, and they're unmarked."

Lioness grimaced and said, "Didn't think anyone did bootlegging these days."

Ghost nodded and said, "See? You _were_ underestimating them. If we hadn't found out about this route, they would have gone entirely under the radar." She pressed a button on the left side of her helmet, retracting the visor. "Come on, let's nail these poor suckers."

Lioness nodded before leaping off of the roof that she was situated on and heading towards the nearby alley. A Cyclotron was waiting down there for her. Still above ground, Ghost followed the convoy, hoping to catch the lead car before it moved too far out of her visual range. "T-Bone, Razor, we have the targets in sight," she said into her radio as she moved. "What's your twenty?"

"In the air," T-Bone replied, "And headed towards your position now. Stall those trucks until we get there, over!"

The signal light up ahead turned red and the trucks stopped as they were supposed to. Ghost grinned and said, "Already on it. They're right inside of our trap. Going operational- Ghost out."

With that, she waited for Lioness to start doing her thing, hoping that they would be fast enough to catch them before that light turned green on them again. Soon, she saw it- the Cyclotron heading towards the rear of the convoy. Ghost turned her face into a blank slate and said, "Mission start. Let's just hope we can get out of this in one piece…"

* * *

The four trucks that were headed towards their destination were just a couple of unassuming vehicles, nothing big or unwieldy. They were just a few pickup trucks, four kats in each and three of them armed. Each kat in the front seat had a handgun of their choosing, while the other two had G.T.A.R. 21 rifles. How they had gotten such equipment was evident by now, but they would no longer be getting any more of it.

They knew it. This was why they were thusly armed and ready for any problems.

The cargo beds of each truck were covered, and there were plenty of items within them to make their contraband concealed. With that said, they were pretty confident that the Enforcers knew nothing about their route anyway. Still, the driver of the truck in the rear position couldn't help but check his side and rear view mirrors every once in a while, just in case something stupid happened.

"Red ahead," the radio in his truck squawked, "Security check."

The trucks stopped and their drivers checked their mirrors. "Lead clear," the first driver said, followed by, "Second clear", then "Third clear." But then the fourth kat checked his rear view mirror… and his eyebrows rose. "Hold up, bogey on four," the tom said as he checked his side mirror.

What he saw made his ears twitch and the hair stand up on the back of his neck. "No way…"

"Four, report," the leader said into his radio, "Situation?"

He shook himself out of his daze and replied, "Red, condition red. We're made."

The others gritted their teeth and the leader replied with, "What the _hell_? This route was supposed to be confidential! Who is it!?"

The fourth driver grimaced and said, "Doesn't matter who it is. I'm taking care of it." He cut his radio off and said, "Well don't just _sit_ there, you numb nuts, _shoot that bike_!"

The rear windows opened and the shooters emerged from the vehicle, aiming their rifles downrange. Soon, three round bursts were sent towards the Cyclotron that was headed in their direction, forcing Lioness to duck her head as bullets bounced off of the frame of the motorcycle. 'Well, here's your distraction, Ghost… use it before I get turned into so much Swiss cheese!'

But of course, since she was the one who got their attention, she had to do something to give them as many problems as she could before that light turned green again. She pressed a specific button on the Cyclotron's panel, and two slots opened up above the front wheel. "Hope you have insurance for those." The left side handlebar trigger was pressed, and those ports that had opened up sprayed fire.

But of course, what were fired were not bullets. They were small spheres, merely a few inches wide. Once they had traveled a certain distance though, they suddenly sprouted metal spines, as if they were porcupines. Once they reached their destination, they did what they were designed to do- penetrate into something. And that something happened to be the rear tires, forcing the vehicle to the ground.

"_Fuck_," The rear driver in the convoy shouted, "The bitch took out our back wheels! Hurry up and kill her!"

Of course, the front man had instinctively wanted to pull out of there when he heard gun fire, but he had a problem of his own. For when the gun fire started, he heard something land on top of the roof. "What in the hell is that!?"

Everyone in the car was immediately on high alert, startled by the sound. But then they found out who exactly had landed on top of them. A head peeked downwards from above and peered through the windshield. "Hi there, guys!"

The kat with the handgun immediately began firing through the windshield, but immediately was apparently too late as that silver-haired she-kat removed her head from the line of fire. The two riflemen smashed open their respective windows and snaked out of the windows to aim at the SWAT Kat, but they found that she had already begun moving.

"She's fast, boss! Can't get a bead on her," one of them shouted, but began firing anyway. The driver did not respond, for he was currently looking at something that did not make him very happy. "Well fuck me…"

It was a detonation charge. Just about everything in that car would be useless once it went off, and it'd be worse if it did with everyone inside! Ghost grinned as she leapt from the cab of one truck to the hood of another, the shield within her Glovatrix unfolding as she made her way up and over. And just in time, too- bullets from a USP began heading in her general direction as soon as the kat in the passenger's side got a visual on her.

"Stop firing, you idiot! You'll hit our own guys," the kat with the other rifle said as he lifted his finger from the trigger.

Unfortunately, that would not matter soon, because the light turned green at that very instant. "Fuck this," the driver muttered to himself as he hit the gas. But Ghost's internal radar pinged just then, her head feeling somewhat light. Not in the dizzy way, just light. She hit the trigger for the detonator, to reveal that it wasn't really a detonator.

Electricity ran along the frame of the car, causing the other two kats to get back inside. "What the hell did she do?" The driver slammed on the brakes, attempted to turn the steering wheel, and found neither responsive to him. "Shit… a fucking ESD!"

Of course, it was too late, because the vehicle was picking up speed. If the brakes were locked, the gas was as well. The turn was approaching, and so was the nearby wall… they had better hope those airbags still worked too. Of course, Ghost wasn't paying any attention to that. She was already on the next truck… which peeled off immediately after the first truck had been zapped. "Oh, shit!"

The SWAT Kat had to hold on for her nine lives as she clamored towards the roof of the cab, trying not to get shot up in the process. Meanwhile, the truck behind it had moved off in a different direction, followed closely by Lioness. As far as she was concerned, they were not getting off that easily.

And all the while, someone called the Enforcers…

This was turning into a real mess.

* * *

High in the sky, T-Bone and Razor were busy working the TurboKat, the radar keeping track of their allies as green markers while the enemies that had been identified were marked as red. "We got 'em, T-Bone," Razor said with a grin. "Just a few more minutes and they're pretty much ours!"

T-Bone smirked and said, "Yeah, if nothing stupid happens. Can you get a lock on one of the trucks that are breaking formation?"

Razor checked his radar and said, "Can't get both of them… so we're gonna have to go for priority."

The two cars were breaking apart from the line, two of them having been handily disabled by Ghost and Lioness. Unfortunately, the situation was not turning out well as Razor checked his scope. "Shit… I think we got our top priority, bud. Vehicle number two is heading into oncoming traffic, and it looks like we got a SWAT Kat along for the ride!"

T-Bone's eyes widened as he said, "Crap, you serious? We gotta hustle!" With that, he cranked the throttle to full afterburner, and arrived over the freeway. What he saw made his heart stop for a brief moment. "Damn, that's_ Ghost! _Shit, what the hell is she doing?"

Razor's eyes narrowed and said, "Trying to stop that truck using those Electrostatic Disruptors I gave her. She got one as far as I can tell, but she's having trouble with this one, apparently. We gotta help her out, buddy!"

T-Bone grimaced and said, "No shit, sure shot. _Hang on_!"

With that, the TurboKat swooped in as chaos ignited below. The truck with the contraband inside of it, prepared to blow at the moment that it caught fire, was currently making its way through oncoming traffic, horns honking angrily and kats cursing and screaming. Ghost was on top of the cab, hanging on for her nine lives.

'I gotta stop this thing before someone gets hurt,' she thought to herself as she withdrew another ESD charge. But before she could put it on top of the hood, the truck swerved to the right and it flew out of her left hand. "Shit! That was my last one… Razor is gonna be pissed!"

Now the only thing she could do was focus on not being run over or thrown off of the cab. And it was becoming increasingly difficult as the crazy kat at the wheel careened and weaved through the incoming cars, moving like a bat out of hell. "Come on, guys," she said through gritted teeth, "It's getting a little _uncomfortable_ down here!"

"Well we noticed," A familiar voice responded in her radio, "And we're on the scene!"

Ghost did not bother looking behind her; she just reached out and grabbed the line that she knew was there, placed her foot inside the loop, and was lifted upwards. "About time you guys got here- I was about to turn into street pizza," she joked. "Now let's snag these guys and get the hell out!"

T-Bone replied into her headset, "Roger that. We're working on that now."

He looked back towards Razor and said, "Got anything for this truck gone wild?"

Razor smirked and said, "Actually, I do. Keep up with him and get in close- I'm gonna give them a different sort of ride!"

Meanwhile, the kats in the truck had taken note of the TurboKat and decided that enough was enough. "Damn it, we are not getting paid enough for this! Shoot the bitch and bug out!" Two kats immediately smashed open the rear windows and leaned outwards, aiming assault rifles at Ghost before opening fire. She saw what was going on before they could get their rifles out however and immediately aimed her Glovatrix towards the truck.

"Not this again."

She fired several Tarpedoes towards the kats as soon as they popped their heads out, and their faces were covered in darkness before they could aim. Unfortunately, this made them fire blindly, and a few shots got close. Luckily, she managed to deploy her shield before any of them scored direct hits.

'Oh hell that was too close…'

"T-Bone, _now_," she shouted. "Get them off the road before they fill me full of holes down here!"

As he heard her cry of distress, the big tom's eyes widened in a brief moment of shock. Then, they narrowed in anger. "Okay, now it's personal. Razor, hit 'em," he growled as he pulled Ghost up into the missile bay.

The slim tom nodded and said, "One grappling cable, coming up!"

The bomb bay doors opened up, and the grappling cable was let loose, grabbing onto the back of the truck and digging in hard. "T-Bone, it's all yours now!"

The SWAT Kat grinned as he switched to VTOL mode and maneuvered the TurboKat straight upwards, making the truck jerk off of the ground. The satisfying sound of horrified screams could be heard from inside, and Razor was definitely enjoying watching all this. "Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of heights. You're kats, right?"

Two minutes later, multiple Enforcer choppers arrived, surrounding the truck in mid-air. "Disarm your weapons and stand down- you are under arrest," a kat said from one of the pilot seats. "And don't worry about your buddies- we got them too."

T-Bone rolled his eyes and said under his breath, "One can only hope. I don't exactly trust the Enforcers with chasing someone down."

Razor grinned and said, "Well that's why we got someone down on the ground! I just hope _she's_ all right."

With that, they had the truck escorted to an empty lot, set it down quite hard so that it was disabled, and retracted both the grappling cable and their team mate before heading off towards the general direction of the remaining SWAT Kat. To be honest, this one was almost in the bag.

* * *

Lioness was in hot pursuit of the last truck. She just didn't know that it was the last truck yet. All she knew was that they were getting away, and she had to get them no matter what. It reminded her of her time as an Enforcer, only this time she was faster, better equipped, and didn't follow the rules of engagement that got others mucked up. With that said, she was also being shot at by G.T.A.R. 21 rifles, and had to weave her way underneath fields of fire with the Cyclotron.

"Fuck, they're getting better at this shooting thing," she muttered to herself. She looked up from her current half-cover position, only to find that one of them had stopped shooting. Her eyes widened as she immediately figured out why. "Well shit."

As soon as those two words escaped her, Lioness swerved to the right, just in time to barely miss a 40mm high explosive grenade that left a crater in the pavement. "Son of a _bitch_," she shouted as she continued the chase, "You're gonna _pay_ for that!"

But of course, she heard sirens around the corner, and the driver of the truck took a look in his side mirror. His eyes widened as he saw three Enforcer cruisers headed their way. "Damn, five-o!" He looked forward and narrowed his eyes. "I'm not gonna lie to you- we might be fucked here, gents. But we ain't goin' down without a fight! _Unload on 'em_!"

The two kats with the rifles began spraying fire at the Enforcers instead of Lioness, who handily kept up the chase. They were lucky that the glass on their windows was bullet resistant. Those within the cars returned fire, and thus a running battle was started.

Lioness grinned. 'Yeah, keep on going. You guys are useful for something after all- a distraction!'

With that, she focused on attempting to take out the back tires, as she had with one of the other trucks. Sadly, this was not exactly a good time to do so, because they had taken a brief lull in the firing to begin using their under slung grenade launchers. The glass might have been bullet resistant, but it was not explosion resistant, and thus two Enforcer cruisers were blown to high heaven.

Lioness looked behind her as the cars flipped end over end with a grimace. The driver of the third cruiser decided that enough was enough and skidded to a halt where he was. "Shit! This _isn't_ a good time to fight," Lioness muttered. She looked forward again and said, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to lose you…"

She smirked as she pressed in one of the buttons located on the right handlebar, and lo and behold, another slot opened above the front wheel. "I'll see you again… count on it. And next time, I won't run away."

With that, she fired a tracking beacon, which attached to the rear bumper of the truck, and turned at the upcoming intersection to break pursuit.

"Boss… she's making tracks! We lost 'em!"

The driver of the truck growled and said, "Yeah, and we lost the other three shipments, too! The capo is gonna be pissed off like nothing else, but we gotta tell him what happened here. Get those damn things back in here and keep your heads down- cops will be crawling all over the place after that."

Unfortunately for them, it would not be the last they would see of the SWAT Kats, or the Enforcers.

* * *

That evening, Alex Steele was currently enjoying a shot glass full of bourbon that was damn near free. Granted, he had never had a drink before in his life, but he figured any sort of restraint would have been left behind with his old life. To be honest, the stuff didn't taste half bad. "I gotta say," he said with a sly tone, "You guys certainly have this operation locked down."

There was another kat sitting across from him, sharply dressed, with his hair slicked back and a piercing in his right ear. "Well we do try to maintain a clean outfit for the press. After all, if you can manipulate the press, you can manipulate opinions." He chuckled and said, "Besides, the best drink is a free one, I always say. And we can sell these for a higher price than the markets, once we can get the Enforcers to cool off."

Steele nodded and said, "Yeah, I can see the logic of it. Still, Mac and Molly have concerns about their arms deal being busted. I want you to make sure that things don't screw up here. Otherwise, you had better hope they put you in a _very_ secure cell." It wasn't so much a threat as it was a polite reminder of who was in charge.

The capo almost swallowed his drink down the wrong pipe. Who did this runt think he was? Then, the question answered itself in the tom's head, and he nodded. "Yeah, I got you. Don't worry, nothing will happen."

Of course, that was the point where two kats clamored into the room, breathing hard. "Boss, we got trouble!"

The kat growled and looked over his right shoulder. "Can you imbeciles not see that I'm busy? I don't have time for casual chat. Get out before I shoot you both and feed you to my mutts."

Alex smirked and raised a hand. "Relax, friend. I'm sure they have something important to say." He looked towards them and said, "Best that you say it quickly, because you won't get another chance to say _anything_ if it's a load of bullshit."

They slowed their breathing for a moment before one of them said, "They knew!"

Steele's eyes widened and the capo spit up his drink. After cleaning himself up, he began demanding an explanation. "WHAT? But we concealed our movements perfectly! How in the hell can they possibly know!?" The kat that said this grimaced and said, "Dunno, but they got the other three trucks hard. And they moved so damn fast that we couldn't react in time."

Steele grimaced. He knew only one team that could pull that off. "So he's finally gotten some brains, that Feral."

The other kats looked towards him as he explained himself. "The SWAT Kats and the Enforcers are working together. I don't know how the hell this is getting past my moles, but I am going to find out. In the meantime, I want this place locked down."

The capo smirked and said, "Yeah, right. Even if they knew about the route, they don't know about this place."

Steele's grimace did not lift. "Idiots… they left one truck still intact. Did anyone check it?"

Silence reigned as the realization dawned that they were now in deep shit.

"Like I said," Steele repeated as he put his coat on, "Lock this place down, tight. Man the guns and get yourselves dug in. We're going to stop the SWAT Kats _here and now_, before they fuck anything else up, do you hear me?" With the affirmative given, Steele began heading towards the roof with the capo following him.

"What, aren't you staying?"

Steele looked over his right shoulder and said, "You're fucking kidding me. If I get taken down, this whole thing goes under. No, I'm leaving, right damn now. Listen, if they get too far in, you blow the place if you have to- just make sure that they do not leave alive!"

The capo nodded and said, "You can count on me, sir."

Steele then hopped into the AH-60 Little Bird that was parked there and fired it up. As he did so, a snarl formed on his face. They would not fuck this up again.

'They ruined my life… those SWAT Kats. I hate them. I almost wish these morons would fail- I want to kill them myself!'

But it was not in the cards. He had to retreat and fight another day. But he swore, then and there, that he would see the SWAT Kats in jail or shot, even if it meant his life. For now, he took off, plotting in his head for their next encounter.

* * *

"Interesting enough place to hide the goods," Lioness said softly as they approached the restaurant. As far as the floor plans suggested, there were two floors and a basement to the place, and the basement was probably where they were keeping all the contraband. "So then, do we take the front or the back?"

T-Bone peered at the building, his night vision active. The TurboKat was parked on a nearby rooftop. There were guards in front and the lights were on, which meant that they were more than likely expecting trouble. How this was possible was anyone's guess, but it didn't matter. They would be going down hard and hopefully with enough evidence to lock the lot of them away.

"Probably guards at the back, too," he muttered to himself. "Nah, either way they've got the place locked down." T-Bone deactivated his night vision and retracted the visor in his helmet. "Doesn't matter anyway- that just means we're at the right place. Razor, you're with Lioness. Ghost, you're with me. We're gonna storm the place."

Ghost grinned. Razor wanted to smack himself on the forehead, but refrained from doing so. T-Bone had a point- the place was fortified and locked down. He could see the light machine gun emplacements from here. A direct assault would be entirely foolish, but… the back was more than likely guarded as well. They didn't know.

'Usually I wouldn't agree with this, but since I see the logic of it, it's pretty much gospel truth.'

"You got a plan, big guy?" Razor asked as he took another look at the guns posted at the second story windows.

T-Bone nodded. "Yeah, but we're gonna have to do it quickly. We're gonna do a smoke and sneak." The other three turned towards him as he explained. "Lioness, you and Razor will provide overwatch as we get towards those cars there for cover," he said as he pointed towards the ground. "Take out anyone we can't see coming. Once we're there, I'll give you the green light to move to your own cover spot."

Lioness nodded, but Razor did not do or say anything.

"Once we're dug in," the big tom continued, "I want suppressive fire on anyone coming in our direction. Hopefully you'll attract the attention of those guns up there for long enough that we can pop smoke. If this goes off without a hitch, Ghost and I will be at the back, blow the door, and we'll have them trapped between two actions."

Razor finally smirked and said, "You _do_ have a plan then, huh? I gotta admit, it sounds good."

T-Bone grinned and said, "But it's crazy as hell, you know. We should really take this place from the top or the back, but that'd take too long." The grin turned into a grave expression. "If we wanna take this guy, we have to take him now. So let's haul ass, double time."

The Enforcers would wait for backup. A SWAT Kat did not wait- when they had an opportunity, they took it. The Rules of Engagement changed so many times, it was impossible to know what was what. This factor doubled when one was so far behind enemy lines, they had little chance of extraction or backup. With that said, they had a job to do, and ROE be damned at this point. Besides, they weren't going to kill anyone- that would be bad for business.

'Still, we could use a bit of backup,' Chance mused as he made his way down to street level.

Down in the nearby alley, the fire team was ready to get moving. The restaurant, heavily fortified, was just across the street with the lights on. If they had any kind of satellite uplink, they would be able to check out the scene from above, which would save them a hell of a lot of time. But as of now, they would not be able to know who was behind the building.

'Time to find out,' T-Bone brooded.

"We're moving. Lioness, Razor, overwatch."

The two of them broke the corner and pointed their Glovatrixes downrange. "Go," Lioness whispered, and T-Bone and Ghost sprinted towards one of the cars. As soon as they were at their position, T-Bone said, "Get moving; we'll stay on this side. Go," T-Bone said into his radio, and the other two SWAT Kats moved towards another piece of cover.

Ghost, without even thinking about it, began to stretch out her senses, expand her awareness. Well she had been doing it for so long that she could use it at will now. Her radar pinged five outside, two up top for overwatch, and she suspected that there were even more inside. The itch between her shoulder blades flared up as soon as she thought about that, and she tapped T-Bone's left shoulder.

"They're waiting for us."

T-Bone nodded. "Then we're lucky they haven't seen us yet."

"Right, time for the noise," the big tom whispered. "Remember, you two try and get those gunners up there to pay attention to you. They shouldn't be able to punch through this cover here, but if you find that it's getting too hot, move to the next one."

Razor nodded. "Any last requests just in case this goes wrong?"

Chance smirked and said, "Get me some lasagna before I die." His facial expression turned grim again as he said, "On my mark… _go_."

Well, no countdown needed. Lioness and Razor began opening fire, effectively surprising the five guards that were outside. "Shit, it's _them_!!" They were a bit late, but the gunners up top noticed. Not to mention those that were inside immediately began heading outside, firearms at the ready. Once they were located behind their respective cover positions, they began opening fire, in time with the HK-21Es firing down at them.

"I think we got their attention," Razor shouted over the gunfire.

T-Bone nodded and said, "Lioness, do it!"

She pulled out a pair of smoke grenades, but before anything else happened, the tires on the car blew as their cover was quickly being evaporated. "Shit! Those gunners are giving us hell! _Razor, let's move_!" They hauled ass towards the next car, which was not that far away, while Ghost and T-Bone began laying down suppressive fire on the enemy positions.

Right, now _they_ were being fired on. These things never went as planned, did they?

At least the other two were safely at their cover positions.

Razor flipped his visor down and poked his head over cover, checking the ranks. He raised an eyebrow as he saw a suspicious kat exit the building, and as he took a look at what he was packing, his eyes widened. "T-Bone, we got a GMG coming out! I think it's our high-risk warrant!"

The big tom gritted his teeth and said, "Shit, just what I need… pop smoke and draw his fire! Get moving to the next cover as soon as you toss 'em! GO!!"

They went, and the smoke grenades were thrown. The thick clouds of smoke suddenly burst into life, and almost immediately their car was fired on. Luckily for them before the imminent explosion, they were already moving towards the next car. As for T-Bone and Ghost, they got moving to the rear of the building. "We're on the move," T-Bone shouted. "Maintain radio contact at all times, copy?"

"Copy," Razor responded, "But I dunno how much longer we can stay here! Take him out as soon as possible!"

Fortunately for them, no one noticed that they were on the move from all that smoke.

Before long, they were successfully at the delivery entrance. "Ghost, prep the door."

She withdrew a detonation charge and placed it dead center on the doorway. "Door prepped. Just say the word." T-Bone nodded and deployed the shield on his Glovatrix. "Stay on me and shoot whatever pops out. On my mark… breach the door!"

The charge was blown and the door shot forward, taking out the two kats standing behind it. Even as the door moved forward, T-Bone made his way inside, keeping behind his shield. Ghost had her left hand on the big tom's left shoulder while her Glovatrix was at the ready. Soon enough, a few were coming forth with guns trained, but before they could get anywhere near a good shot off, the kats were quickly netted.

However, the surprise wore off as they began returning fire. The shield was there for a reason though, and Ghost quickly incapacitated anyone trying to take their position by way of mini-Tarpedoes. From that point, they were bogged down at the choke point that led towards the main dining room, and all T-Bone needed to do was move forward and do some shield checking.

As soon as the kats were on their backs, T-Bone lowered his shield for a moment to take a good look at the front entrance. Apparently, from all the gun fire outside, they had not been discovered yet. "We're good to go," T-Bone whispered. He sent out a radio broadcast towards the other half of his team. "Razor, Lioness, what's your status?"

"Almost out of cover over here," Lioness responded, "But we ain't dead yet! You got the place locked down?"

"Affirmative," T-Bone said with a grin. "Poor bastard doesn't even see us. We're going hot, T-Bone out."

He deactivated his radio and said, "This is gonna get ugly. Ghost, you…" he looked behind his right shoulder and saw her ears twitching. "Shit… what's wrong?"

The silver-haired she-kat shook her head and said, "Something… I don't know what. I just have a bad feeling." The itch between her shoulder blades was on full tilt at the moment. Something was not right here… Sure, the plan was going along fine, but there was something they were missing. She shook her head again and said, "We can't, not yet. I know it's not good for Razor and Lioness, but…"

T-Bone nodded and said, "Yeah, I hear ya." He radioed in to Razor. "Heads up, we got trouble in here. Ghost's pinged something bad- haven't confirmed yet. Can you two hold on for a bit longer while we check it out?"

Outside, Razor cursed silently to himself. It was already bad out here, but now it was getting worse? Then again, since when had that not happened? "Understood, we'll try to hold out as much as we can, Razor out!"

He looked towards Lioness and said, "Think you can take out at least one of those MGs from here? It's a tough shot."

Lioness grimaced and lowered her visor. The HUD popped up immediately as she zoomed in on the gunners' positions. "Not for me…" With that, she switched to a couple of mini-octopus missiles and fired on one of the kats that kept them pinned. A split second later, he was sent flying backwards. "I've got a hit. He's not going anywhere for a while. I have a bead on the second one."

But before she could fire, Razor suddenly rammed into her, just in time to evade the destruction of their last remaining cover. "Shit, that was too close…" Lioness gasped and said, "Dammit, warn me next time!" That didn't mean she wasn't grateful, just that it hurt like hell. "What now? They're still in there!"

Razor shook his head and said, "They're on their own. We gotta move to better cover! _Hustle_!"

Lioness did not have to be told twice. They were on the move as soon as she recovered, heading towards the nearest alley. "This is _so_ fucked up," the brunette said with a scowl, "But I guess we didn't have much choice, huh?" They dug in as Razor replied with, "Yeah. A good plan now is better than a perfect plan later!"

They could hear them coming. There wasn't much cover to be had on this street though, was there? It was all near the restaurant. Razor smirked and said, "A blind rush is never good in combat. Get a call sent out to T-Bone and check on him; I'm gonna keep these suckers busy."

He activated the TurboKat remotely and prepared for some fun. "Hope you guys didn't leave out the jet." With that, he activated the cement machinegun and watched as they were painted with all that quick-drying cement, pinned to the streets.

Meanwhile, Lioness got that call sent out. "This is Lioness reporting in. The situation has been salvaged, need a status update from you two, over."

What their status was at the moment was not good. They had fought their way towards the basement, and while they had found the contraband… a lot more of it than they had expected… they had also found something else. "Status is red, Lioness," Ghost said as she looked around. "It's worse than I thought. This whole place is rigged to blow, and we're right inside the trap."

T-Bone did not exactly like this either. Ghost had effectively done something both good and bad- she had found out the problem and landed them right in the middle of it. But it couldn't be helped. "We're just lucky he hasn't noticed us yet, or gotten desperate enough to use 'em." He looked towards Ghost and said, "We need EOD down here, as soon as possible. If this evidence gets destroyed, they'll get away clean."

Ghost nodded and said, "But first, we need to take out the kat with the trigger. You think that's our boy up there?"

T-Bone smirked and replied, "Has to be. Let's get him. That is, if he isn't inside yet."

* * *

The capo was in the main dining room, the grenade machinegun still out front, just in case he needed to man it. He had seen what had gone on in here before hand, and from the mess, it was clear that he wasn't alone. Still, he had the trump card, and that was all right. Besides, he hadn't seen anyone yet. They were probably in the basement, which was the last place one wanted to be.

'Hell, anywhere in this building is the last place any kat wants to be, especially me.'

But he still needed to report in. Tell someone, anyone what happened here. So he picked up the phone behind the bar and began dialing in, checking to see if the intruders were close by. When It was confirmed that there was no one, he spoke.

"Yeah, it's me. We're totally screwed here- they knew what was going on from the start… No, I'm not shitting you; the fucking SWAT Kats came in and busted us up, wide open. I got the charges set, though… the evidence will be taken care of handily."

After a pause, the capo chuckled and said, "Yeah, well when I see 'em, I'll blow the place to kingdom come, rest assured. And even if they don't show up, the Enforcers will no doubt be here soon. They come in; I take 'em out, problem solved. See, I told you this was gonna work out." A hoarse laugh followed before he said, "Look, I gotta go. See if everything's all right down there. I'll call you when it's over."

He hung up and headed downstairs. The bad news was that he wouldn't be able to make that call, nor would he be leaving that basement as a free kat. Just then, as soon as he had gotten down the stairwell, he had a pair of Glovatrixes aimed at either side of his head. "You move and you get a face full of tar at close range. Doubt you want that."

He stopped cold. "Shit… goddamn SWAT Kats!"

T-Bone smirked and said, "Glad our reputation has spread this far." He took a brief look at the bottles of unmarked liquor and said, "This all of it?"

The capo raised an eyebrow and said, "What, you're here for that?" He grinned and said, "Well then I suppose we could do business. Say… maybe I could get you to let this go for a few bottles, hmm? Free of charge."

Ghost said nothing for a few moments before she asked calmly, "Can I shoot him? Please, let me."

T-Bone grinned and said, "Yeah, but first we have to get him to drop what he's got in his left pocket, which he is no doubt reaching for now." His grin turned into a grimace. "Do it, now."

The Capo withdrew what was in his pocket, and indeed it was the detonator. "Thought so," T-Bone said with a smirk. "Let's go, we got a ride waiting for you now." With that, they led him upstairs.

"Ah, so it's the bounty! That's what you're here for, that price on my head!" Well that sucked, he had figured that part out pretty well. "I can offer you double that if you let me walk, right here and now! Forget this ever happened, eh? Just let me off…"

He was silenced by a smack to the back of his head from Ghost. "You really are stupid, you know that? Makes me wonder how you organized these guys… and how you got such sweet hardware. Then again, we already know that."

T-Bone nodded and said, "That's for sure. Oh look- there they are now," he said as he heard the sirens. "With what's in there, don't expect them to read you your rights. Do not pass go, and you get no money here."

The Enforcer cruisers pulled up, and found a mess of still living bodies everywhere. As well as a few blown up cars and a ton of shell casings, broken glass, and other evidences of destruction. Feral, fortunately, was not there to see it all. He'd have a field day with it if he was, but he couldn't effectively move without someone finding out about it.

As the Capo was escorted into one of the cars, he shouted, "You'll rot in hell for this, you know that? I'm gonna make you all pay! _Each and every last one_ of you! You four will be sorry you ever fucked with this!"

The door was closed. The cruiser drove away. The SWAT Kats were done.

Well, not entirely done.

One of the officers walked up to T-Bone and said, "Hey… the Commander will want to see you after this. I just wanted to pass on the message, since he can't." After a pause for a few seconds, he said, "Look, thanks a lot for what you're doing. It's a big favor, y'know? And back at that big street fight too, you saved our asses. I know it's not much, but…"

T-Bone raised a hand and said, "Don't say anything else. We're just doing our duty. The first priority, for both of us, is to save lives. Don't you forget that, got it?" With that, he and Ghost ran back towards the TurboKat. "Get some EOD specialists down here, pronto," he added as he headed off, "The place is rigged to blow!"

Ghost smiled and said, "That was pretty lofty of you, T-Bone. You really believe that, huh?"

The big tom nodded. "We have to make sure to protect this city, no matter what. But at the same time," he said with a stern voice, "We can't go in like that anymore, without backup. We have to get some help."

Ghost paused for a moment, and then said, "KatGuard?"

T-Bone nodded and said, "Yeah. We have to hire 'em for it. Just gotta hope that we can get them paid enough for the deficit on our end to count!"

He would have to talk to Felina about that later. For now, it was time to head back to base. Tomorrow was a new day… and a new pay day. At the very least, they were getting a bit of compensation for their efforts this time around!

* * *

**Chapter 45: Untouchable (Part 2) – **_**Contraband**_

IT IS DONE. OMFG, that took a long time. But it was worth it to watch shit get blown to pieces. You agree, right? Right!? Well if not, then that's just the way it's going to be. Besides, I'm not even going to bother changing this one.

Okay, let's get to the goodies. Reviewer Appreciation time, and this one starts out with today's new reviewer. Of which we have two. **inuficcrzy** and **Deathzealot**, welcome to my insane corner of the earth. Your first reading of this fic is likely to be the most memorable. Cherish it! With that said, I'm glad I gave you both a good ride. It's suggested that you buckle up, because it ain't over.

**The Dark Lord Redrall** has exceptional mention in this chapter, for his comments inspired the opening scenes. Thanks for the remarks, bud. They are much appreciated, and I am almost sorry that I had not placed them somewhere sooner in the story. Hopefully, I will be more mindful of my actions in the future. Thanks again.

**Raiden Snake** and **RaidenSilversword**, you two are always a treat to have around. I'm glad I can deliver some shock value to someone who wasn't expecting something, and it looks like I have delivered yet again. I love changing people's opinions about something- breaking the status quo is always fun to do! It is something I pride myself in as a writer. I will continue pushing to the edge!

**trigger12**, nice to see you again. It's always a pleasure to hear that I'm doing a good job. And yes, this is a hell of a long story. It seems like it will go on forever, but it won't. It does have an end. And I will end it… sooner or later. More like when I want to. Matter of fact, I hope it never ends. I hope I keep on thinking of newer things for our heroes and heroines.

**GeekGirl2**… wait, hang on. Before I continue, damn there are a lot of you! I don't think I can cover all of you guys before I go to bed, but I'll try! Anyways, yes the situation is getting sticky-icky. The best fic on this site? You jest, surely. There are others who are just as good as I am, and take less time to update. But thanks.

**Kodachi Claws**, thanks for the tips. They helped me out last chapter, to be honest. I don't really have much to say about your review, since I already used your advice. But all I have to say is keep reading! Whatever you do, keep on feeding me with reviews. They are mighty tasty.

**ulyferal**, thanks for the big ups. I'll have to read that guy's stuff sometime- see if I can't get a hold of a book or two by him. Yes, when it comes to commonplace things, Feral can be rather intelligent. But when it comes to the big bad wolves, his ROE and his dependence on protocol get his kats in trouble. Fortunately for him, he is a good commander when it comes to everyday things, and once this whole Mayor Manx mess is over with, he should have a good amount of funding coming his way.

Whoops, almost said too much.

Anyways, that's it? Yeah, that it! I DID IT! I got you all! But hey, if there's anyone I missed, I'm going to say it now… thank you.

Okay, bed now. I've been writing this one for a while, lost sleep over it a few times.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	46. Untouchable Part 3

"And in the recent thwarting of a smuggling operation, Commander Ulysses Feral congratulated his forces on a job well done. Due to the investigative efforts of the Enforcers, another crime ring has successfully been taken down. When asked about the SWAT Kats, he left no comment what so ever. The new special task force formed to handle these matters has not been revealed yet, but Feral states that it will be in due time…"

Callie changed the channel, thus eliminating Ann Gora's professional manner of speaking. It wasn't so much that she was not interested in the news, just that she had expected it already.

'Feral's not stupid,' she said to herself, 'Just prideful. He didn't rat us out, and we owe him for that.'

But seriously, she wondered why they were even needed at all. Usually, the Enforcers could handle something like this, easily. And then she remembered the mole, and everything came into focus for her again. But this of course, made her wonder how someone had successfully infiltrated in the first place. Who exactly was responsible for taking down the command structure so easily?

'Whoever it is,' she brooded to herself, 'They used to be in the ranks before. They know how it works, who is tired of Feral, and have quite a bit of money.'

Callie shook her head to clear it of thoughts and said, "Not my problem. Only thing I should be concerned about is taking care of business. I am, after all, a SWAT Kat now." She smiled and giggled at that, thinking about how this would never have been possible years ago. The times were indeed strange.

"Well, since we don't exactly have a mission now…" she stood from the couch and stretched out lazily, that femme feline body of hers displaying all the very appropriate curves and angles as she did so. Were Chance there at the moment, he'd have quite a hard time restraining himself. "…Might as well find something to do."

She headed over to the arcade machines, hearing the spare change jangle in her pocket, and decided to try her hand as Space Kat again.

Meanwhile, outside, Chance and Jake were doing the job that they pretended to have a serious interest in, which was fixing cars. That didn't mean that they weren't good at it- it just meant that they cared so little for it that only the barest attention was paid. With that said, they got the job done, and got it done right.

"Damn," Jake said as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a spare towel, "We're on the clock an awful lot these days, ain't we? It's like every car in the city decided to break down for some reason or another!"

Chance grinned and said, "Hey, this ain't the job we're getting paid the big bucks for, buddy. Might as well be a hobby these days. It's only natural that our 'work' would pile up during our moonlighting." He placed a hand on Jake's right shoulder and said, "Just stay frosty, all right? One day we'll be out of here."

Jake nodded and said, "I sure hope so. We got bigger things to worry about than fixing cars these days anyways."

Chance grinned as he got back to working on replacing the spark plugs in one engine, and at that point the phone rang. "I'll get that," Jake said as he pulled himself from the underside of a separate car, heading towards the phone in the garage. "Hello, this is Jake Clawson speaking."

The voice on the other end made him smile considerably. He was fortunate that he had asked to get the phone. Chance could be pretty busy at times.

"Hey there, handsome," Felina said as she drove down the street, from her apartment for once. "I got some good news."

"Well we sure could use it," Jake replied, "Because work sucks right now. What's up?"

Felina laughed and said, "I bet it does! But hey, this should cheer you up right away. I've secured the contract for KatGuard. Of course, I've informed them that the SWAT Kats will be working on it as well, and managed to negotiate a split. In exchange for our mutual support, they get half the reward."

Jake shrugged and said, "Sounds fine with me, but we're gonna have to talk with Chance about it. Are you on your way?"

Felina nodded and said, "Expect me in ten minutes. I owe you a few kisses anyways."

Jake smiled slyly and said, "I'll hold you to that. See you soon, then."

The other end of the line went dead and the slim tom turned towards Chance, who had long since started listening in. "We got backup, buddy," Jake said with a grin. "Felina came through for us. KatGuard is on the case, and they're gonna work with us for half the reward."

Chance clenched his left fist and said, "Sweet! That's just what I was looking for. Hell, if they help us out like I hope they will, they can _have_ half the bounty. Now all we have to do is get the bonuses set up, get a meeting place confirmed, and we're all good. I figure Felina's on her way to do that now, huh?"

Jake nodded and said, "She is. I figure things will get a hell of a lot more interesting from here, huh?"

Chance smiled and said, "Interesting ain't the word for it." He looked back at the car he was working on with a grimace. "Back to the grease pit, buddy. Let's just hope there's something to take the edge off tonight…"

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_Commander Feral sighed to himself as he walked out of yet another reinforced cell. He was lucky enough not to have had to hurt this kat, though he was still an annoying slime ball. He kept on trying to weasel his way out of jail time, offering this deal or that. Nothing got through though, and that was when he resorted to threats.

Not like those worked either- the Commander pretended like he did not hear them.

After a while, the capo gave up. It wasn't like he was getting anywhere with this train of thought, and he knew perfectly well what the cost for failure was. The organization he worked for would pretend as if they never knew him, had never seen him before, and had never spoken to him a day in their lives. He was cut off from both his funding and his men, and there was no backup coming at all. Threats were idle, and Feral did not bargain with criminals.

So there was only one thing to do, and that was talk. If they were going to screw him over, he would do the same to them. It was only fair, after all.

Unfortunately, Feral only got so far before the conversation hit a brick wall. The capo they had just captured was only so far up on the chain of command, and knew only what he was told. It was Feral's turn to threaten, and his threats were not idle. But soon, he figured that at this point, the poor kat wouldn't lie- he was already knee deep in shit.

'Damn… this is all I need right now. It was going so smoothly, too.'

Ulysses sighed to himself and headed once again towards a location where he could not be monitored. To be honest, it wasn't easy to do, considering that those moles could be anywhere, but he found a way. This clandestine work was not his thing at all, but it had become a necessary evil. Besides, it'd be over soon anyway. At least, he hoped so.

To be honest, the SWAT Kats were the last ones he wanted to work with, no matter how good they were. Vigilantes were all the same in his eyes. But he was in one of those spots where he had run out of options. Besides, they got the job done, regardless of how much shit they blew up. He sometimes wondered why there was no loss of life, even though there was plenty of collateral damage, but these days he had learned not to ask and just be grateful.

_I have your next assignment. It is not going to be anywhere as easy as the last two, but rest assured, the payment will match the difficulty._

_The weapons that were purchased for the gang riot were purchased with dirty money. That dirty money is still being turned out even as we speak in the form of a katnip ring. We were supposed to have eliminated that years ago, but it appears to have survived the loss of its key figures. The captain in charge of the operation is unknown at the time, as well as his or her base of operations._

_Of course, this is where you come in._

_Since I have no idea where this kat is, you will have to find out for me. Seek out any deals you find going down and bust them. Do it as quietly as possible and without anything destroyed. Bring any sort of information you can wring out of the dealers to me, and I will pay you extra on top of the original bounty. Of course, I would be surprised if you could cover that wide of an area… so I suggest you bring a few friends along with you._

_Once we find the location of the place where the drugs are being processed, it will be your job to take the operation down. We would of course, like the building intact, but if you have to blow it up, I give you full authorization to do so. Don't take this the wrong way- I refuse to allow you to run rampant. If anything else is destroyed in the process, I will have multiple squad cars on your asses so quickly you'll swear you were in a time warp._

_Oh, and one more thing. Do not forget that I need that capo alive. Dead kats tell no tales, and I need the location of the rest of these bastards. Get it done, SWAT Kats.

* * *

_A KatGuard Black Hawk flew over the city that night, four kats sitting in the passenger cabin. Their expressions were solemn as they approached the landing zone, with one of them listening to a song that blared from a pair of earphones. It became annoying soon however as one of the mercenaries smacked the kat on the back of his head and said, "Cut that shit off, we're on the clock."

The young tom rubbed the back of his head and said, "Oh, shut up. It's how I focus. Besides, you just don't like metal."

Just before the argument broke out, a she-kat sighed and said, "Both of you, grow up and shut up. This is not a _babysitting_ mission. I swear some toms are stuck as kittens sometimes." They both glared at her, but said nothing in response.

It was a good thing that they had said nothing too. Their team leader was silent, his eyes closed and his ears turning this way and that occasionally, miniature radars atop his head. It were as if he were waiting for something to happen, and didn't bother to take note of anyone else until it did.

His eyes snapped open when he finally detected what he was waiting for. "To your left," he said without looking. The others looked however, and the young tom's eyes widened as he did so. "Holy shit… is that it? It's beautiful."

The TurboKat, parked atop a rooftop.

The second tom whistled impressively. "F-119 engines with an F-135 in the center. Front intakes serve as the redirection nozzles for VTOL. The damn thing's thrust-to-weight ratio must be insane… and that's without the extra four solid-fuel boosters she has packing."

The young tom looked towards him and said, "Well someone's been doing their homework. Are you a fan or something?"

The woman smirked and said, "Nah, he just knows his machines. I bet _you're_ a fan though, Marshall."

The young tom blushed, and was fortunate that it wasn't seen. "Maybe a little," he muttered.

All conversation stopped when the pilot announced, "All passengers, we are making our approach to the designated insertion point. Please do not fast rope down until the helo has come to a full and complete hover above the roof. We might be working with these kats, but we ain't as crazy as them."

The she-kat laughed and said, "Hell no. We're crazier."

With that, they put their balaclavas on and the countdown started. "Landing zone in five seconds… four… three… two… one… rope out."

"Keep it frosty," the leader said before he roped down to the roof. After two seconds, the tom known as Marshall went after him, then the other tom, then the she-kat. As each kat landed, they lifted their rifle and moved to a specific corner of the roof, searching for hostile targets on the way there. Once they reached their designated point of dominance, each would say, "Clear."

Once all four were down on the ground and in position, they lowered their weapons and the team leader said, "Equipment check. Let's make sure no one left anything on our ride, because it ain't coming back until this is over. Scotts," He said to the kat who had smacked Marshall earlier, "Recon. Find our partners."

"On it sir," He said as he checked his personal radar for any sign of the SWAT Kats.

Marshall casually peered downwards at the street, not seeing much of anything for the moment. This was his first mission, really, and he was fresh out of training. Hell, fresh out of _college_. He didn't exactly know why he wanted to be a mercenary, just that he had heard it was one of the most high-paying jobs you could have.

Still, his high marks in the aptitude test that was given to each KatGuard operator proved that he was no slouch in the mental and problem solving department. He did all right in the whole basic training thing, but compared to his team mates, he wasn't really all that experienced. Hence he was placed in the role of the rifleman instead of the reconnaissance position, the standard field infantry.

He was also impatient, because after two minutes of searching, he asked Scotts, "You got anything there?"

He shook his head and said, "That's just it… nothing is showing up on radar. They're either not here, or they're hiding out somewhere outside of the range of my scanners."

Marshall pouted and said, "What the hell? They said they were going to be here first. Wasn't that what they said, Carey?"

Carey, the she-kat, did not respond. She was listening for something, anything that could be a sign of them. She carried with her an M249 and watched the other rooftops for any sign of those they would be working with. Of course, there could be others out there who were not so nice, so she was watching for them as well. Still, even she wondered where they were.

Where they were of course, was quite simple. But first, one had to remember that they had indeed gotten there first…

Razor had set up the TurboKat to jam any radar signatures beforehand, which left the handheld radar useless. Then again, it left theirs disabled as well, but hey- give and take. They had set up the meeting place anyway, and so they were already at the site. With that said… the reason they had not been seen yet was that they had started out _inside_ the building.

Once they heard the sound of a helicopter, they began moving upwards.

T-Bone and Razor took the stairwell, steadily moving upwards without contention. Ghost and Lioness moved towards the west side of the building and began doing something a bit more original- scaling the building from the outside. Windows, balconies, loose masonry- anything they could get their hands on was a climbing surface.

So for three more minutes, they were not seen or heard of. Marshall began to frown distastefully. "Damn, you'd think that these guys would be on time for their own meeting. But no, they have to be late, huh? Well this makes me wonder where the hell they are."

The team lead, named Williams, took this time to rise from his silence. "They're already here."

The other team members turned towards him, eyes wide.

"We can't see them," he explained, "Because they aren't approaching from outside. The TurboKat is parked in a different location, leaving our landing zone clear. No vehicles in sight, which means they hoofed it towards the building. Radar can't see shit because it's jammed."

They relaxed for a moment, but then Carey said, "So they got here first… which means they are inside the building, heading up right now. Only question is… where they will be coming from."

Everyone was on guard again, but by then it was a bit late.

The door to the roof opened soundlessly as they were distracted by their conversation. T-Bone and Razor immediately aimed their Glovatrixes towards the two nearest mercenaries, and the big tom said, "Does this answer your question?"

The other two had successfully snuck up behind their respective targets, which were succinctly focused on their team mates. Going from climbing up the building to sneaking up on their co-workers was a feat that only they could have accomplished.

"Boo," Lioness said in her usual purr.

Marshall froze up as he took note of the situation. "Holy shit," was all he could whisper.

The team lead had a few more choice words, and they were spoken for a longer duration. "All right, I'm impressed. I knew you were here by the TurboKat, but I didn't expect this kind of entrance. Probably oiled the door hinges to keep them from sounding off, opened it nice and slow, and the game was up before we knew it. I've only got two questions." He looked over towards Ghost and Lioness and said, "Where did you two come from, and why the stealth?"

Ghost smiled and said, "Take a guess."

For a while, they didn't really say much, trying to figure out how they had come from nowhere. Carey had the answer after fifteen seconds, but she said it in a voice that was somewhat incredulous. "No fucking way… how far down did you _start_?"

Marshall looked confused. "What the hell is everyone talking about? Am I missing something?"

Carey looked towards the young tom and said, "They _climbed up the building_. No idea which side. And they're not even out of breath!"

Razor nodded and said, "It was a crazy plan, but they did it pretty well. As for the stealth… well we wanted to make sure you didn't try anything funny. Heck, you might not have brought just the four of you. Besides, if we were just sitting there waiting…"

T-Bone finished up for his slim buddy. "…It wouldn't have been as fun."

Scotts was silent through this whole thing, but at T-Bone's comment, he laughed. "Well you sure as hell made it interesting. For a while, I was wondering whether or not this damn thing worked. So then, what's the situation?"

With that, they all lowered their weapons and the briefing commenced.

The terms of the contract were quickly negotiated, and it was agreed that the price would be half of the full contract, plus bonuses. And the bonuses were simple- any information on the whereabouts of the main target. "Now," T-Bone said, "Feral is entirely clueless on whom or where this capo is, so it's our job to find out. That's what we're up to tonight. Essentially, we're doing the cops job for them, since they're pretty much fucked from within."

The team lead nodded and said, "So this is a street sweeping. Are there any ideas where the deals are going on?"

Razor shook his head. "That's the thing; they could be anywhere. Seedier parts of downtown, the docks, the old warehouse district, the Inner City… these guys could be lurking all over the place. But if we can somehow make our way up the chain of command…"

Scotts nodded and said, "I get you. So we're just going to bust up a bunch of katnip deals, huh? Doesn't sound like fun."

Carey said, "Sounds like _work_. I don't give a shit if it's fun or not- work is work, and we need the money." She looked towards T-Bone and Razor and said, "Let's stop squatting on our asses and get this underway. Doesn't matter where they are- we'll squeeze every last drop of information out of them." She tilted her head to the right and said, "Do we get to ice 'em?"

Lioness piped in at this point. "Negative. Blood on the pavement is bad press. You can gas 'em, disperse them, tie them up, whatever- just don't kill them. Still, that doesn't mean you can't rough them up a little, break a few things, just as long as they talk."

The team lead said grimly, "They won't sit there. They will fire at us sooner or later. I won't be held responsible when they do."

The brunette nodded and said, "Then if it comes down to it, I suppose it won't matter, since the katnip ring will be disrupted if enough of their dealers are taken out. Still, use it as a last resort. We like our informants alive and somewhat breathing. And don't worry," She added, "We'll be doing the same street sweeping. It's our job too."

T-Bone nodded and said, "Well that's it. Let's get our asses in gear- the night isn't going to be here forever. Let's move!"

* * *

Scotts and Marshall lay prone atop a building that sat across from a specific street corner in the Inner City. Williams and Carey had just finished running reconnaissance, and had been lucky enough to overhear the spot where a deal was going to take place. "Contacts," Marshall whispered into his radio, "The deal is in place. Looks like we hit pay dirt…" He had a worried expression on his face as he added, "You guys sure this is going to work? If we kill any of them, it's not going to be fun cleaning up the mess."

Williams placed a gas mask over his head and said, "Just wait until the deal starts. When I give the go, you fire. Understood?"

He sighed and said, "Understood, sir. I'm ready with that CS." He lowered his rifle for a moment and said, "Hey, Scotts. Do you think this'll work? I mean, this whole not killing thing. We're mercenaries- it's our job to take people out, right?"

Scotts, still looking through the infrared scope on his M-110 sniper rifle, said "No rookie, that's not our job. Our job is to finish the mission. An _assassin_ kills; a mercenary does not necessarily have to kill, so long as the mission is complete. Don't worry, the boss will find a way to get this done without collateral damage. Just relax and wait for the go."

Marshall sighed and said, "Understood." He looked through his scope again and said into his radio, "Oh shit, movement. They're starting."

The team lead said, "Keep it frosty, cash is about to change hands. Carey, take point."

"With pleasure, boss," She said with a grin.

For a while, they were silent, observing the deal going on only. There were two guards, one in front and one behind, while the dealer handed out the goods. "Yeah, this is fresh from the source, the good stuff," he said with a self-satisfied voice. "You guys should thank the boss for all this, you know. She's the one that went through the trouble of cooking all this up."

The kats that were taking a good whiff of the katnip were already nice and loose, their pupils dilated. A few others were a bit more cautious, but all in all they were pretty doped up. "Damn man, sign me up for some more of this," one of them said groggily as the overpowering scent overtook him.

The dealer smirked and said, "Well if you want more, you gotta pay for it. And don't waste the shit all at once- there's a limited quantity of it. Just sit back and enjoy it- the cops sure as hell aren't coming. They're too mucked up right now to even give a damn about us!"

They all laughed, but their laughter was in vain.

"Do it," Williams whispered into his radio.

Two seconds later, a tear gas grenade was fired from Marshall's M203. "What the _**fuck**_?" Of course, it was too late by then. The six buyers, two guards, and the dealer himself were caught in a cloud of chemical smoke. "IR scope is active, I see 'em," Scotts said coolly. "They're confused as hell."

Without another word, Williams and Carey went into the smoke cloud… and chaos ignited. Cries of shock and pain were heard over the radio, but not a shot was fired. A few bodies were sent flying out of the smoke, but for the most part, they were not dead. Not yet anyways. Unless one of them did something stupid, no one would get hurt.

For now, it was clean and quick. Those that couldn't run fast enough, which was just about all of them, were knocked flat on their asses, unconscious. Carey used her M249, but in a rather unique way- as a tool to bludgeon with. She used the damn thing as something to smash faces in with when it came to close range, and that was good enough for her.

Williams on the other hand preferred to do things with his fists. And they were a quite good method of handling things. Between the two of them, buyers, guards, and the dealer himself were pretty much under control. The two guards were disarmed and handcuffed, while the dealer was slumped up against the wall of a building.

"What the fuck… are you Enforcers?"

Williams pointed his rifle at the tom and said, "You don't wanna know. Tell you what- you have five minutes to answer my questions, or I fully restrain you and your cronies and leave you in this CS gas cloud. By the time someone finds you, you are going to be in much worse shape than you are now. We got a deal?"

The tom nodded and said, "Yeah… deal."

Williams nodded and said, "Good. Don't try anything stupid either- we got a marksman on overwatch. Now then, tell me about this operation you got going. I want names, faces, locations, and I want them in five minutes or less. Start talking."

It was revealed that he did not know much- he wasn't exactly the highest man on the totem pole. However, he did mention that there were multiple deals going on that evening. The locations were marked on the team's GPS by Scotts, who was listening in on the radio. When asked for his boss's name and location however, the conversation hit a brick wall. He simply did not know.

'Damn… so close, too,' Williams brooded to himself. "Carey, let's move. Scotts, Marshall, haul ass down here and get those guards." As they moved into position, the team lead called the SWAT Kats. "This is Williams, we got one. Locations of the next few deals are in place, sending coordinates to your GPS now."

T-Bone responded over the frequency, "Roger that, we got one over here too. Seems there's a she-kat running this thing; it's been going on for a few months now, even while Dark Kat was around. We don't have a location yet, but if we keep on moving up the ladder, we'll get one from them."

"Copy," Williams replied. "We're moving out."

After four more deal busts, two of which turned into fire fights, they had collected a good deal of information. By the time Commander Feral had received it all, the bonuses to the contract were adding up quite a bit. Six raids total, and two dealers who claimed to know the ring leader personally. One of those turned out to be true, because he had a location.

Over the next five hours, the combined efforts of the mercenaries and the SWAT Kats turned out to be an effective and silent solution, due to the lack of movement from the Enforcers. The drug ring was practically on its knees that night, and the capo would not be the wiser when she was hit with full force…

* * *

Located somewhere within the Inner City was a warehouse, unmarked, nondescript, and under some serious need of repairs. But it was also discreet and out of the way, not to mention guarded by mafia soldiers. They weren't outside to be sure, but they were there all the same, waiting for the call to head out. A few street corner dealers were posted up near the place, and they not only kept the cash flowing, they also acted as reconnaissance.

The only bad news about this was the fact that they were about to deal with the SWAT Kats and their allies. It wasn't exactly going to be pretty for them, but then again it wasn't going to be easy, either. Nothing was easy for them, which is why they existed in the first place: to take care of the hard shit.

"Multiple contacts spotted; suspicious activity. If this isn't it, I don't know what is," Scotts said as he lay prone on a nearby roof, peering through his scope. Williams and Marshall were on the ground along with Ghost and Lioness. The lineup had been changed since their last few raids. One was going to be their entry team, while the other would be a distraction.

And that distraction would be a big one.

"All teams stand by- ETA is two minutes," T-Bone transmitted. "Once we start firing and get enough of their attention, entry team is to move in, copy?"

"Copy that," Lioness responded. "This had better work, or we're going to lose our shot at getting these guys." She looked behind her and said to Williams, "You know the drill, I assume. We're taking the fire escape to the east. I know we didn't have much time to plan, but…"

Williams shrugged. "We don't play by the book. If we did, we'd be waiting for backup and all that crap by now. Let's just get in there and get it done. Besides, I like improvisation."

The brunette grinned and said, "That's what I like to hear!"

Marshall raised an eyebrow as he looked over towards the front of the team. "What's with her? She's been quiet all this time… what, is she deaf or something?"

Lioness smirked and said, "Who, Ghost? No, she's usually not this quiet. But when she is… well, you'll see."

Ghost was indeed silent. Her green eyes were open, staring outwards at nothing, or perhaps everything; who knew for sure. The one thing that at least Lioness was certain of was that if Ghost took point, no one on their side would be hurt, and the chance that anyone shooting at them would be hurt was less likely. She'd seen it happen before.

Hopefully, it would happen again.

Just then, they heard it. Hell, everyone heard it, and the entry team could hear someone shout out, "Holy shit, it's _them_! **Open fire**!"

And they did open fire. With light machine guns, of course. The bad news was that against the TurboKat, rifles weren't all that effective, and neither were machine guns. The Cement Machine Gun on the jet however, proved highly effective against the ground targets. This left the mercenaries on the roof free to just sit there… or they could search for potentially destructive targets.

"Heads up, two RPGs. Left side, near the dumpster," Carey said as she peered through her binoculars.

"I got 'em," Scotts said as he immediately got a fix on the targets. Two seconds later, both kats had a bullet through their heads. There was no time to be nice about it- those rockets could put a major dent in the TurboKat's fuselage. "Tangos down, lead me to the next one."

In the air, T-Bone smirked and said, "This is what I'm talkin' about! Lay it down and take 'em out! I'm coming around for another pass- got any presents for these guys?"

Razor grinned and said, "Maybe. But first, we need to send out the call to the ground team down there- see if they can't get our mark while we take care of the kats out here." Razor opened up a channel to the entry team and said, "You are clear to assault the building, we got 'em busy out here. Stick to the plan and we'll be okay, copy?"

Lioness nodded. "Copy that, moving into position." She tapped Ghost on the right shoulder, and the silver-haired SWAT Kat began moving forward, her teammates in pursuit. She was still quiet. With the threat of both the TurboKat and the sniper team, they had wisely decided to take any cover they could find.

That didn't exactly do much good though, as the big black bird made a second pass with the Cement Machine Gun. A Tarpedo was sent their way as well and soon a dozen of them were stuck to the street. The gun fire resumed, but once again it was of no real consequence. They had successfully caught them before they had time to properly arm themselves against an airborne threat.

Still, that did not mean they did not have countermeasures for them.

The warehouse doors opened just then, and several gang kats came flooding out, several armed with RPGs and Bazookas. The rest had a standard HK 416. Not that it was anywhere near standard, since it was a highly specialized weapon, but there you go.

"And here comes the reinforcements," Carey said as she prepared her SAW. "I can't spot for you while I have this, so take whatever shots you need to."

"Roger that," Scotts said as he peered through his scope and immediately started laying down fire on the incoming gang kats. It was not pretty at all, but they were not here to be pretty. The capo was the only one that was supposed to be alive… anyone else that was this big of a threat would be taking a dirt nap.

Carey used the SAW for its intended purpose this time- as a tool to lay down suppressive fire. It worked fairly well, because the bazooka-wielding kats could not fire if they had multiple rounds from a light machine gun coming at them.

T-Bone grimaced and said, "Damn, those gang kats are getting shredded down there… then again, sometimes you can't help it. Without them laying down that fire, the TurboKat would be toast by now!" He began helping out by opening fire on those who happened to be behind cover with their machine gun, thus trapping the rush of enemies between two fields of attack.

This of course, left the entry team free to head up the fire escape that led towards the office at the top of the warehouse. With all the gang kats coming out of the front doors and being effectively suppressed, no one noticed them moving upstairs. The problem was when they reached the door…

"Hold up," Lioness said as Ghost stopped at the entrance.

They stopped… and waited. Ghost made an attempt to extend her awareness. Her senses stretched beyond the door itself, and with nothing to block them, she could tell what was going on before those inside the room could. Her ears twitched for a moment before she looked over her right shoulder and said, "She's in there, all right. And she's got backup- can't tell how many. They're waiting for us, though."

Williams raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He wanted to see if she was right.

"Doesn't matter how many…" Lioness took out one of the detonation charges and passed it forward to Ghost. "They're not exactly going to be able to do anything. Stand ready."

Williams and Marshall were still quiet, but they were now in combat mode. Ghost placed the breaching charge on the door before deploying the shield on her Glovatrix. "Ready."

Lioness grinned and said, "Breaching in three… two… one…"

She pressed a detonation trigger on her Glovatrix, and the charge blew the door inwards. Immediately, a hail of lead was sent flying out of the entryway. Ghost walked forward, shield raised, and the other kats followed suit. The bullets were effectively deflected while Lioness began firing net shots from her weapon.

Two were immobilized from the get go. The rest attempted to pin them down.

Ghost was trying to find the leader in the fracas, a few bullets whizzing over her head. 'Where are you…?'

A few shots from Marshall's M4A1 incapacitated another kat that tried to flank them. Two more were cut down by throwing knives from Williams, who hadn't fired a single shot yet. Still, Ghost could not find their mark yet… the itch between her shoulder blades flared up. This was not good… "Flashbang out," was the only warning she gave before tossing said grenade out. One second later, the room was hit with the familiar sonic discharge and flash of light. Shots went out of control immediately.

"Move up!" Lioness shouted, and Ghost complied. The team moved through the room with greater ease now, effectively finding and defeating the kats in the area. Those that weren't knocked down by bullets were entrapped by nets or pinned to the walls by Octopus Missiles.

"Clear one," Marshall said as he checked the top right section of the room.

"Clear two," Williams replied immediately after, finding no hostiles in his zone.

"Clear three," Lioness followed suit, "But we seem to be missing one…"

Ghost grimaced and said, "Then the room's not clear." The itch between her shoulder blades flared up yet again, and for some reason she did not like what was… _behind her_!

She ducked. It turned out to be a near miss as the tips of her ears felt the displacement of air from a combat knife. She raised her shield over her head instinctively, and a second blade clanged off of the mega-alloy. She rolled forward and stood ready, shield in front of her.

"That's why I couldn't see you… you're cloaked with some kind of optical stealth."

"A brilliant deduction," a voice that sounded oriental replied. "I have to give you some credit; no one's been able to avoid that attack."

Rifles and a Glovatrix were immediately raised. "Hold your fire," Ghost said sharply, "You can't hit what you can't see!"

A chuckle was heard after the order. "You are smarter than you look, too. But I wonder… how many lives will you have left after I am finished?"

Silence prevailed. Everyone was on their guard.

'Where are you… where!?' Ghost's senses were on full charge and high alert. She would come out of hiding sooner or later, but where? Immediately, Ghost emptied her mind. She had gotten to the point where she could do this on a moment's notice. With all those pesky distractions gone, she could find anything she wanted.

"Lioness, shield," she called out without warning.

She didn't hesitate, and soon the scraping of metal against metal was heard. "Gotcha," the brunette growled as she shoved back with the defensive gear. For a moment, the camouflage flickered, revealing a Siamese she-kat with eyes that were almost an inky black. She had a surprised, shocked look on her face as Ghost immediately aimed her Glovatrix at her and fired a net shot.

The net failed however as the other blade came into play, the she-kat twisting through the air in order to utilize it. A split second later, the netting was cut clean through, and just before she hit the ground, the capo vanished again.

Ghost stood ready, her mind a void. She was entirely silent again, prepared for anything.

Soon after, it came. The itch between her shoulder blades went off like an alarm blaring in her ears. She dodged to her left, a blade almost diving into her arm. Then from the right, a slash that she weaved right under. From above, coming down, and a split second before it hit, Ghost rammed her right hand forward in a fist. The metal of the Glovatrix smashed into the capo's stomach, winding her and driving her backwards a good three feet.

The camouflage wavered again. This time the look was not of surprise, but of fury. "How the _hell_ are you doing this?"

While she spoke however, Marshall came running in behind her. The bad news was that running was not entirely silent, and she had the combat instincts of a veteran. As the tackle came rushing in, the capo leapt right over his head. "Oh, shit…!" Fortunately for him, Ghost deployed her shield and said, "Kick, now!"

Marshall kicked off of the shield, turned in the capo's direction, and fired… only to find that she had vanished again. "Damn it!" As soon as he hit the ground, he felt something rake along his back. He was lucky at that point that all KatGuard operatives were required to wear body armor, because that would have hurt.

Not to mention it gave away her position.

Marshall shouted triumphantly as he kicked out behind him. With a sharp exhalation, the capo was sent flying again, but landed on her feet after another impressive display of agility. The optical cloaking had become useless… and it was all the fault of that SWAT Kat.

The fighting stopped for a moment as she pulled the device off of her belt, sending electrical sparks flying from the coupling that held it together. Crushing it in her right hand, she displayed a snarl on her face. "That is not just luck, that technique of yours. I know what you are doing now."

Ghost did not respond, simply stared at the back of the she-kat wearing a black suit, combat sheathes for the knives on her thighs.

"It is called _Mushin_ in my native tongue… you have emptied your mind of distractions." She smirked and said, "You have gone entirely silent…" then she looked behind her right shoulder and said, "Oh and you have the most serene expression on your face."

With that, she turned around entirely and said, "My stealth is worthless. You have pierced my veil, and for that, you have a small measure of my respect. Unfortunately…" Her face slowly cleared of expression and her body began to gently loosen. "The game is up."

Lioness immediately realized what was going on before yelling, "Move, move!"

Marshall and Williams immediately rushed towards her, but all too soon they found out what the problem was. The capo suddenly turned around, lashing out with the heel of her right leg. Both kats were put on the ground as the crime boss turned in a full circle. The knife in her right hand followed suit, creating a full circle attack. Ghost managed to duck just in time not to have her head removed from her shoulders.

The two mercenaries got back up, but only had enough time to begin backpedaling as she let loose a series of stabs and cuts towards them. Lioness attempted to get a fire sector on her, but couldn't manage it. The other two were getting in the way.

Ghost began to run forward, grabbing one of the chairs in the area as she did so. The first thing that happened was simple- she threw the damn thing at her opponent. As expected, the capo turned around and cut it apart with her left knife… just before she got a flying kick to her head that she barely ducked underneath.

"Fuck!" Marshall and Williams shouted in tandem as they moved out of her way, and just when it looked like she was going to kick right through the far wall, she planted both feet on it instead of one. The capo turned around just in time to see a Glovatrix pointed at her.

"That's not going to work," she said smugly before Ghost bounded right off of the wall and went straight towards her. But just when she thought that the SWAT Kat was going to fire on her… she deployed her shield and almost rammed right into her. An attempt to move out of the way failed as the shield was too wide, and she was clipped on her right side.

She couldn't land on her feet this time as she was sent spinning to the ground. With a dull thud, her upper back and shoulders impacted quite roughly with the floor. The jarring force was enough to get rid of the knives as well.

It wasn't enough however as she sprang to her feet again, assuming a fighting stance. Without hesitation, the mercenaries came in and attempted to beat her into submission, only to find that she was faster than they were. Marshall was suddenly hit with a left kick to the nerves on his right leg, making him stagger just enough for her next few punches to connect.

With a powerful front kick, he was almost sent flying towards Williams, who managed to move out of his way before trying his own moves. He was better, that was for sure. His punches snapped towards her with speed and force, but he could only manage to put her on the defensive.

'Shit… nothing's hitting her. She's good!'

As soon as he thought that however, a left cross rammed into his right cheek, sending him staggering backwards. It was just enough for a nice side thrust kick to send him to the ground as well. But just as soon as he recovered, something rammed into her ribs on the left side, making her grimace. A few even creaked in protest.

Before she could retaliate further, another punch rammed into her temple on that same side, immediately after the first. Another punch landed home, right in her stomach, winding the capo and doubling her over before a knee strike rammed into her.

It was quickly becoming apparent that Lioness was pissed off as she picked her adversary up and tossed her towards the center of the room. With that, she leapt upwards, intending to knock their target unconscious… and was stopped short by a forceful kick to her gut, which handily knocked her out of the air.

And just as she made her way up again… she was hit with something entirely different. A pair of Octopus Missiles rammed into her, sending her flying against a wall of the office again. In fact, it made her fly right through it.

Ghost came running right after her and dove straight out of the hole that their target had made.

"Holy shit," Marshall said as he stared wide-eyed, "She's insane!"

Williams nodded and said, "That's a live fire fight out there… they're both going to get ripped to pieces in the crossfire. We're gonna have to call this one in…"

Lioness however had a satisfied smirk on her features. "Nope, we got her. Let's go downstairs."

The other two looked at her as if she had gone crazy as well, but as they looked, they took notice that as they were falling, Ghost had activated her radio.

"T-Bone, Razor, we have a package that needs picking up, headed towards the ground floor at high velocity. I'm doing what I can to slow her fall, but you two have to be quick, over." With that, she entrapped the target in a single net shot and watched the fight below.

It was not over yet. Exactly how many were there here, anyway?

No, never mind. This just called for a less subtle approach.

"We see her. Contact in three seconds," Razor said as he prepared to activate the TurboKat's grappling cable. "We're not gonna make it," T-Bone said as he gunned the engines, his teeth grinding against each other. Razor shook his head and said, "We'll make it."

He fired the cable. The crime boss was fortunate enough to have been saved multiple broken bones, seeing as she was dangling four inches from the ground. "Told you," Razor said smugly. "The bad news is that we're gonna have to level the place- there are a lot of these kats coming out here! It's gonna be impossible for the Enforcers to capture the place intact if these guys keep on hanging around."

T-Bone nodded and said, "Roger that, buddy. Entry team, get clear. We're bringing down the house!"

As soon as Lioness and the others heard that, they scrambled for the fire escape. Meanwhile, Ghost had managed to catch onto the TurboKat's grappling cable with her right hand, the Glovatrix sending off sparks as she slid her way down a few feet before coming to a stop.

'That was… nuts. I don't know what I was thinking!'

At least she could admit that to herself.

"Would you guys hurry up and pull me up, please? I doubt I can hold onto this line forever!"

They retrieved the grappling cable, criminal and all, and began making their attack run. As soon as the kats inside took note of them leaving, they began opening fire on Carey and Scotts' position. Carey let loose another session of suppressive fire, and more kats were sent running, but still, there were too many.

"They might want to leave," Scotts said smugly as he heard the TurboKat come around for another pass. The gang kats looked up yet again to see two Blowtorch Missiles headed their way.

"Dammit! _**RUN**_!"

And they scattered like so much chaff. The explosion from the materials that were used to make that katnip made the whole place go up, but fortunately there was no more loss of life. The entry team and support team reported condition green- everything was safe, though it wasn't all that sane all the time. Then again when things got crazy like this, it was always good to have a bit of extra firepower.

* * *

The next day, reports of a destroyed warehouse were all over the news, with the Enforcers having found evidence that a drug lab was being run from there. Perhaps it was a good thing that it was entirely wiped out, because this meant the end of the katnip ring. In other news, another crime boss was captured handily.

All thanks to the Enforcers, of course.

But Feral knew the truth. They were useless. The moles had successfully made them null and void. Were it not for the SWAT Kats, the mafia would be ruling three fourths of the city by now, in as short a time as three days. It was a good arrangement he had to admit, but not one that he'd rely on for long anyway.

Still, that was Feral. Everyone else was relieved that they were actually getting some work done instead of being entirely good for nothing. Still, no one knew who the moles were yet, and the investigations had turned up empty. Whoever it was, they covered their tracks fairly well. But sometimes, one believed they were so well hidden, they got a bit arrogant.

Not everything was invisible.

So it was that an Enforcer headed down towards the firing range, a USP in hand, and spotted another kat already there. He walked right past Benny, who was fast asleep in the weapons cage, and stood at a table with his ammunition ready. The kat that was already at the range was firing away, emptying his rounds into the paper target that was located thirty meters away.

"The ring is shut down," he said quietly.

The kat that was firing stopped, and sighed. "I heard. How the hell did they get found out? Moreover, how did we not hear about it until now?" More gunfire, but the conversation seemed to continue.

"I dunno," the first kat said, "But this is the third time that they've gotten their asses locked away. If this keeps up, our money is down the drain. I got kittens to take care of man!"

The first kat nodded and said, "Yeah, I know. Can't be just luck… Feral is doing something. There are no records of the other capos telling anything, no movement from squad cars except for the ones outside of the station, nothing. We don't really have any more assassins up for the job since Feral shut down those other PMCs. And KatGuard won't do shit for us, we can't even put a _mole_ in there, their security is so tight."

His partner grimaced and sad, "We gotta let the boss know that he's about to have a shit storm on his hands, very quickly. I doubt that he's gonna like it, but we don't really have a choice, do we?"

As the shooting session finished, they walked past the weapons cages again and looked at Benny.

"Ice him?"

The kat that came in first shook his head. "He was asleep ever since I came in, probably didn't even hear us through all that gun fire. Besides, if we went off and killed someone, we'd be giving ourselves away. Let's just go."

They went, the sound of the elevator closing behind them echoing through the firing range. Unfortunately after a few seconds, it was discovered that Benny was indeed not asleep. He knew those two… and now he knew who they were working for. Inadvertently, he had found out who the moles were, and he did not look happy about it.

'To think that this place isn't safe anymore,' he brooded to himself as he stood up and made his way towards the elevator. 'You were lucky to get out while you could, Felina.'

The bad news was that he couldn't tell Feral about this. That would destroy the plan that was quickly formulating in his head. He would have to do the one thing that he did not want to do- it hurt him to go through with it, but he didn't have a choice.

Two hours later, Commander Feral had a letter of resignation on his desk- gun, badge and all. He had even gone so far as to clean out his locker as surreptitiously as he could. The letter was not that easy to pass along secretly, but he knew a few officers that he could still trust.

Before the morning was over, he was gone… and was making a phone call.

* * *

**Chapter 46: Untouchable (Part 3) – **_**Street Sweeping**_

Well that had to be a long wait. Sorry about that. I present this chapter for all those who have stuck by me, okay? It took me a good long while to get this one hammered out, but I got it done. The result now lies before you, all 9,000 words of it. And now we go to the meat and potatoes of all this, Reviewer Appreciation!

Today we start from the top and go down, and the first in line is **Raiden Snake**. Thanks for the vote of confidence. As per your suggestion (which was unconscious, mind you) I have placed the TurboKat in a position to wreak some havoc. Please accept this humble offering.

And look at that, **GeekGirl2** is still reading this. Wow. I don't have much to say for this review besides to keep reading. Here's hoping this one meets standards.

Oh, what's this? NEW PERSON! Hello there, **RunMoogles**. Thanks for the review. Take note that it's been a while since the last posting of this story, so you have a bit to catch up on, if you haven't already. Stick around; it's going to get messy from here on, as if it weren't already.

**Bladestar** is next, and here's hoping you have received more of that same good tactical action that you crave. And yeah, I know you crave it. I'm sure that Commander Feral is wondering why he didn't do this earlier right now…

Okay, I laughed at this one, hard. **inuficcrzy**, I am going to quote part of your review in my profile one day. Thank you for yet another subconscious suggestion about Benny being tossed into the mix. And now that he is, things should be improving vastly for the boys in blue.

**Kodachi Claws**, maybe I should vanish more often. I will more than likely take as much time as I need now, thanks to you. I am a lazy individual now that summer is near; sue me. But never you mind, read this and enjoy.

**ulyferal** is having problems with her story? Well I'm the guy to go to. You let me know what's up and we'll set the situation. Thanks for the compliment- I figure that this will more than likely be something to munch on until I get done with the next chapter.

**The Dark Lord Redrall** strikes again! And it appears I have done his suggestions justice. Thanks a lot man. Here is hoping that KatGuard will make more appearances. What? Not even I know how things will turn out sometimes.

And last by not least, **RaidenSilversword**. I always enjoy your reviews, short and to the point, yet they say it all. A terse review has an unfortunately terse response I'm afraid, so I'll just say thanks.

And now here's the kicker. I'm not moving just yet- a few speed bumps here and there have postponed it. Things have been going here and there, but not everything has been going as it should. It frustrates me. But never mind, this just means I get to write more and relocate less, right? But hey, I'll still let you guys know when I'm outta here and in my new home.

For now, it's nap time.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	47. Untouchable Part 4

MegaKat Air Force Base was located in the vast desert that was east of the city. During Mega War II, it was a vital point for staging air attacks against enemy positions that got a bit too close to home, and the fact that it was still standing was a testament of how well the war had gone for the good guys. Yet as well all air force bases from that time, this one had become abandoned and in disrepair. Except for the trials between the Raptor and the TurboKat, it was entirely devoid of use.

That was, until recently.

Quietly, ever so quietly, there began to be activity at the old base. The command center was brought back online, along with various pieces of high-tech equipment and sensors. From a remote location, supplies began coming in from an unknown source: vehicles, ammunition, food, and of course, defensive systems. Without anyone noticing what was going on, the base had become operational within one week- about the same time frame that the SWAT Kats had taken their hiatus from defending the city.

Now, Alex Steele was training a force that was to be the lynch pin of the Metallikats' plan. With his experience in the Enforcers, he knew the drills and routines to train the paid army, and had the connections to fund them out of his own pocket. Backed by the illegal activities from the mafia, he had enough money to pay off two Enforcers within the ranks and have them act as reconnaissance within Feral's own turf.

This morning, he sat in his newly-refurbished office, drinking a glass of bourbon, half-filled with ice cubes. To be perfectly honest, he felt safe right here, safer from Feral than he had ever felt before. If it was this good to be bad, he should have switched camps a long time ago. Not to mention that the SWAT Kats had successfully foiled his attempts to move anywhere near where he wanted to be…

His right hand tightened on the glass, causing the ice to clink against the sides for a few moments.

'Damn them,' he fumed. 'Damn them all.'

His cell phone buzzed quietly, shaking him out of his malevolent reverie, and he flipped it open as soon as he saw who was on the ID. "This is Steele; what's the situation?"

Mac Mange was on the other line, and he sounded rather smug. "Oh, don't you sound all high an' mighty. The rats have been caught, and they're squeaking as expected. Not like I really trusted them to do anything right," he said with a laugh. "It's time to show us what you're made of, kid. They're gonna be coming for ya sooner or later, and you know what to do when they get there. Don't you?"

Alex grinned, "Perfectly. They'll never know what hit 'em. I'll take down the TurboKat myself, and once that's done, the city's yours. All you guys have to do is pay me what you promised, and the deal's set. Then I just head towards somewhere far away from this city, and you have yourself a well-trained army to enforce your new… policies."

Mac chuckled and said, "Y'know, I like you. You're slimy, sneaky, ambitious, and a little prick to match. I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship… or at least some good business! But remember, no money until you get it done. You got that? Don't ask me for an advance when it's your first day on the job."

Steele smirked and said, "Don't worry, I got this."

With that, the other end of the line went dead and Steele made another call.

"It's time. Get all the defenses ready and get the radar trucks out here. I want total control over my airspace five minutes ago. Tell the others to get themselves ready to move out at any time, understand?"

He got an affirmative response on the other end, and looked out of the window of his office with an air of what would seem like contentment. From the third story, he could see things being put into motion, the missile launchers moving into position and the radar trucks stationed at tactically sound positions. On the ground, the troops were set to go, their lightly armored hummers prepared to head out at a moment's notice.

Each could carry six kats, including the driver, and each had a heavy machine gun on top, a grenade launcher, or a rocket turret that could put a severe dent in a tank, never mind your standard cruiser.

Oh, they were ready for anything, and it was all part of the plan. All Steele had to do now was wait for someone to notice.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame

* * *

**_It was 5:00 AM, and Felina Feral was dead tired. Absolutely, positively exhausted from her time as a SWAT Kat, she was glad to be back in her own apartment for the first time in almost a month. Sure, she had almost boundless energy and drive, but sometimes she tended to overexert herself. Somewhere along the way, she had done just that.

'Today, I'm just planning on cutting my phone off, shutting my windows, and going to sleep. All this moonlighting is kicking my ass something fierce,' she lamented as she unlocked the door to her domicile. For a brief moment, she took a look around and found the place to be just as she had left it – in pristine condition.

"Well at least I know how to keep my place clean," she said to herself with a chuckle.

Closing the door behind her and taking off her shoes, Felina began heading towards her room to take a nice, long, hot shower, and a _very_ long one at that. But just before she reached her room, the phone in the kitchen began to ring. Rolling her eyes and muttering, "Yeah, phone needs to die," she grudgingly walked over and picked up the receiver. "This is Feral… make it good."

The voice on the other end of the line sounded haggard; stressed. "Felina, it's me."

Her eyes widened. All thoughts of sleep went out the window. "Benny? Oh thank God, you're all right! I haven't heard from you in…" Wait, how long had it been since he had called her? Had it been few weeks, or even a _month_? Was everything all right at Enforcer Headquarters?

Before she could answer the myriad of questions running through her head, Benny responded. "I know, but it hasn't been the best of times. HQ is…" A pause, then, "It's not safe anymore, Felina. We're in a real jam here. Everything's being drained by this war with the Metallikat Mafia. Manpower, resources, funding, you name it. We're hanging from a very thin, greatly frayed rope." He smiled sardonically and added, "You were lucky to have left when you did."

Felina grimaced and said, "Don't worry, it's gonna be over soon. This whole arrangement with the SWAT Kats is going to solve everything. I dunno why Uncle didn't do it earlier; it would have saved us a lot of headaches."

She just couldn't tell him that she was one as well now. After all, she didn't want to give him a heart attack.

Benny laughed and said, "You're certainly right about that. I never did have any hard feelings towards 'em – they do good work, and they sure as hell are better equipped than we'll ever be." There was another pause, but this one for a longer duration. After a few seconds, Benny's voice became a bit softer. "Do you think that I could come over for a bit? I don't feel all that safe calling you from a pay phone."

Felina's nodded and said, "Sure thing, I'll be expecting you. You want anything to eat when you do get here?"

Benny shook his head and said, "No, I'm fine. I don't think I could hold it in at the moment." And then, he added something that made Felina's anxieties rise considerably. "Do you have anyone that you can trust entirely?"

For a moment, she wondered why he was asking all this, but did not take long to answer. "Yeah, I have a few. In fact, I trust them with my life."

Benny nodded. "Then get one of them over to your place before I arrive. Don't tell them anything; don't even mention that I called. I'm not taking any chances here." He sounded like he was pleading with her. "Can you do this for me?"

Felina was silent for a while longer. Whatever it was, it sounded bad; urgent to the point of Benny being stressed out. Usually he was a tom with an almost iron calm and a broad smile, but she could almost imagine the look on his face at the moment.

"I can," she said finally. "In fact, I'll get started now. See you later, Benny."

She could hear his sigh of relief. "Thank you, Felina. See you later."

Immediately after the call had ended, Felina dialed the garage. Someone had to be there, working at the very least. She counted herself lucky when Callie answered on the other end. "Hello?" she said almost sleepily.

"Callie, it's me. Hey, I know it's sudden, but do you wanna come over for breakfast?"

The silver-haired she-kat blinked wearily. "Do you know what _time_ it is, Felina?"

The brunette nodded. "Yeah, well I'm an early riser. I figure you should be too, just like when we trained together. Besides, you're used to waking up early, or you should be by now. If you want to actually have something good to eat, get over here in half an hour."

Callie's face seemed to scrunch up as her mind immediately dreamed up the possibilities. "Felina, do not tell me you are cooking something."

Well, at least it was a good excuse. "Yeah, I am. Hey, I can't be that bad, right? Besides, I won't know I'm good at it until I try."

Well, that did it. Callie got up from her bed and said, "I am going to rescue you, Felina Feral, but only this once. I suggest you get ready for a few lessons when I get there." She rose to her feet, her body on autopilot as her mind calculated how long it would take to get there before everything in the apartment was ruined. "Do not start without me, and don't touch anything."

Oddly enough, Felina didn't feel insulted. "You got it, boss. Just remember, thirty minutes. I have someone I want you to meet!"

Felina hung up and sighed to herself. 'I really have to stop being so good at lying… it doesn't feel right.'

She looked towards the kitchen and said, "Maybe I really _should_ write some notes down once she gets here…"

* * *

Exactly half an hour later, Calico Briggs pulled up to the apartment complex in which Felina was staying, stepping out of the cab that brought her there after giving a tip. She headed towards the front door and dialed in the number for Felina's room, hoping that she was actually awake.

Sure enough, through the intercom, her all-too-cheery voice rang out. "Is that you, Callie? Good, you're right on schedule. Hang on…"

With that, she was buzzed in. As she walked up the three flights of stairs that it took to reach the apartment, Callie thought about the phone call she had received. Felina herself said it was impossible for her to cook anything that couldn't be done in a microwave… and now she was suddenly trying it out? Something about that did not stick. No, there was another reason she was here, and she had a feeling it wasn't to have a social meet and eat.

'Well whatever the reason, I'm not about to let her burn down her own house.'

Within short order, Callie was in front of the door, knocking three times. "Hey Felina, I'm here. I sure hope I don't smell anything funny when I come in!" Not like she didn't already, but that was an entirely different matter.

Felina appeared before her soon enough and said, "Wow, you certainly are here early. You must have had a good driver. Come on in and let's get something fixed up." She led her good friend inside, closing the door behind them. "Sorry, but my friend isn't here yet. I suppose you'll have to make do with me for now, huh?"

Callie smirked and said, "Don't I always? Now then, what was it you wanted to make?" Straight to business as usual, but that was the way she operated. Besides, she was a very good cook. The two of them headed towards the kitchen, and Felina declared that it was a good day for waffles, eggs, bacon and biscuits.

Callie agreed; cereal was not exactly her wake-up food. She much preferred making it herself.

Felina watched as Callie made the batter for the waffles, observing carefully how it was done. If nothing else, the she-kat was a quick study… now all that was needed was a bit of practice. The eggs were scrambled, the biscuits were put into the oven, and the bacon started frying. Callie moved with a quiet assurance as she dominated the kitchen, speaking only when she was giving out instructions.

'She's… good. I mean _really _good. Just has a knack for it,' Felina mused as she watched and learned. The eggs went quickly, taking only a few minutes. The bacon went even faster. By the time it was all settled, about twenty minutes had passed, and the batter for the waffles was put into the iron.

"That's that," Callie said cheerily. Any traces of sleep were gone, and she looked much better for it. Felina realized that her good friend had become entirely absorbed in what she was doing, and not for the first time, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly she might do for a living, outside of being a SWAT Kat.

'Then again, I can't see her as anything but the Deputy Mayor… but I bet if she put some effort into it, she could run the city, no problem.' Felina was certain that she was not the only one who thought so, but didn't mention it to her. When Callie decided to do it herself, she would do it without Felina urging her on.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door. "Ah, that's him! I'll get the door… could you finish up here, please?"

Callie rolled her green eyes as she set to work on completing the meal. She could only hope that Felina had learned something, if nothing else. As she heard voices down the hallway, she wondered what this friend of Felina's was like. She didn't even know that the former Enforcer had any friends at all, besides Chance, Jake, and herself.

She would find out soon enough, because she could sense them approaching. She silently continued cooking, her sharp ears listening in to the conversation.

"Are you sure you don't want anything," she heard Felina ask. "My bud is a really good cook."

The voice of a tom responded. He sounded in his mid-forties, and had a warm, comforting, almost fatherly tone. "I can tell by the smell of it. I have to admit, it is making me hungry. Just hope she made enough for three."

Callie smiled, thankful that she had added to her recipes. Just in case Felina didn't get them right on her own, she had made extra. Now it looked like it'd all be gone in one shot. "I have," she said without looking behind her, "Though I would have preferred if she had cooked herself. It's okay though, I enjoy it."

The tom chuckled and said, "I can see that. So Felina, introduce me to your friend."

And then Callie had something else to be thankful for. Her disguise was effective, and this proved it. Felina introduced her as Clara, a close personal friend of hers, and at this she turned around and gave her best, most honest smile. "Clara, this is Benjamin Lynx. Everyone at Headquarters just calls him Benny, though."

He smiled charmingly and said, "It's a pleasure to meet such a beautiful she-kat. I'm sure we'll get to know each other just fine, but for the moment, talking has to come later. Now I really _am_ hungry!"

And with that, breakfast began, and it was good, as expected. Benny had an entirely content look on his face that hid his anxieties, and it did Felina good to see him like this again. Her Uncle was a hard tom, sometimes a bit too hard. Benny was a kat that she could fall back on, and he always supported her endeavors.

However, talk soon shifted to business…

"All right, neither of you are to say anything about what I'm going to tell you, not to anyone," he began. "The mob has been tracking our moves from the very beginning, which pretty much ensures that they get the drop on the Enforcers from the get-go. Of course, this means that they have people in the ranks, paid off and paid well."

Both she-kats nodded, already knowledgeable of this. But what Benny said next was startling, at least to Felina. "I said before on the phone that it wasn't safe there anymore. I found out who the rats that have been placed into our midst are, but it was by sheer luck. If they knew I was alive right now, I'd have a bullet in the back of my skull for it. Just last night, I turned in my resignation as quietly as possible."

Felina's mouth went agape. Had she heard that right? Benny left the Enforcers? When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet with disbelief. "But… but you're a good cop. You've never quit before, not even when things got really, really bad. You're my man inside." Her voice rose slightly. "Why now?"

He smirked mirthlessly and said, "To be honest, I don't know who to trust in the Enforcers anymore. This whole thing might go further than just the ones I overheard talking. Commander Feral has been trying to find the ones who are responsible for leaking information, but he's turned up empty for the past few days." Benny sighed and said, "This was the only way I could deal with the situation effectively. So now you understand why I'm here, right?"

Felina nodded. "You need my help. You want to know if I know someone who can find out if it goes any further."

Benny smiled. "You're as sharp as ever. Just in case it doesn't go any further, I need some concrete evidence that those two are the genuine article, so we can end this nonsense and actually get a move on. None of the mob bosses are speaking on the matter, regardless of how hard we've pushed. No punches have been pulled, no threats have been held back, but they won't crack about the leaks."

Callie was silent this entire time, her mind absorbing the information and piecing it apart. He had left for a good reason, sure enough, and she couldn't blame him. When one's life was at stake, sometimes they had to do unpleasant things. But she couldn't help but come to the cold realization that he could have been useful if he had stayed inside.

'A bit of counter-intelligence wouldn't have hurt on this. But it's too late to change it now. Besides, he did the right thing, coming to Felina.' With all her rationality, Callie could still see the silver lining in the clouds.

Felina grinned and said, "Well you sure came to me at a good time. I know just the guy to handle something like that." She couldn't tell him who he was, though. That would give him a heart attack too, as well as her Uncle if he found out.

Benny looked entirely relieved. "You have no idea how much this helps. As for me, I'll try to lay low until things improve. Keep in touch with me and report your status as this whole thing progresses. I need to know if we're getting anywhere at all."

Felina nodded and said, "You got it." She held onto one of his hands with her own and said, "I would do anything to make up even half of what you've done for me, Benny. You know that."

He smiled and said, "I wouldn't even ask you to. You're like a daughter to me, and don't you forget that."

Callie couldn't help but smile warmly. "How about we finish eating? Business can wait, after all."

* * *

Jake Clawson was working as his multi-panel workstation, peering over the blueprints for a new project he was working on, when his phone rang. Yes, he had one in his little lab, just in case someone decided to call him and see what was going on. He turned on the screen saver and picked up the receiver. "MegaKat Auto and Repair, this is Jake speaking…"

The voice on the other end made him smile. "Oh, you do have such a _sexy_ phone voice. Maybe you could use that next time we're in bed?"

Jake chuckled and said, "Hey, whatever works. Glad to be back at your own place for once?"

The response was not exactly what he wanted to hear. "Not really. A friend of mine is in trouble, and he's over here now. He's got some valuable information that came to him by sheer luck, and had to leave the Enforcers formally to get it to me."

Jake immediately stopped joking. "Right, so what's up?"

On the other end, the situation was explained briefly. Felina was calling from her room in order to protect Jake and Chance's confidential status. "We've got information on the leaks; he even knows their names and ranks. Problem is that we don't have the proper evidence to actually nail them for it. Also, he doesn't know how deep it goes, so there's no telling what's going to happen once those two are found out. Could you see if you couldn't drag up the tapes from the past few weeks? They have to have them filed somewhere."

Jake's screens lit up again as he moved the mouse and he said, "I'll give it a shot. Everything's electronically stored these days, so I can probably drag them back up. I bet this whole thing has been happening since Callie came back from that training trip, and maybe even from before. I'll see if I can't catch these guys in the act."

Felina sounded grateful. "Thanks a bunch, sexy. I promise I'll give you something nice for this. You call me back when you've got something, okay? It'd be best if we caught them today, before nightfall, but they might have covered their tracks well enough to evade even the cameras."

"I'm on it," Jake said as he moved the blueprints onto another screen and began working at the keyboard, his fingers moving with a controlled chaos along the letters and numbers. Another window came up on the main monitor, and multiple lines of code that would have seemed like gibberish to anyone else began flying across the screen. "I'll call you when I've got something. Just make sure that you've got that little gift waiting for me, okay?"

He heard Felina chuckle in response. "You get me something good, and I'll give you something even better. Bye, love."

Felina hung up, and Jake paused to hang up on his end. Then, after stretching out his fingers, he got to work, hacking into the mainframe at Enforcer Headquarters. It was supposed to be a maximum-security server, with multiple firewalls guarding the valuable information stored within.

They were no match for the speed of Jake's fingers, much less his mind.

Five minutes had passed before something clicked. He was in. "All right, now where are you hiding?"

Sure enough, he found them – the surveillance logs for the past few days. Of course, during Callie's trip to Bobcat Island, there were obviously things going on. But was there anything he could glean from before then? How long had this been going on?

There was only one way to find out. He checked the logs from two weeks ago, not just one. But for a while, he did not see anything unusual happening, just the normal, day to day grind. It was amusing to watch them at work, really. Then, in the middle of the recordings, things began to change. He noticed that out of all the desks in the building, two of them were empty at a specific time each day, for several hours.

'I don't recall them being able to take breaks for that long,' Jake brooded to himself. He decided to check the other cameras to see where they went. Lo and behold, he saw the same two kats, but in different places every time: the firing range, the break room, the high-security cells, even one of the janitor's closets.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "That's not just suspicious, that's just plain weird."

He continued watching the tapes from that point onward, and noticed them doing strange things, passing along notes, looking at documents they probably were not supposed to be looking at, and he even saw them with the blueprints for the F-35s that the Enforcers were supposed to be flying sometime in the future.

"Yeah, that's them. No questions now, save for who's paying them, and how they managed to evade being found out for so long." Jake rewound the footage from the point where things turned odd, and began recording them onto a disc until the most recent tapes were viewed. Then he stopped everything, cut off the data feed, and neatly covered his tracks.

The whole thing took just under an hour.

But before he called Felina, he brought Chance down to the lab and showed him what he had found out.

"Holy crap," the big tom said with a whistle, "That's not just your average break time. So those two are the leaks, huh?" He looked towards Jake and said, "Did you find anyone else?"

The slim tom shook his head. "Those are the only two. They're good, though; managed to avoid being found out for this long, even while being caught on candid camera."

Chance scoffed and said, "Just like the Enforcers, not even bothering to check their own backlogs once in a while. So what are we gonna do with this?"

Jake leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. "We aren't going to Feral with it; not unless we get some compensation for it. After all, we are kind of in a business arrangement. Felina told me to contact her once I found anything out about the moles."

Chance nodded. "You do that. By the way, who in the Enforcers knew about the leaks?"

Jake shrugged. "Beats me, but I think it was some friend of Felina's. Must've been a good guy for her to trust him, and you know I trust her."

Chance placed a hand on his chin. "Then we're kinda in dangerous territory. But since when have we not been in a position like this? If we can nail these guys, the Enforcers will be able to move on their targets without incident, and it'll all be over in a flash."

Jake grinned and said, "Or something like that. The Enforcers aren't exactly ones to be punctual."

Chance laughed and began walking out of the lab. "You go ahead and call Felina, I'm sure she won't want to be kept waiting!"

It was later that evening when Ulysses Feral received something on his doorstep, a small package that appeared to contain a disc of sorts. Within that package was a simple, three word message that explained absolutely nothing about it, but would make sense all too soon.

_Don't waste it.__

* * *

_The next morning, two kats sat at their desks, located on the fifth floor of Enforcer Headquarters. They seemed pretty content today, seeing as they had little to worry about in regards to money. Sure they had a pretty decent job, but they didn't really have any luck in their field. Thank goodness for other avenues of employment… no matter how unscrupulous they were.

After all, it wasn't illegal if you didn't get caught.

Further downstairs, Ulysses Feral entered the building, purpose in his stride. Whenever he walked like that, other officers knew exactly what was going on, and wisely moved out of his way. He didn't even look twice at those who parted like the Red Sea before him as he headed towards the elevators.

Something had happened; something major.

By the time he had arrived on floor five, those on the subsequent levels knew that whoever he was headed for was in deep shit once he reached them. And the two kats that were mentioned before happened to be his targets. Without thinking, Commander Feral moved to his left and said nary a word as he hefted the hapless kat upwards, one hand around his throat.

His mate stood and shouted, "Whoa, what's gotten into you today, sir? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the-"

Click. He suddenly had a gun pointed towards him, drawn faster than the eye could trace. The entire floor went dead quiet. "No, Corporal. For the first time this whole week, I woke up on the _right_ side of the bed." He began squeezing the captive kat's throat and said calmly, "I'm going to attempt to crush his wind pipe now. It's more than likely going to hurt, and he is certainly going to pass out from lack of oxygen soon. If you want him in one piece, you are going to tell me everything."

The Corporal raised his hands defensively. "Hey, if it's about those breaks I took, I assure you it wasn't but for a few minutes at a time. I'm sure we can come to some kind of-"

Squeeze. Well that wasn't the right answer, was it? The kat in mid-air struggled; made a vain attempt to break free. "I suggest you save the alibi for someone who gives a damn. I know you're the moles, both of you, so all your lies end here."

The kat who was still on the ground visibly paled. Well, so much for things not being illegal. "I-I don't know what you're talking about. There must me some kind of-"

_Squeeze_. He was starting to get impatient. "I'm waiting for an explanation. Start talking or watch your friend pass out. And then, you're next."

The kat who was being strangled said, "Damn you, _tell_ him! Do you want me to die here?"

Commander Feral smiled mirthlessly and said, "You know, that's not a bad idea. Oh, but when I kill someone, it's painful and messy. I doubt any officers here would want to see it- they might not sleep for a while."

The suspended kat screamed in horror. His partner shut his eyes and shouted, "_All right_, you got us! We're the ones! But come on man, we got kittens to feed; do you think that we could pass up the chance to make a little on the side? Besides, the Enforcers are washed-up anyways; we've never won a _single_ engagement that we've been in. If there were any time to jump ship, it sure as hell is now!"

WHAM. He was suddenly knocked down by his partner, who Feral had thrown at him like a sack of grain. "You… make me sick. Kats like you two are nothing more than criminals in uniform. To be honest, I want nothing more than to kill you both and dump you into MegaKat Bay. But someone has to be honorable around here, and it sure as hell will be me." He yelled towards the other officers, "Get these traitorous bastards out of my sight, and lock them in with the other scum!"

They were roughly hauled upwards, cuffed, and dragged away. The kat that had been tossed gasped for air, but as soon as he regained it, he started spitting venom. "Well _fuck you_, Commander! It's too late now, anyways; we've got your number. He's waiting for you, all of you! And when you go to find him, you'll be nothing more than a distant memory. Not even the SWAT Kats can save you this time!"

Feral stood stock still, holding his posture for a brief moment before saying, "Stop for a moment. Don't lock them up just yet."

The officers that were carrying them away stopped what they were doing, but still held them in restraint. Feral turned around, strode towards the kat that had run his mouth, and glared at him for a moment. Then, he lined up his right fist, and with precise aim, rammed it into the traitor's jaw with a cross.

It's usually called a one-hit knockout, but this was something else. This was smashing the guy's face in.

Then, he turned towards the other kat and pointed his USP Tactical between his eyes, at point-blank range. "Now that that's taken care of… You speak, or I'll do worse than knock you senseless. I won't stop until I've broken half your ribs and turned your guts inside out, do you hear me? Now, **talk**!"

Well then, that scared him out of his wits. The kat babbled mindlessly, but Feral got the gist of it. As the frantic confession continued, a grimace formed on the Commander's face. If this information were correct, things just got a whole hell of a lot worse. And what sealed the deal for him was that it was Alex Steele, his former Lieutenant, who was running the show.

"Thank you, that's all I needed to know." He pulled the trigger… and a resounding click was heard. Empty.

"I want these two put on maximum sentence. They are going to rot in a jail cell if it's the last thing I do. Get me the Mayor on the line – I want him informed about this ASAP. We are _mobile_ again, kats; let's make it count!"

A flurry of movement followed as the Enforcers eagerly got to work. Finally, the tide had turned. But in order for it all to succeed, Feral needed their help, one last time. Yes, this would be the last time he relied on the SWAT Kats, hopefully. He would handle Mac and Molly Mange himself, until he was sure that he could not. And then; then he'd have to swallow his pride again.

He sent the message to them immediately, making sure to get himself to a discreet location before doing so.

_Urgent message from Commander Feral –_

_I don't know how it happened, but we caught ourselves a pair of spies. I trust that I have several kats to thank for this, but I would rather not name names at the moment. I have an assignment for you, one that I will pay enough for to secure you all financially for a good while. You've managed to do what we Enforcers could not over the past few days, and now it's time to do it again._

_The target is a familiar one, and it seems he's been gunning for us all ever since I threw him off of the force: Alex Steele. The little creep is training and arming a hired force, and he's even got the old air force base out in the desert running again. It was a bad idea to leave that old relic standing, and now it's time to get rid of it._

_Now that we're able to mobilize safely again, you will have the full might of my Enforcers behind you. The bad news is that with those radar emplacements and SAMs, it is not going to be enough. I want you to go in there first, take out the defenses, and inform me when you have done so. From there, you will join the ground assault and protect the air cavalry that will be coming in to secure Steele and put him away for good._

_I don't much care what you blow up this time; in fact, I'll give you a bonus for any structures that you leave in extreme disrepair. But leave Steele alive; I'll deal with him myself._

_Once you get this done for me, you'll have enough money to hopefully stay out of my hair for a while. Take as long as you need to plan, but keep in contact with me at all times. We have to coordinate our attacks into a single sweep that will overwhelm and disperse them._

_That's all. Get it done.

* * *

_That night, Lioness was downright giddy. The plan was simple, swift, effective. But most of all, it involved her favorite piece of hardware. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd be able to pull this off- in fact, she had been waiting for the chance to run this kind of mission.

Earlier in the afternoon, the plan was formulated.

"They've got radar emplacements? Shit, they'll see the TurboKat a mile away, as well as anyone approaching from the ground. And I don't like the sound of those missile batteries, either." This was Chance, who pretty much knew the situation at hand. They would have to dodge like hell to get past those defenses, and that was something they couldn't afford. After all, one can only evade so much.

Jake shrugged and said, "Maybe we don't have to. Anything dealing with radar can be jammed and otherwise hidden from; we can use that to our advantage. Luckily for us, we've got something in our stockpile that can do both of those." He looked towards Felina and said, "You wanna take point on this?"

She blinked for a moment, a bit unsure of what he had said, "Sorry, I didn't get that right."

Chance rolled his eyes and said, "He wants you to hop into the StealthKat and take care of those defenses. That is, if you want to."

She was silent for all of five seconds, and then she said, "When are we doing this?"

"Tonight," Jake replied, "So we'll have even more of an advantage. You're gonna be using live bombs for this one, so we can't expect kats not to get hurt in the process. That's the way it goes sometimes, though. Do you think you could drop a few from thirty thousand feet up?"

She grinned widely and said, "Not only that, but I can probably bust a few buildings along with it. It's gonna be easy pickings."

Chance nodded and said, "All right, that's what I like to hear."

Callie, who had been silent up to this point, spoke up. "And where will I be during all this excitement?"

Her tom looked towards her and said, "Simple. You'll be with us, on the Thunder Truck. Once we blow their crap to high heaven, they'll be coming for us, probably in jeeps, probably in something worse. We need you to get on the gun in the back and fend them off so that the cavalry can swing in and bag Steele."

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "Tanks? Do you think a fifty caliber Gatling gun can handle that?"

Jake shook his head and said, "Not a chance in hell. But I'm going to install a few countermeasures, just in case we run into a few. Either that or we hope Feral is smart enough to bring his tanks in. Either way, this ends tonight."

Chance grinned wildly and said, "Damn straight it does. It's time to send this clown packing, once and for all!"

And of course, the time came when it was time to fly. Lioness stood in front of the Stealth Kat, the menacing F-22 that was modified with the standard SWAT Kat arsenal and equipment. She placed a hand along the fuselage and said, "I missed you, baby. I missed you _so_ much. Did you miss me? I bet you did."

She knew it was silly, but she loved this jet to pieces. It was the best ride she had ever flown, and she had flown quite a few of them. And with so many upgrades and tricks added to it, it was completely and totally insane; the envy of the Enforcers and the stealthy equal to the TurboKat. Or at least, she thought so.

With an almost girlish giggle that was somewhat uncharacteristic, Felina jumped into the cockpit with a single leap and strapped herself in, lowering the visor on her helmet and putting her oxygen mask on. "This is Lioness to control, I'm lighting up. Initiating final weapons and systems check…"

"Roger that Lioness; turn on the heat," she heard Razor say in response.

She primed the engines, enjoying the sensual sound of their awakening. Lights and panels came to life, and her in-helmet heads-up display went live. The systems ran through their paces with a sort of harmonious, mechanical precision before the words "system ok" appeared on the visor.

Lioness smiled in satisfaction. "Systems check is green, engines are green, and communications are green. Payload is ready for deployment at any time. I'm taxiing, control."

She began moving the StealthKat towards the staging area, just in front of the underground runway. "The bird is ready to leave the nest. Shall we get this show on the road?"

Jake smiled and said, "Affirmative, Lioness. You're green for takeoff. We'll be right behind you in the Thunder Truck, tracking you via GPS. Just remember, you'll be in contact with Commander Feral for the duration of this mission, so try and keep a cool head."

She nodded. "Read you on that one, five by five. Besides, I'm not his niece tonight."

With that, she punched the throttle to full afterburner and enjoyed the sound of the engines happily whining. Like a runner that had just heard the starting pistol, it shot forward, launching down the tube with frightening alacrity. She could see the false floor opening up as she was halfway, and let the wheels fold upwards into the bottom of the jet.

Within less than forty-five seconds, the StealthKat was in action.

Of course, she did something entirely crazy about five seconds after leaving… turned the nose straight upwards and climbed at a ninety degree angle. The engines roared as they hit their speed limit of mach 2.5, and she was a mere spec in the clouds within seconds.

"Beautiful," she said softly.

Once she had reached fifteen thousand feet, she slowed down, flipped the nose back to neutral position, and kicked the afterburners again.

Instantaneously, she was gone and gone. Not but three minutes later, the Thunder Truck came roaring out of the hangar as well. While it wasn't quite as fast, it could still haul ass thanks to the twin afterburners at the rear of the truck. Callie sat in a rotary station that was placed just above the engines, a linkless, belt-fed, three barrel Gatling gun placed in the turret. The seat of course, was nice and comfy, and was fully compatible with her visor HUD. She turned her head, and the seat turned along with her. Wherever she looked, the gun aimed.

The goal of course, was not to kill anyone, but to stop their vehicles. A few shots through the engine blocks or the tires would work just fine, but she didn't count out the fact that they would more than likely have RPGs and Stingers with them to counter the air cavalry. A whole bunch of kats would be taken clean out, but if it were for the sake of protecting lives, she'd do it.

'They'll have to learn their lesson in the next life,' she thought with that same ice cold rationality. 'All we have to do is leave Steele alive. But if he doesn't pull any punches, neither will I.'

Out on a mission, it sometimes came down to who was left standing. She'd make damn sure that no one died on her watch.

"This is it, SWAT Kats," Feral said as they approached the base. "I hope you have a good plan, because if this fails, we're all history. To give you a better picture of what to expect, I'm going to transfer the satellite imaging that we picked up to you directly. Stand by…"

Razor tapped a panel on his side of the Thunder Truck, causing a screen to flip upwards from the dashboard. Meanwhile, Lioness switched one of the monitors on the StealthKat to reception mode. Thus, everyone got a clear picture, and what they saw did not make them happy.

"At least they don't have any tanks," Razor said, "But that's still bad. That's a whole lot of jeeps down there, and they've gotta be armored."

T-Bone smirked and said, "Haven't you noticed, Razor? That's a fifty caliber Gatling back there. Armor is nothing to that thing. Just in case though, get the tank busters ready. We might need to use those after all."

Razor grinned and said, "Thought you'd never ask, buddy. Rockets are primed and ready to go."

But soon, all conversation stopped as Lioness announced, "This is it. I'm hitting the ECMs and beginning my run. Let's see how they like a little light show from six miles up." She was thirty miles out, and her radar warning receiver hadn't gone off yet. They were entirely in the dark… and it was time to rock and roll.

* * *

The former Lieutenant Commander yawned as he observed his troops moving about. Things certainly were not going as he had expected. He figured that the Enforcers would come much sooner than this. In fact, he was eager for them to arrive so he could get this over with and get out of the city. But for now, he picked up his cell phone and dialed one of the radar trucks. "Is there anyone out there yet?"

The kat below in the truck smirked and said, "Well if there were, we'd have known by now. Our scanners are at full range. Nothing's getting past us without eyes on 'em. Hell, if they're not gonna come to us, we might as well go to them."

Alex sighed and said, "Back to your station," then hung up with a sigh.

'Where the hell are they? I figured someone would have spotted us by now. Why aren't they moving yet?'

Of course, wishing wouldn't get him anywhere, right? Steele closed his eyes and began to doze off, when it happened: a sudden, violent explosion that tore through the air, making the command center tremble with the force from the blast wave. His eyes opened wide as he reflexively grabbed the grip of his Glock, holstered inside of his coat.

"Holy shit, they _are_ here! But how…"

He immediately dialed up the radar crew from earlier. "Situation report, now! What's going on down there?"

He got static, absolutely no response what-so-ever. Steele dialed the crew that manned the first missile battery. There was no response.

"Shit!"

He immediately dialed up the second station and said, "I want all eyes open, now! Do you see any targets in the area, over?"

The radar operator, who was shocked into action, shook his head in bewilderment. "Scanners are _clean_, sir! We have absolutely nothing on radar… nothing at all. Scope is blind! We need to get visual confirmation of-"

A second explosion destroyed the windows, causing Steele to hastily duck underneath the desk. That missile emplacement was near the barracks… What _else_ had just been destroyed besides his air superiority? The sudden, sheer force of the attacks, without being detected…

"Damn it," he said as he gritted his teeth, still under cover, "A stealth bomber! How the hell did Feral get one of those? And they probably had ECMs as well…"

A sudden, chilling sensation came upon him. For the first time since beginning this operation, he was afraid. The AH-6 was still on the roof, waiting patiently for him with a pair of heavy machine guns and a pair of seven-tube rocket launchers. It was plenty for a good anti-tank role, and Feral was certain to have brought the big guns. He did like his armor.

He got up from the desk and dialed again. "We've been compromised. Get those jeeps moving, now! Every last one! They're coming, and I want them stopped before they get here. You hear me? Stop those kats!"

As the hummers got to moving, all one hundred and twenty kats armed with rockets, shoulder-fired missiles, and conventional rifles, Alex headed towards his Little Bird. If he were going to go down, he was going down fighting!

Soon enough, though… the hummers immediately ran into some trouble, quite literally. A pair of high-intensity lights shone on the drivers near the front, blinding them entirely. What came next was a head-on charge from none other than the Thunder Truck. The twin afterburners lit up like candles in the night, dramatically increasing the speed of the vehicle…

"**Hang on back there**!"

…And ramming straight into the first line of hummers, cutting through like a hot knife through butter. Three of the first five vehicles were entirely disabled, flipped over onto their sides or hoods, and the truck just kept on going. Ghost looked behind her, and the weapons platform swiveled perfectly in response.

"Sorry, guys," she said as she blew out the back tires of the final two jeeps with the heavy machine gun. Sand flew as they were immobilized immediately, and she turned towards the front again, just in time to see the second set. This time, there were more than five… she grimaced and said, "It's gonna be a long night."

She immediately began opening fire on the first one she could, the fifty caliber rounds drilling through the armored plating and the bullet-resistant glass. Why she had done so was rather simple, really- she had caught a glimpse of a kat headed towards the gun that was atop the roof. The vehicle was taken out handily, as well as just about everyone inside it.

"Too many for a big bang, T-Bone," Razor said as he activated his targeting visor and pressed another button on the dashboard in front of him. From underneath the truck, a pair of rocket launchers, nineteen tubes each, emerged. "Good evening, gents… this is your wake-up call!"

Two rockets fired, one from each launcher, and rammed into the fronts of one vehicle each. They both subsequently detonated immediately afterwards, and the Thunder Truck pushed through. But this time, the other trucks gave chase, running after them with all haste and fury. "Hey Ghost, it's show time," T-Bone said over the radio. "Cover our rear, we got anything in front!"

"Roger that," she replied, and began opening fire on everyone giving chase. A few kats had managed to get on their gun turrets and exchange bullets, but the shielding on the weapon station kept her from being perforated. Two more hummers went boom as she attempted to keep them from reaching the truck, while two more rockets were fired in front, destroying that which they were aimed at. Nine down, eleven to go.

They were still outnumbered, though. Shots from rifles bounced off of the truck's armor and windshield, yet made a pitiful showing of penetration. "You think we should let them chase us for a bit, Razor?" T-Bone said smugly. "After all, we don't want to take Feral's thunder away from him too soon."

His slim buddy laughed and said, "I suppose we could give 'em a little workout!"

With that, they proceeded to lead the rest of the trucks on a wild chase through the desert, the all-terrain tires being put through their paces. Ghost grinned as she watched them struggle to keep up, but the grin faded as one of the kats manned a grenade turret. "Guys, I think they don't like this game- we got a GMG aimed at us!"

Of course, she was firing at that specific truck while shouting this, but the driver proved more skilled than she had expected. The artillery began coming towards them, causing the ground to explode along the back of the truck. "T-Bone, get them off! Take evasive action, now!"

"I got it," he said as he swerved to the left. The subsequent shots missed the truck, giving Ghost a chance to fire back. Of course, most of her bullets met the grenades in mid-flight, causing their brilliant destruction before they even reached the vicinity of their vehicle.

Another grenade narrowly missed; Ghost could feel the blast wave from this one. "We're cutting it a bit close!"

But of course, something undeniably good happened at that point. A shot from one of the massive 120 mm guns disabled the truck that was shooting at the SWAT Kats. Finally, the cavalry had arrived. "About time they showed up," Ghost said with a sigh of relief.

Floodlights began shining down on the trucks, illuminating them for better targeting, and two of them fired their Hellfire missiles. Two more trucks went boom. Eight remained.

Immediately, Chance hit the afterburners and the Thunder Truck leapt forward, but not for long as he executed a neat bootlegger's turn, facing the remaining trucks. "Surrounded from all sides, just the way I like it!"

Soon, six tanks arrived on the scene, their guns trained on the vehicles. Commander Feral was manning one of the gunner's stations, a loudspeaker in his right hand. "Drop your weapons and surrender quietly. This doesn't have to go on any longer than necessary."

There was a sudden response in his radio. "Oh, but it does, Commander."

That was just before two rockets came from out of nowhere, pulverizing two of the helicopters in the air. The menacing sight of an AH-6 Little Bird appeared soon after, and at the controls was one Alex Steele. "It's going to go on until you've paid for taking me for granted. Sadly, I'll only be satisfied when you're all dead!"

The eight trucks that still remained immediately began attempting to break out of their confinement as Steele gave them cover with his rockets. The helicopters struck back with their own guns, but Steele had their exact same training in flying a helicopter. Their shots were evaded as the Enforcer-turned-capo fired back with a pair of GAU-19 Gatling guns, and another two choppers were shredded, leaving four to chase after him.

One of the tanks was immediately decimated by an RPG from one of the hummers, and the scene quickly turned from order to chaos. Both the tanks and the Thunder Truck began backtracking, and Ghost began opening fire on the truck with the rockets spitting from it. This of course, was while the other hummers were firing at the Thunder Truck, which was why T-Bone had put the vehicle in reverse.

"He's got a fuckin' Little Bird? How the hell did he get one of those," he cursed vehemently.

Razor grimaced as he fired another two rockets… which missed. They were getting better at this whole dodging thing. "Doesn't matter now, right? We gotta bring it down before he chews up those tanks. Ghost, get on that chopper!"

She grimaced as she continued firing at the hummers. This was all happening a bit fast, wasn't it? "I'm kinda _tied up_ here, guys. If you'd just give me a bit," she said as she put several rounds through another armored windshield, "I'll get back to you as soon as I can!"

Seven left, but the helicopters were still at a disadvantage. There was no quarter for them as another rocket decimated a chopper, and they were forced to retreat as the heavily-armed Little Bird gave chase. "You guys are nothing! I could take you all out on my lonesome!"

Commander Feral gritted his teeth as he looked up towards the aerial battle. Steele had a point; he was giving his men hell. "This is Feral," he said into his radio, "Get me all chopper backup you can spare. I want this threat handled yesterday, over."

Though most of the hummers were disabled or destroyed, it wasn't quite over yet, nor was it that easy. The gunners atop the tanks began firing back at the enemy, but they were nimble bastards. The very least they could do was put a few holes in a few of their engines, and even then they still had RPGs to worry about. One tank had its treads destroyed by a stray enemy rocket; another was narrowly missed by a grenade.

As for the Thunder Truck, a warning beep sounded off in the cab. "Shit, the gun's almost dry! These guys just don't give up," Razor said as he prepared another few rockets.

"Then neither will we," T-Bone said grimly as he immediately shifted into drive and hit the gas and the boosters at the same time. The result was near-instantaneous change of direction, and several of the hummers were overturned as the assault vehicle was used as a battering ram again. That didn't mean kats were dead, it just meant that their rides were out of commission.

In the air, Steele was having a field day. The AH-6 was much nimbler than your standard Enforcer helo, meaning that he dodged rockets and gun fire with ease. Not wanting to use any more heavy artillery just yet, Alex began using the pair of GAU-19 heavy machine guns exclusively, tearing through the hulls of the air cavalry.

Their force was almost completely dry. "Sir, we can't hold out for much longer against this guy," one of the pilots said grimly. "We are requesting permission to take evasive action until reinforcements arrive."

Feral gritted his teeth and said reluctantly, "Permission granted. Bug out, ASAP. We'll hold them off for as long as we can, over."

"Roger that, we're hauling ass. Give 'em hell, sir." With that, the remaining four helicopters began their retreat, and after a while, Steele did not give chase. After all, he had only one target in mind tonight, and while Feral was a nice bonus, he had to kill the SWAT Kats. With that in mind, he turned around and began heading back towards the fight, aiming his rockets towards the Enforcer tanks.

"You can't imagine how happy I am for you to give me this opportunity, Commander. I've always wanted to show you what I'm really made of!" With a laugh, he fired a rocket into the back of the disabled tank, blowing it to kingdom come with a single shot. "It's too bad you didn't give two shits about me earlier, Feral. I'd have trained the Enforcers to be the greatest force ever. If you hadn't kicked me out, there'd be no need for the SWAT Kats."

He saw the Thunder Truck below and said grimly, "And now, I'm gonna prove it!"

Commander Feral immediately shouted into his radio. "SWAT Kats, you have an incoming bandit, fast and low!"

Ghost immediately turned towards the helo and began opening fire, causing Steele to move out of the way of the incoming tracer fire. The real battle had finally been joined. "You really need to get a life, Steele," Ghost said to herself as she took aim and fired again. She had to remember that she couldn't kill him; dead kats tell no tales, and he more than likely knew where the Metallikats were.

'I have to take out that tail rotor of his. Now if only he'd stand still…'

Just then, her aim was disturbed by a near-miss from an RPG. "Oh, this evening is just getting better and better, isn't it? Guys, do you have any more rockets left?"

Razor grinned and said, "Plenty. We'll cover you; just take that helo out ASAP!"

Of course, that was easier said than done as the two of them continued to exchange bullets. Ghost was already low on ammo, so a prolonged fight was out of the question. Steele on the other hand had shot down the choppers with ruthless efficiency, meaning that he still had plenty of hurt left. He taunted again. "What's wrong, can't you hit me? Or are you too busy trying not to get a hole put in that helmet of yours?"

Ghost grimaced. "Go to hell, you little worm," she replied coldly as she fired again. There was only so much she could do, though… and soon, her weapon was dry. "Damn it, I'm empty! We're FUBAR, guys!"

T-Bone grinned wildly. "That's my kinda situation. We're not going down without a fight! The only thing we could use at the moment is…"

The sound of a Sidewinder missile could be heard rocketing towards the hummers below, and following the heat signature that it was locked onto, it decimated the target with pinpoint accuracy. "Sorry I'm late; I didn't know it'd be this bad!"

Ghost looked upwards and grinned as the familiar shape of the StealthKat raced overhead. "Nope, you're just in time, Lioness. Handle these guys here, would you? I'm gonna take another shot at that Little Bird. Falling back on my sidearm, and I've only got so many shots in it."

Her sidearm of course, was the Glovatrix that was stored in a compartment of the rotary weapons station that she manned. Popping it open and donning the key personnel tool of her profession, she set a few mini-baby boomers. "It's time for round two."

As Lioness made another pass in the air, she couldn't help but notice that most of the vehicles were disabled, but still intact. All the kats inside were probably unconscious, probably bleeding heavily, but mostly alive. 'They did a good job of keeping casualties to a minimum. I can't afford to, though.' She also saw the downed Enforcer choppers and grimaced. 'Definitely can't afford it!'

She locked onto another truck and said softly, "All right, my sweet one. It's play time." Another Sidewinder was unleashed, and a second truck was demolished, flipping multiple times in the air before landing haphazardly on its side. It was not getting back up. "Bingo, bandit neutralized," she said into her radio. "Two missiles to go, but my gun is fully loaded. I see five trucks still mobile."

Razor laughed and said, "Better make that four, Lioness. I'm locked and on point." Another rocket headed in the direction of a hummer while it was subsequently distracted by the chaos above, going straight through an armored door and blowing the whole thing to pieces. "Sweet, that nailed 'em!"

Sadly, it wasn't over yet as a rocket headed towards the Thunder Truck from above. "Crap," Ghost shouted, "**Incoming**!"

T-Bone displayed a feat of incredible driving as he hit the boosters, going right underneath the incoming projectile. "Return fire! We have to end this, now!"

They all heard Steele laugh and said, "Couldn't have said it better myself," in their radio. "I have yet to pay you back for all the misery you've caused me. This is the night you die, SWAT Kats… I suggest you pray for a quick end!"

Another rocket streaked towards the vehicle. "T-Bone, turn right!"

He instinctively followed her directions, and sure enough, the rocket that was about to hit them from behind ended up missing. "Good call!" He looked towards the night sky and said, "Damn it where's that backup that Feral asked for? They can't all be that slow, can they? "

"Left," she called out, and as the truck evaded another rocket, "And no, I don't think so. Either they're low on manpower, or they're entirely out of chopper support!"

Razor sighed and said, "Knew it'd happen sooner or later. Guess we're all that's left, huh?"

T-Bone smirked and said, "Well, that just goes to show you how much improvement they need." He looked in his rear view mirror and said, "Ghost, how's it look?"

She peered upwards and said, "I think that's it, he's out of rockets…" another one fired. "Or not; turn right again!"

Another rocket evaded, but they couldn't run forever. The thing about that was that Steele only had three rockets left. "Tch… You always were a bunch of persistent bastards. Hold still and let me shoot you. I promise I'll make it quick!"

He aimed yet again and fired… only to have his rocket shot out of mid-air. "Sorry, not today," Commander Feral said as the remainder of his tanks pressed forward. They weren't down for the count just yet, and it looked like the other trucks had been handily taken care of. Back where their engines had been punched through, the rest of the hired army were handcuffed and left on the desert floor. The choppers, should they arrive, would pick them up in short order.

Steele grimaced. "Well then, I'll just have to take care of you, too. Don't worry; it's only going to take one shot. See you in hell, Feral!"

Ghost frowned, the hairs on the back of her neck itching like crazy. "T-Bone, full stop!"

He hit the brakes, causing the Thunder Truck to halt. "What's wrong?"

She used her visor to zoom in on the AH-6 and said, "He's going for the Commander's tank. I have to knock that bird out of the sky, now." She aimed the Glovatrix towards the distracted Little Bird and said softly, "Say good night, Steele."

The mini-baby boomer streaked towards the tail rotor with an accuracy borne from constant training. It wasn't long before the cockpit shook violently, causing Steele's teeth to rattle in his skull. "_Fuck_! I'm hit!" The helicopter began its downward spiral, now entirely out of control. "To hell with this, I'm outta here. I'm just lucky I have safety measures…"

Waiting for the right moment to jump, he unstrapped himself and evacuated the cockpit, letting the doomed chopper fall to the desert sands. With that, he deployed his parachute and steered himself towards the ground. "Damn it all, why did this have to turn out this way? I was just on my way to early retirement, too."

As he landed and disengaged the chute, Steele began to run his ass off. "I have to get away from this mess before someone notices I've bailed. I'm not about to rot in some jail cell for the rest of my nine lives!"

The bad news about that was he didn't have a choice. He was quickly netted from a good twenty yards away, tumbling onto the sand as he tripped over his own feet. The Thunder Truck pulled up beside him and Ghost aimed her Glovatrix down towards Steele.

She said nary a word, her green eyes staring coldly at him. The tanks came in soon after, which meant that Commander Feral was still all right. "I trust I don't have to read you your rights. And I wouldn't talk if I were you; I don't want to hear it right now. We'll have plenty of time to chat later, trust me."

* * *

Minutes after the end of the battle, the chopper backup had arrived, late as usual, and picked up the survivors of the hired army. They would not be getting out on bail any time soon; that was for certain. With that said, the Thunder Truck quietly began to make its exit, T-Bone and Razor hoping to avoid the tension that was sure to follow.

"Hold it right there, SWAT Kats."

T-Bone cursed softly. "Crap, so much for the 'vanish like ninja' thing." He looked out of his window and saw Feral's tank pull up beside them. "What is it? We're kinda sleepy and wanna go home. You can clean this up yourself, Feral."

Commander Feral smirked and said, "Duly noted. To be honest though, I wanted to thank you for your good work. I admit, I…" He gritted his teeth. This was going to be difficult. "I misjudged you all. You've done the city a good service, and without you this wouldn't have been possible. I'm betting those surveillance tapes that came to me were your doing?"

Razor shrugged and said, "Maybe."

Feral scoffed and said, "Well I guess it doesn't matter. We'll get the information out of him soon enough, and find out just how many officers he's bribed. Hopefully, he knows the location of the Metallikats as well. To be honest, I'd like your help again in clearing the corruption out of the Enforcers, since you've already done a good job of that."

T-Bone laughed a short, harsh bark. "Get real, man. The Enforcers are none of our business, you know that. If you're going to clean out your closet, do it on your own."

Feral wanted to snap back at him… but couldn't muster that old, familiar anger anymore. They had simply done too much for him. He simply nodded and said, "Fair enough. Now that my Enforcers can move again… or rather, what's left of them," he said grimly as he remembered the losses they had incurred that night, "We'll be taking care of the rest. I checked the satellite imaging earlier- you took out a good section of the barracks with that bomb you dropped. It's better than nothing, and I did say that I'd give you a bonus."

T-Bone nodded and said, "We appreciate the business. How soon can we expect all this to come in?"

Feral lifted his chin and said, "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I'm a tom of my word." He knocked on the top of the tank twice, and that was the driver's cue to start moving. With that, he looked behind him one last time and said into his speakerphone, "It's best not to get in our way when we go after Mac and Molly. If I need your help, I'll ask for it when the time comes."

Razor shook his head and said, "He'll never change, will he?"

T-Bone laughed and said, "Well, that's why we'll be in touch. Don't worry about him asking for help… he won't have a choice!" He kicked the truck into fifth gear and peeled off before pulling a u-turn and heading back towards the city, activating the afterburners for that little something extra.

As usual, tomorrow would be a busy day…

* * *

**Chapter 47: Untouchable (Part 4) – **_**Dropping the Hammer**_

Phew, it's done! Took me a few days just to get the outline worked, but I'm packing some major heat this time.

Guys, guys, I got great news! I'm getting my actual novel some exposure soon! Or at least, I hope so. It's called Crimson Arrow, and it's going to be a smash hit of a vampire read. That is, if I can get it off the ground. Heck, if I can even finish the damn thing, it'll be worth it! But seriously, thank you for reading this chapter.

And the messages, we can't forget those. I've been getting quite a few of them, and they've encouraged me to pull this rabbit out of my hat. Thanks, guys! Sadly, I'm busy working on a few other projects, so no RA this time. Still, that doesn't make me any less grateful. Thanks to everyone for waiting so patiently!

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._

* * *


	48. Untouchable Finale

Ulysses Feral calmly sat in a chair, the back turned towards his latest catch. An almost bored expression colored his face a shade of indifference as his cold eyes, hardened by the long conflict with the Metallikats, stared burning holes through the tom in front of him. The tom glared back defiantly, still feeling himself superior to this kat that he had effectively beaten at his own game. Capture did not matter; the Enforcers were finished, decimated beyond repair.

The two sat their quietly, a burning fire staring at a brick wall; a mere kitten glaring down a lion with such impudence that, were Feral wearing a crown, he could have him killed for. Yet he said nothing, simply stared with that same bored cast to his features.

"Well," the tom before him finally said, "Aren't you going to say something? Curse me; despise me? Tell me how worthless I am? Or are you just going to sit there all day and glare? Because if you are, this is going to be one boring…"

"Look down," Feral said softly.

Steele raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

Feral repeated himself, something that he did not like doing. But his voice was still calm, almost a monotone. "Look down, Steele."

He did. His eyes widened as he saw what Feral had in his right hand, a USP Tactical. And his finger was gently resting within the trigger guard, slightly depressing the one thing that could end the kat's life forever. And then the situation became worse as he looked towards where it was aimed.

"You've _snapped_," he whispered softly.

Feral smiled, and it was one without humor. "_You_ made me. Maybe I should thank you for it."

Steele's eyes were wide with shock. "You can't. They'll hear it from miles away and come running. You shoot me, and you'll have a heap of legal crap on your doorstep. I could make you suffer even more than you are now, Commander."

Feral looked down at the gun as if he were just noticing this, and said with a shrug, "You have a point."

Alex paused for a moment before he asked, "I do?"

Feral nodded silently before he withdrew the gun. Steele would have sighed in relief… if he did not see the sound suppressor that his former commanding officer withdrew from the inside pocket of his coat. "Fortunately for me, there are ways to hide the noise."

With every turn of the can as he attached it to the barrel, Alex's heart rate climbed a few more points. When it was pointed at him again, he swore that his heart would leap out of his chest via his throat and run for its life. It was too bad that he couldn't move – he would have done the same thing. He tried to speak, but his throat was too dry. His hands trembled violently as he discovered exactly how truly fucked he was.

"I can see I have your attention," Commander Feral said with a nod. "We're going to play a game, Steele. I am going to ask a question. It's going to be a simple question, one that has several potential correct answers, and several potential incorrect ones. Of course, if you don't answer in a way that I find particularly pleasing, you will hear the sound of the slide moving backwards. It's going to be the only sound you hear before a bullet passes two inches from your skull."

Steele swallowed, attempting to wet his parched airway. Feral was not done.

"For every question you get wrong," he said in that same calm voice, "I'm going to move lower and shoot with more accuracy. It's going to turn from pain, to blood loss, to something that I'd rather not mention. After all, I don't want you to soil yourself."

Steele whimpered. He had forgotten just how good Feral was at interrogations. And with that look on his face, he did not look like he was unwilling to play this game of his. In fact, he could see the Commander's finger press backwards ever so slightly with perfect control. Steele also remembered that the Commander was a crack shot.

"Now that I've stated the rules," Feral said with another mirthless smile, "Let's begin. The question, like I said, is simple."

He leaned forward and fixed his cold gaze on Steele's eyes, the gun still trained on him.

"Where are they?"

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_****_

* * *

_**It wasn't even thirty seconds later that Feral exited the cell, putting his gun away. "Close it, lock it," he said to the two officers guarding the reinforced cell, "And don't open it for anyone but me. I might be back to have a few more… words with our new guest."

It had been a long time since he had been in real control of a situation. He would take this opportunity to regain his honor. "Listen up, kats. I want three Special Response Teams at the old opera house, full tactical gear, armor piercing rounds. This time, the Metallikats are not getting away. I want them brought back here so I can shut them down myself."

Kats got moving at his request. He headed towards his top floor office and told his secretary to remotely lock the doors so that no one could disturb him. As he cloistered himself in his chambers, the imposing tom sat at his desk and leaned back in his chair. Special Response Teams were comprised of twelve-officer units, split into fire teams of four.

'I have thirty-six of my best kats out there. If they can't do it, then I have only one option open to me.' He grimaced. 'It's the last one I want to use. I've been relying on them for far too long now. This will end my way, not theirs.'

Now, it was not that he didn't appreciate their help. On the contrary, they were valuable assets. He simply preferred doing this his way instead of anyone else's. Even if the Mayor himself told him to ask the SWAT Kats for aid, this time he would capture at least one criminal with his own power and technology. If he succeeded, then the Enforcers would have a solid victory under their belts for the first time in…

He shook his head and tried not to think about their track record. They could handle the normal threats, sure enough. Any standard situation was easy to deal with for the police. He knew this was not standard, but for once he would like to do some damage to these maniacal kats who thought they could own his city.

Oh, make no mistake, he believed that this city was his territory, and that anyone imposing their will within it would be shut down quickly and efficiently. It was how he operated.

What he was waiting in this office for was a call from the team leaders informing him that they were in position. He would then monitor the entire raid from start to finish from said phone, and if all went well, he would have what he wanted without the help of the vigilantes. But if not… his fists clenched. He would not consider what would happen if they failed.

'We will come out of this on top. Just you watch, SWAT Kats.'

* * *

Six black armored Hummers were headed towards the old opera house located in the Inner City, each holding six kats clad in dark blue tactical gear. Their sub machine guns and carbines were loaded with incendiary armor-piercing rounds designed for maximum penetration at ranges of three hundred meters or less. They would be storming the place with maximum force and from multiple angles, the floor plans having been studied an hour and a half ago.

The best escape route would be through the hidden tunnel that led towards an alleyway that was a mile away from the opera house itself, and started from the dressing room back stage. One of the teams would be heading in from above via the ventilation shafts while the second would be heading towards the emergency exits. The third would cover both the front entrance and the tunnel, closing off all routes of departure.

Once they were inside, two snipers would be providing overwatch as the others proceeded forward, searching the isles and main stage for any traces of their targets. If all went well, they would gun them down quickly, damage a few internal systems, and bring Mac and Molly back towards headquarters without incident.

The six vehicles parked two miles away from the building itself to preserve their stealthy approach, and the team leader said, "All elements, this is it. Move towards your designated positions. I want full contact at all times during this operation. Approach the building."

The kats in dark tactical gear moved silently and swiftly towards the target building, one team heading towards the roof with grappling lines while the other two took their positions. The unit leader picked up his radio and began speaking into it. "Home Plate, this is Charlie Six. We are infiltrating the target building now. Zero movement as of yet, over."

Feral's voice picked up on the other end of the radio. "Roger that Six, keep me posted, over."

The roof team arrived first and began cutting their way into the ducts. Old as they were, they still held up to quite a lot of tensile stress. It was one of the things that they had worried about, the structural integrity of such an old building, but it held together. "This is roof team; we're in position, heading towards the main hall."

As they made their way towards the opera house, the team at the rear entrance arrived and stood at either side of the double doors, waiting for the go-code to breach them. "This is rear guard, standing by. The charge is set, we're waiting for your go, boss."

The third team was split into two, and the half that was headed for the tunnel would take the longest to get there. Of course, seeing as they could run a mile in under four minutes, it wouldn't be all that long until they found what they were looking for. In the meantime, the six at the front door set their own charge and waited. "Main assault team is in position," the leader whispered into his radio. "All units are to wait until the surprise package is set up."

All of three minutes after, the call came through. "This is the surprise package. We're ready to crash the party on your go."

He nodded and sent another call to Feral. "Home Plate, this is Charlie Six. We're ready to blow this operation wide open. Take?"

At Headquarters, Feral closed his eyes and intertwined his fingers. This was… _too_ easy. If they were really there, they would have mounted a proper assault by now, tried to get away. But then he remembered that they no longer had that military hovercraft of theirs. Not to mention that the army they planned to raise against the city was now safely in custody, their weapons stripped and their wrists in chains.

'They have nowhere to go… so why do I have such a bad feeling?'

He shook his head. This was no time for whims!

"Charlie Six, you are green. _Take_."

The leader of the unit smiled and said, "Roger that, Home Plate. Expect us back in time for dinner. Charlie Six out."

He switched frequencies and said, "All elements, you are weapons free. Blow 'em!"

And simultaneously, the back door, front door, and the door to the alleyway exit were blasted open. Above the seats and balconies, several ventilation shafts opened up and three teams of four slid down on tactical lines, their sub machine guns at the ready. The team that entered through the back doors began heading towards the stage, with the two snipers that came along with them moving to take position at the balconies nearby.

With that, room clearing began, starting with the dressing rooms and offices at the back, and the front lobby. Within two minutes, the two snipers had their bipods ready and scopes set. "Overwatch is in position, ready with the big guns, over."

"Roger that, Overwatch," Charlie Six replied. "Keep that isle team alive in there, but watch your backs as well."

Feral heard everything over the phone, waiting for any kind of enemy contact. So far there was nothing, but just in case… he wanted to make sure that he was right about this, that the hunch from before wasn't just an impulse.

The tunnel team had to move a bit slower this time around, because they were definitely in enemy territory. They were severely lucky that the tunnel had its own lighting system; otherwise it would be treacherous, even with night vision goggles on. "Stay sharp, men. There're only two directions they could come from, straight ahead and straight from behind. I want some of you to watch the back."

Two of the officers turned around and began slowly backpedaling; their guns trained in the general direction of the door that had just been opened. The other four were pointed straight ahead, their advance smooth and steady. "Six, this is surprise package; no contact in the tunnel yet. Where's the party at, over?"

That was what the leader wanted to know. "No party just yet. Place seems dead so far. Suggest you continue advancing, over."

"Roger that," the kat in charge of the tunnel team replied. "We're continuing our advance."

The first problem arose when the team that was searching the back rooms had two rooms remaining. "They've gotta be somewhere nearby. Let's take the last two at the same time; they can't get away if we do that. Stack up!"

Six kats stacked up on either side of either door as two charges were placed. "Steady… breach and clear!"

The charges were detonated and the rooms were blasted wide open as the two teams headed in, quickly filling the invisible spots in the room that provided the best angles of dominance. Unfortunately, what they found was that the rooms were empty, quite literally devoid of any sort of furniture, clothing, and things of that sort. "Clear! Damn it, they're not here either… what the hell is going on?"

And then, it happened.

The tunnel team ran into a bit of a problem in the form of an almost imperceptibly thin wire… And when the leader stepped right into it, all hell broke loose. "What the fuck…?"

He couldn't even finish the sentence.

Feral heard screams of panic as an explosion occurred. The screams only lasted for a second before the chain reaction started. It was a firestorm, too fast for the team to counter. "Shit, what the hell is going on!? Respond, tunnel team!" That was Charlie Six, moments before the explosions hit the opera building. The last thing feral heard was, "Oh, my God…"

Feral's heart was in the pit of his stomach. Perhaps he should have listened to his gut; then he wouldn't be listening to this static. And then he thought about who gave him the information in the first place, and his heart leapt right back into his chest again, beating furiously. He stood up, manually unlocked the doors from the inside, and stormed out of his office.

Oh yes, he was due for another talk with Steele.

* * *

Alex Steele had felt pain before. It was part of his Enforcer training and it was what gave him the toughness needed to train others in what he knew. It was a shame that his mind wasn't all that competent when it came to the job itself. That mental toughness that came with experience would have come in handy right now.

He could feel his rib cage compress time and time again as Feral rammed his right knee into him with brutal precision. The third time he did so, Steele's ninth and tenth ribs on his left side cracked. He cried out in pain, and the pain was not quite finished yet. His former Commanding officer held him close in a boxer's tie as his right hand began delivering hooks into his side. The fifth and sixth ribs followed suit quite soon, this time after two strikes.

Steele was pushed roughly onto the bed again as Feral cracked his knuckles via the tightening of his fists. "I don't like being lied to."

Alex coughed up blood and grimaced towards his former commanding officer. "Oh, is that so? Well tough break, _sir_. I sure hope those kats have life insurance. Then again, they won't need it where they're going." He laughed hoarsely and added, "That should be the end of the Special Response Teams, unless you have any more manpower to waste…"

He couldn't finish. Steele had a hand around his throat. Feral had the top of Steele's head pressed against the ceiling with his airway being cut off.

"I am going to put some severe pain on you," he growled. "Shame I can't just kill you outright. But before I do, I'm giving you one last chance to inform me of where the Metallikats are. Otherwise I may not be so careful with where my next punches land. Speak or lose teeth."

Steele gargled out his answer. "Hell if I know! They're probably so deep under the radar, not even the SWAT Kats can find them!"

Feral's eyes narrowed. "You should've told me that earlier, you little prick." He tossed him back onto the bed, aiming for the far wall instead of the mattress. The back of Steele's head impacted with said wall, and his brain rattled in the cage that was known as the skull. The former Lieutenant Commander's eyes rolled back into his head as his body shut down. Knock out.

The Commander shook his hands to loosen them up before knocking on the door to the cell. It was opened for him as he said, "Send some paramedics in there. Steele's got four broken ribs and a concussion." Oh yes, Feral could tell how many were broken. He had deliberately aimed for those specific spots. Steele would never breathe easy again. "I have to make a call."

It was the last call he wanted to make. But he kicked himself for not making it earlier. They would have seen that wire long before his team stumbled upon it, and immediately known that it was a trap. Not to mention that they would have been able to discern that the Metallikats were not even in the building. He hated doing it, but he hated not thinking of it sooner as well.

Things had changed so much. Was he actually starting to be thankful for them?

'A vigilante is nothing more than a vigilante. They're outside the law, and no one takes the law into their own hands. Yet… they're saving the lives of my Enforcers by their meddling and this city too. No matter how much I hate those reckless hotshots… I need them.'

The message was plain and simple this time. He wasn't grudging about it, and had no qualms about getting straight to the point. He realized that they were professionals, just like he was, and even though they did some insane things to get the job done… they did just that: get the job done.

_Urgent message from Commander Feral, Priority One:_

_The raid on the suspected base of operations for the Mange Mafia has failed catastrophically. At present, the location of the Metallikats is unknown, as are their capabilities and armament. Thirty-six kats from the Special Response Platoon are KIA, and a major part of the Inner City is potentially in ruins._

_I will no longer stand for this._

_I am calling a full all points bulletin for the complete destruction of the Metallikats via any means necessary. They will be found, caught, and dismantled, and I want you to lead the search. Should you find them first, show no mercy. Bring your full armament to bear, every last gun and gadget at your disposal. Those two are too dangerous to be left active._

_If you're worried about compensation, rest assured that I'm going to pay big for this one. You will have enough to settle yourselves down for quite some time, and added to your other paychecks it will be a substantial amount. Do put it to good use._

_Make no mistake, this is no ordinary mission. You know how to handle those two more than anyone else, but they may or may not have several new tricks up their sleeves. Remember, none of us have seen the Metallikats for quite some time. So be prepared for anything and everything. Then again, I don't have to tell you this, now do I?_

_Good luck, SWAT Kats. I think that this time, even you will need it.__

* * *

_"This is it, Molly. We ain't got any options left…"

This was not the first time that Mac Mange ever sounded so desperate. Once upon a time, he had gone through the equivalent of a living, breathing nightmare in the form of a computer intelligence that was able to assimilate anything in its way. It had started with Molly being heavily damaged during a fight with the SWAT Kats.

He didn't see the aftermath of that one; he just wanted to get her the hell out of there.

Now here they were, at the mercy of the law and on the edge of their grip on the city, hiding out yet again as they used to. They could no longer walk around as if they owned the Inner City, but on the bright side, neither could the Enforcers. They had taken severe blows to both manpower and intelligence. He could at least say they had a good run.

Molly however was a bit more… positive.

"Whaddaya mean we ain't got any options left? We got us a new Metallikat Express, and we got us a ton of money still. With those two, we can do anything we want. And besides, the Enforcers ain't gonna do squat to stop us this time, 'cause they don't have the numbers for it!" She smiled, or turned her mouth into what could be considered a smile. "I know it looks bad, but we can still come outta this with a win."

Mac raised an eyebrow and said, "You think so?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah, I _know_ so. But in order to do that, we gotta do a lil' shopping first. Those SWAT Kats are the only ones who can match this thing, so what we need is a way to match _them_. It's not gonna be enough to just have standoff capability with 'em."

Mac placed a hand on his chin and said, "You got a point, Molly. So where do we do our shopping?"

Molly grinned maliciously. "In the last place anyone would dare come after us."

Mac would have raised an eyebrow, if he had any in the first place, before he adopted his own evil smirk. "Yeah… and there's only one place that a kat won't touch, now that the Enforcers are down to shreds. Besides, we're the only ones capable of going in there without protection. This'll work, Molly!"

She nodded and said, "And this is why I'm the one with the plans, Mac. Just one thing; let me drive. You won't even be able to keep the damn car on the road!"

Mac shrugged and said, "That's because I love smashing stuff. Besides, who's gonna stop us, the cops?"

They both laughed at this and got into their new ride, a black, heavily armored hovercraft with tank armor and loaded up with rockets, missiles, and a pair of front-loaded, tank-shredding Gatling guns. Where did they get it from? Pumadyne, of course, and they managed to take it without the SWAT Kats interfering.

Now they would get to test it. But it needed something more than just heavy artillery… It needed to run without fear of running low on fuel. That was the limitation of the last one, which was why they headed towards the MegaKat Nuclear Plant.

"Hey Molly, they're not open for business," Mac said with a slight frown.

She shrugged and said, "Fuck that, this is _our_ place now!"

With that, they bust right through the gates, causing the security alarm to go off. The security alarm in turn caused multiple guards to man their stations and towers. Of course, most of them were armed with rifles, but those in the towers had prepared for an attack like this. The rocket launchers they carried were more than enough to stop a tank…

"Well what are you waiting for? Blow the damn thing to hell!"

…Just not this one. The rockets rammed against the Metallikat Express, detonated… and didn't leave a scratch on the paint. Sadly, the towers that fired on them had the legs knocked out from under them by a rocket barrage from Mac, and before long they were both history.

Sadly, any kat on the ground that was in front of them was simply run over. "So then, you gonna let me drive any time soon? You're making a mess," Molly said with no small air of distaste. "We don't need to kill 'em all just yet, y'know."

Mac raised an eyebrow and said, "Well whaddaya want me to do, let 'em wreck the paint job? Besides, they shouldn't be sittin' in front of us in the first place. Now then, let's get in there and take what's ours!" Without another word, Mac turned towards the building and simply blasted his way through with another pair of rockets.

Molly whacked Mac on the back of his shiny head and said, "Don't use 'em all up before we run into the Enforcers, ya dummy. Now come on, let's get moving. We gotta get enough fuel rods for the ride and for us."

Mac looked towards her and said, "Us too? Don't you think that's a bit much?"

She looked behind her right shoulder and said, "Well I didn't say it was a sane plan, just said it was a plan. Besides, we got nothin' left to lose! Consider it a contingency plan; if those Enforcers or the SWAT Kats plan on taking us out, they'll have to consider the… consequences."

Mac smirked and said, "Sick and twisted as well as crazy. That's why I married ya, doll!"

Either they didn't care or didn't notice, but one of the security guards managed to get a call out. "This is patrol seventeen to any available Enforcer units; we have a 211 at the Nuclear Plant. We have multiple officers down; taking heavy fire. All available units respond immediately! Repeating, 211 at MegaKat Nuclear Plant, all personnel respond, ASAP!"

Feral did not want to do this… but he had to decline the call. He hated letting the bad guys get away, but at the moment there were simply not enough officers left to handle the situation. He knew when he was beaten, to be honest. But there was something he _could_ do. "Cannot respond," he said in a strained voice, "All of our manpower is tied up. You'll have to try to fend them off yourselves for the moment, over."

And while he was making the call, he was typing out a message on his PDA…

* * *

Underneath MegaKat Auto and Body Repair, there was an extensive, high-tech labyrinth of passages that led to rooms designed for one of three things; training, sleeping, and fighting. It was a complex network that served as home to the greatest group of heroes the city had ever seen.

And at the moment, they were busy getting ready to deploy.

Down in the hangar, Lioness was busy loading up the StealthKat with six Octopus Missiles in the weapons bays underneath the fuselage. She merrily hummed a tune as she did so. The black bandanna was already around her head as she carried the missiles towards their destination with the help of Ghost.

"You sure love this thing, huh?" the silver-haired she-kat asked.

Lioness nodded happily. "I sure do! It handles like a dream, has stealth, has the standard weapons and can be equipped with just about any missile or bomb that we use, lethal or not. I absolutely adore it!"

Ghost smirked and said, "Well be careful. One might think that you're placing all your love on that jet instead of on a tom."

The brunette looked behind her and stuck her tongue out, knowing perfectly well that it was a joke. "You're just mad because you can't fly it. I guess some kats just can't understand the worth of a good plane until they've used it themselves."

Ghost shrugged and said, "If you say so."

Just then, T-Bone and Razor ran in and said, "Heads up SWAT Kats," the slim tom said breathlessly, "But we got a mega-disaster up top! You guys might want to change those out when you hear this!"

Of course when they heard it, they didn't believe it at first. "You have got to be _shitting_ me," Ghost said incredulously. Now usually, she didn't curse, but when the situation was bad enough, a word or two slipped out. It was just a product of military training.

T-Bone shook his head and said, "Straight from Feral. Those two have really done it this time! I don't know what they're gonna do next, but you can be sure it's gonna involve some severe firepower. Charged with those fuel rods, they'll rip anything in their way apart!"

Razor sighed and added, "That goes for the TurboKat and StealthKat, as well as any of our other vehicles. If they're doing what I think they're doing with 'em, the Metallikat Express will probably have those rods for its power source. If we blow it…"

Lioness grimaced. "…Then a good percentile of the citizens will be dead before an hour passes." Her shoulders sagged, making Ghost scramble to keep her end of the weight held up. "H-hey, get depressed when I'm not helping you carry something!"

T-Bone looked towards Razor and said, "Luckily, our bud here has a plan… you're not gonna like it, though. Heck, even I don't like it, but it's a plan!"

The attention was on Razor now, and he immediately began speaking. "That thing's gotta have electronics on it somewhere; computer mainframes, radar, targeting systems, all of that. If we can blind 'em, we can stop 'em from shooting anything. But it's gonna take some serious doing to get a shot in without damaging their fuel source."

T-Bone nodded and said, "The StealthKat can get under their radar, but it's gonna take the TurboKat to scan their ride and see where _not_ to hit. Anywhere else is game besides that one point. Lioness, can you put a missile where it needs to be put?"

She smirked confidently, all traces of anxiety gone now that there was a working plan. "You bet. You point, I'll shoot."

Ghost smiled and said, "And where will I be during all this excitement?"

Razor looked towards her and said, "Bait."

Her face turned from a smile to a frown. "Awww, that's _great_. I get to play tag with a heavily armored hovercraft piloted by two homicidal robots."

T-Bone chuckled and said, "Well if it helps any, you'll be keeping them from shooting at us, while we scan the guts of the damn thing for Lioness to put a Megavolt Missile or two on it. Load those up, by the way."

Lioness nodded and Ghost sighed as they began switching out armaments. "So what am I gonna be riding in, since I'm the lynch pin of this whole thing?" she asked as she helped Lioness switch the missiles out.

Razor grinned and said, "The HoverKat."

Ghost perked up considerably. "See now, that makes things better. If it's armored and armed just as well as the Metallikat Express, then I'll have no trouble outmaneuvering them. I just have to keep them from killing the engines."

Razor cracked his knuckles and said, "Good, because we gotta end this once and for all. Let's just hope they don't come up with anything special before we haul 'em in, because then I'd have to improvise. And to be honest, we can't afford to do that anymore than we are now."

T-Bone pumped a fist in the air and said, "All right, time to kick those bolt-brains to the curb! SWAT Kats, let's sortie!"

* * *

Five cars overturned by sheer momentum, flipped over while still on the road. The corner of one building smashed through, several killed in the process. Kats fleeing from the juggernaut in the streets, panic and chaos reigning. And that was only in the first five minutes as Mac went to town on the town, his so-called bad driving turning the Metallikat Express into a _very_ mobile weapon, even without the guns firing.

"HAHAHAHAHAAA! Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Run away, ya little maggots; the Metallikats are in town!"

Molly smirked, not saying anything in response. To be honest, she was having a good time as well. As it stood, no one could stop them or stand in their way without being flattened. His driving, as horrible as it was, was definitely amusing in this situation. "You gonna let me have a turn?"

"In a bit," Mac said, "I wanna see how many cars I can smash before sixty seconds are over."

He proceeded to do just that, ramming into fire hydrants and streetlights along the way. They were just bonus points, though. He ended up destroying about fifty vehicles from sheer momentum within a minute. "I think I've created a new sport: Bowling for Kats!" He laughed again and said, "So what do we do now?"

Molly shrugged and said, "I say we blow up Enforcer Headquarters; kick 'em while they're down." She smiled mirthlessly and said, "It'll be way more fun than just plowing through the city all day. Besides, it's perfect for bringing the SWAT Kats here, right? And they're the ones we wanna kill the most!"

Mac's eyes narrowed as he said, "Yeah, it's time to stop fooling around. Let's finish this once and for all!"

However, they didn't have to wait that long for the Enforcers to pop up. Heading towards them was a tank division, led by Feral himself. At the very least, he had to make a move; stall them somehow. The sirens on the tanks sounded off, informing cars and civilians to clear the streets and get behind cover.

"Hold the line," the Commander ordered. "We don't want to destroy that hovercraft, just keep it busy and stall it until reinforcements arrive. It's probably got those fuel rods as a power supply, so I want you to distract them only, understand?"

It would be difficult to do, but did they have a choice? They would have to give the Metallikats something to chew on for a few moments until the real party began. Feral could see the hovercraft approaching at high velocity through his binoculars and grimaced as it mowed cars out of its way. "Here they come… stand by."

Mac and Molly began rolling out the rocket launchers that popped out from near the bottom of either side, seven tubes loaded with high explosive, dual purpose rockets ready to put a beat down on the tanks before them. "Good morning, Commander. This is your wakeup call," Molly said on the speaker as Mac fired two rockets off.

One of them hit a car that was parked nearby, but the other rammed into the front of an Enforcer tank, blasting it to pieces with one shot. Mac laughed and said, "I love this thing! Let's see if I can't hit another one." He fired again, and this time the rockets destroyed yet another tank, both of them impacting right on the button.

Feral gritted his teeth and said, "Where the hell are you, just when I need you the most?"

He didn't have much time to answer, because his tank was rammed into by the Metallikat Express, the two of them having the appearance of giants grappling for position. Two other tanks followed suit, beginning to slowly push the armored hovercraft backwards… before the missile launchers popped out near the back and blew them to kingdom come.

"What's wrong, Feral? Waiting on the SWAT Kats to save your tail? Well it looks like it ain't gonna happen. Maybe they realized just how worthless you guys are," Molly said as she punched the throttle to full, slamming Feral's tank backwards at a much faster rate and causing it to collide with the others behind it.

Commander Feral gritted his teeth against the sledgehammer blow, ordering his tanks to attempt to suppress the heavily-armed battering ram by hook or by crook. But then he added, "But just don't destroy it. If you do, we're all dead kats…"

Mac grinned and said, "_You_, maybe. I expect that _we'll_ survive the explosion, though. Looks like it's game over, Feral!"

And then it happened. From the sky, a whistling was heard overhead as a bomb was dropped from out of nowhere. As suddenly as it came, the lights flashed overhead, and both the tanks and the targeting sensors of the Metallikat Express were blinded. Almost at the same time, the Metallikats were rammed into from the right side, another, similarly-armed and armored hovercraft pushing them out of the way with extreme force.

"Sorry we're late," T-Bone said into his radio, "We had to change load outs once we heard the bad news. We'll take it from here; you don't need to lose any more kats today."

Feral almost sighed in relief. Key word here is almost. "Well don't just muck about, get them off of our asses and get them clear of the city!"

"On it," Razor replied before cutting off the radio frequency. "T-Bone, hang out for a second. I'm activating the X-Ray Scope." A probe extended from the bottom of the TurboKat and began to search over the surface of the enemy vehicle. Pretty soon, Razor located it. "Bingo, they're just near the back, like I expected. This might actually work!"

T-Bone grimaced and said, "I sure hope so, because it looks like they're waking up!" He switched frequencies and said, "Ghost, get moving. They're gonna be all over you soon!"

He heard the reply, and it was somewhat scathing. "I am starting to remember why I _hate_ being the bait. I'm mobile!"

On the ground, the HoverKat began moving backwards as Ghost narrowed her eyes. "Come and get me, bucket heads. You want to smash something? Try _me_."

Oh, and they did try. "All right, you dented the ride. Now I'm pissed," Mac said as he turned his weapons onto the HoverKat, which was already moving away from it at rapid speed. Another rocket fired, but their opponent was not only heavily armored, but nimble. It turned the corner just in time for the projectile to barely miss, only for it to slam into a nearby dumpster and blow it, and the subsequent walls of the alleyway, to bits. Ghost peeled off, gritting her teeth as she did so. "Okay, now all I have to do is keep them from killing me until we get to the desert… no sweat, right?"

She punched the throttle to maximum and the engines flared, leaving exhaust in its wake. Seconds later, the Metallikat Express followed suit, blowing right out of the side street and giving chase. "Shoot that SWAT Kat down, Mac! They scratched the coat on the car!"

"I'm trying, Molly," Mac responded as he locked onto the HoverKat. "Trust me, I'm trying."

Meanwhile, the TurboKat was far ahead of the chase, still monitoring via radar. "Lioness, do you copy? We've got the hazard area marked," T-Bone said into his radio. "Do you have the imaging?"

Lioness nodded and replied, "I got it. So all I have to do is hit anywhere but the back and I'm good, right? That sounds simple enough. You guys just keep Ghost from getting toasted, okay? I'd like my good friend in one piece, if you don't mind."

T-Bone nodded. "Roger that, we'll keep her in one piece if we can."

Razor looked towards his partner and said, "_If_ we can? Since when were you so negative about stuff?"

T-Bone smirked and said, "Since I heard that the Metallikats are basically walking nukes. We blow them up; they blow everything else up with 'em. So yeah, we'll try, but they're tough as hell this time around. If Ghost can get those two out to the desert, we'll be fine. If she gets taken out before she gets there…"

Razor grimaced. "Then the plan's a bust and we have to execute evasive maneuvers. I'm starting to see what you mean." He checked his scope and said, "We got about half an hour until we reach the MegaKat Desert. You got any ideas from there?"

T-Bone was silent for a moment, searching his head for possible locations to trap their adversaries. Then he nodded and said, "Yeah, I got a few. There are two places we can cage these guys; the mountains to the northeast and MegaKat Canyon. We're the only ones with the equipment that can navigate those tunnels in the hills, unless the Metallikats have something to do that as well."

Razor nodded and said, "I expect that they do. We might have to go play canyon tag with 'em. That is, if we don't take them out in the dunes first."

T-Bone nodded as well. "That'd be ideal." He spoke into his radio and said, "Heads up, Ghost; we're approaching the staging area. Keep 'em busy for just a while longer. What's your fuel status?"

She sounded a bit irritated. He could understand why. "I don't need a refuel just yet, if that's what you're asking – CRAP, that was close!" She had just dodged another rocket. "I _really_ hate being the bait. You guys had better give me some cover fire when we get out there!" Despite her frustration with the situation, she knew that laying down some Cement Machinegun fire in the middle of the busy street would not exactly be kosher for their reputation.

Said busy street wasn't kosher for dodging rockets, though. Not for long, anyway. One of them happened to ram into the front of an oncoming car, making it flip end over end with the resultant explosion. Ghost looked to her right with a shocked expression on her face, and then gritted her teeth. "Absolutely no way I'm letting these two go after that."

Sure, it was because she had dodged a projectile headed her way. But it was still their shot, and they probably didn't even care. She cranked the throttle to full and hit the red button that was on the lever. The afterburners kicked in immediately, sending her shooting forward in an attempt to break their lock on her.

'Just a bit more to go and we're out in the clear,' she said to herself as she checked the radar. She didn't exactly have much time left to evade them. 'I have to get them as far away from civilians as I can.' The back of her neck prickled and she immediately swerved to her right, unconsciously evading another rocket.

The highway soon led out towards dustier areas, and that was her cue to swerve off of the blacktop. 'Okay, time to floor it. There's just a few more miles to go!' The radar warning receiver blared annoyingly and she said, "I _know_ they have a lock on me, shut _up_!" She had to do something about this. "Let's see them hit me after this."

Ghost hit a few switches, causing a pair of nozzles popped out from the back of the HoverKat. Immediately, they dispensed a smoke screen directly behind her, spraying right into the front of the Metallikat Express. "What the…?" Mac couldn't exactly drive all that well under adverse conditions. Heck, he already couldn't drive that well, according to Molly.

"That bastard blinded us," Molly said as she grinded her metallic jaws. "Switch to infrared targeting."

He did. "_Fuck_, the smoke's cold! We're not getting a bead on that hovercraft!"

Ghost grinned and said to herself, "Chew on that for a bit." She spoke into her radio. "T-Bone, Razor, the prey has turned into the predator. I hit the anti-thermal smokescreen on 'em. They're blind and have a cold nose, over."

T-Bone grinned. "Hell of a play, Ghost! Keep running from 'em, we've got those bolt brains now."

She nodded and replied, "Roger that. I'm on the move." She hit the afterburners again, retracting the smoke dispensers before doing so. "Catch me if you can, suckers," she said as she peeled off. The smoke was everywhere now, spreading like a miasma. The only thing they could rely on now was their radar.

"Damn it," Mac cursed as he slowed down to a halt. "Molly, we lost the bitch. That hovercraft's gotta be long gone by now, or making a pass at us."

She gritted her teeth and said, "Keep driving, ya louse. We'll get out of this fog and get back at 'em. If we sit here, we'll be sitting ducks! So drive!"

He moved again, but found that when he slowed down, it cost them a good amount of time. They were suddenly hit by what they could not see as their systems began shorting out. Everything was gone in an instant; targeting, navigation, radar, infrared, the whole nine yards. They were basically a moving battering ram. "What the hell just whacked us!? We're being shorted out!"

Molly's eyes widened as she looked up. "Shit, it's those Megavolt Missiles! Right through the roof, too! How did they do that?" They were lucky that they were shielded somewhat from the shock. If those missiles hit them, they would be fried crispy. Of course, the computer controlled the engines as well, so those came to a grinding halt.

Mac rammed his fists on the steering wheel and said, "See, this is why I hate those SWAT Kats. I'm activating the backup systems; see if we can't get that engine online again with those fuel rods."

Sadly by the time they attempted to start up, it was already too late. The Metallikat Express was suddenly and violently jerked upwards by the metallic lock of the TurboKat, its engines to full power as it hauled the vehicle into the air. T-Bone looked down from the pilot's seat and said, "Well then, talk about being hung out to dry."

The doors immediately opened and a pair of arm-mounted guns pointed at the TurboKat. "We ain't done with you mugs yet!" They opened fire on the arm that attached the lock to the jet, their irradiated bullets attempting to cut the hovercraft free.

"Not gonna work," Razor said triumphantly, "That's triple-reinforced titanium we're talking about. You're not gonna be able to punch through that!"

"No," Molly said, "But we sure can _climb_ up it!" And they began to do just that. T-Bone gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give 'em this much, they don't give up. Someone put these guys out of their misery!"

Ghost smiled and said, "I got you covered there." She locked onto the Metallikats and said to herself, 'I just hope I can hit those two without damaging anything serious. They could very well be live bombs as well.' She readied the missile launchers located at the back of the HoverKat, and as they rose from the interior of the vehicle, she narrowed her eyes somewhat in concentration.

'Hold still and let me shoot you…'

T-Bone noticed that they were approaching faster now, getting closer to the interior of the TurboKat. "Any day now, Ghost…"

She closed her eyes for a moment and forgot all about the targeting system. 'Okay, gut… tell me when.'

They were halfway up the arm. Razor was starting to get worried. "Ghost, do you copy? We could use some fire support here. If they get in, this plan's toast! Hurry up and knock out their systems!"

She ignored him. In fact, Ghost was ignoring everything. It was when she went silent like this that she was at her most dangerous. Her mind was empty, void of discursive thought as she turned within and used her own little targeting system. Of course, the kats in the air did not have to wait long. Her insides seemed to tighten, and reflexively, her right thumb pressed the button for the missiles downwards.

'Here goes nothing,' she thought as she opened her eyes. Sure enough, she grinned as the missiles were on target. "See you later, bucket heads."

The Metallikats felt something impact in their sides, and that was the only thing they could feel before their systems were entirely fried. Their screams of torture echoed across the desert before they went limp. Razor wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Well-placed shot, Ghost. You were cutting it a bit close there, though."

T-Bone sighed in relief and said, "Yeah, what took you?"

She smiled coyly and said, "I guess I just wanted to feel the situation out before I fired. If those missiles hit in the wrong place…"

T-Bone grimaced. "See, now I'm even more thankful we added you to the group. But we gotta move before their backup systems kick in. And we're running low on fuel just by sitting here, too." The nozzles for the exhaust slid back upwards and the back engine returned to rearward position as all three engines kicked to full.

Lioness sent a message to Ghost as she flew overhead. "You know, I can't help but wonder if that intuition of yours is really flawless. I know it hasn't failed so far, but one day it might. What will you do then?"

Ghost answered the only way she could. "Improvise."

With that, the other two SWAT Kats followed the TurboKat back into town.

* * *

Commander Feral was quite mortified when he found out that he couldn't remove the nuclear material from the Metallikats. It was, in their words, part of their framework now. They were a walking bio hazard and a threat to katkind, more so than they were already.

'Great, I have successfully restrained two walking nuclear devices. And they'll break out of those restraints sooner or later, turning this place into a bloodbath.' They were currently in Enforcer Headquarters, and Feral had the Metallikats in specialized restraints made of military-grade agracite. It wasn't about to break all that easily, sure… but he would not take his chances.

"Is there any way we can detonate these two safely, without having to worry about fallout?"

A technician from MASA rubbed his chin and said, "Well there are two ways we could do this. The first is to send them out to sea and do the deed there. No matter how good a wind there is, the irradiated dust won't reach the city limits. But then that'll have an effect on local ecosystems, and it won't exactly be pretty once that happens."

Feral nodded and said, "And the second?"

The kat from MASA shrugged and said, "Send them into space in an impact-resistant rocket with protected mainframes and casings; something that they can't break free of in mid-flight. We're going to need someone with the detonator who can follow them out to orbit and blow the damn thing to hell safely."

The big tom placed a hand on his chin and said, "What would be the maximum safe distance for the rocket before we can detonate it without fear of causing any lasting effects?"

The kat in white shrugged and replied, "That, I can't accurately guess. I would say low earth orbit, maybe even farther out. It depends on the range of our couriers."

Feral turned towards the four black-clad vigilantes behind him. "Well, how far out can that jet go?"

Razor smirked and said, "We don't quite know yet. Last time we tested, we entered LEO in a heartbeat. Who knows how far out we could travel now?" He turned towards T-Bone and said, "Wanna give it a shot?"

The big tom grinned and said, "Hell yeah. I've always wanted to see the stars again. Besides we get to see a fireworks show up close. This is the opportunity of a lifetime."

Ghost looked towards him and wondered when she would get to ride in that back seat again. But for the moment, her face remained impassive and cool, true to her namesake. She just wanted to get this job over with and go take a nice, long shower... with T-Bone, of course.

Commander Feral nodded and said, "Let's get it done. Keep open contact at all times. Once that rocket takes off, I want you to be right up there with it. And try not to get yourselves caught in the blast. I might need your services again."

Back at base, Ghost had her tom pinned up against a nearby wall, giving him an almost desperate tongue kiss. He was surprised when she did it, suddenly and without warning, but held her close anyway. When they separated, she spoke before he got the chance to. "Do not… _ever_… put me as bait again, you jerk."

He grinned and said, "Someone had to do it. And you did a good job out there. You kept everyone safe, you know."

She smiled and said, "Didn't have a choice." She licked his nose and added, "You two _will_ come back in one piece, or I'm going to haunt you forever. You hear me, T-Bone?"

He gave her a thumbs-up and said, "I'm not about to go dying on you just yet. I got plans to carry out, after all." He began walking towards the TurboKat and said, "Don't ask what they are just yet; just let me work. That way, it'll be a surprise!"

As he hopped in and started the engines, Ghost smirked and said, "I doubt you are capable of surprising me at all. But you sure can try, you sweet thing. You come back soon, all right?"

He didn't hear her; but then again, he wasn't meant to.

* * *

**Chapter 48: Untouchable (Finale) – **_**Twisted Metal**_

Sorry if it's a bit anticlimactic, but I had to get this chapter out before anything else happened.

This guys, is the official end of the Untouchable story arc. With what's happened over these past few chapters, the entire face of the story has changed forever! Feral is forced to rely more and more on the SWAT Kats, now that his Enforcers are down to their last few good officers.

Sure, a recruiting run will be in order, but that will be for later. Right now, it's time for a break for our heroes; all of them. Of course, once we get back into the saddle, I'm going to pick one baddie at random to silence… prepare to be shocked and amazed yet again!

Okay, back to what you guys love (and admittedly, I love as well). Reviewer Appreciation!

**Kodra**, a new person! Welcome to the fic! I haven't quite read the Jade Callan series yet, but do remind me to read it. I might draw inspiration from it for the next few chapters, because I'm looking for inspiration everywhere. Another new person, **EastsideGeorgiaBoy**! Oh, Feral is going to be using a few handguns that I find very functional and useful. I write what I know, and I know a bit about guns.

And now it's time for the usual suspects.

**Raiden Snake**, good to see you again! Yeah, it is a shame that Steele couldn't move fast enough, huh? Guess he should have taken his training a bit more seriously. I didn't like the little shit, so I decided to send him packing swiftly and have him land right in Feral's very uncomfortable hands. **Kodachi Claws**, you know perfectly well I can't forget this story. It's my baby, one of many, actually. So many good stories; I can't just leave them! Thanks for the comments.

**Ulyferal**! It's been a while, hasn't it? Glad you liked this one something fierce. I do try to ramp up the action now and then, and I hope I did it in this one too. We'll see what the verdict is when you read it. And then there's **inuficcrzy**, another dear, dear friend. Glad that you'll be looking forward to my novel! It's nowhere near done, and I don't dear put it online, so you'll have to wait and see… but do try and cheer me on!

Last but certainly not least, **GeekGirl2**! You are really sticking by this one. Sorry if this chapter doesn't quite deliver the goods, but I had to do something to end it. Our heroes have had enough rough spots in the week; it was definitely time for a change in fortunes. Rest assured, the vacation time will be worth it!

Okay, that's all for this chapter. I'm going to drink a glass of milk to celebrate. Ah, and one more thing… I have a job interview tomorrow! Cheer me on, guys. I might be getting paid soon!

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	49. The Great Escape

"It's a real shame that we're here on business," T-Bone said as he observed the stars above, glistening like so many diamonds in the void of space. "I'd really like to see what we can do out here in zero-g. I mean, we could probably break geosynchronous orbit and go for a while without refueling. With these engines, it shouldn't be too hard, right buddy?"

Razor shrugged and said, "We can always find out later. Right now," he said as he put on his oxygen mask, "Business first."

T-Bone grimaced and put his own mask on as well. "Copy that, Razor. I'm ready to floor it as soon as you hit the Big Red Button."

The Metallikats were currently in a rocket that was headed for parts unknown, escorted by the TurboKat. They had turned themselves into walking nuclear nightmares, and thus far this was the only way to safely dispose of them. The range of the remote detonator was five kilometers, but that wasn't nearly far enough to escape the blast wave, much less the radioactive dust.

"Good," Razor said as he disengaged the safeties, "Because if you don't, we'll be a couple of Kentucky Fried Kats. On my mark…"

T-Bone's right hand tightened on the flight stick, the fingers of his left settling over the throttle in a strained manner. The big tom almost set something off before the signal was given. He couldn't fly like this, not efficiently. He closed his eyes and attempted to clear his mind of wayward thoughts. He'd need all his focus on the task at hand- outrunning a twenty megaton explosion. The image that played on his shuttered eyelids over and over again was that of Calico Briggs's face, the smile that she usually reserved for him shining brightly.

He focused on that image, allowing the thoughts in his head to pass. His breathing finally slowed itself, and his grip on the flight stick and throttle loosened. He barely heard the heat shielding for the cockpit close above him, and didn't care.

_He opened the door and walked away  
Sometimes a selfless step is all it takes  
From the mountain, he could watch it all burn  
Welcome friend, to the point of no return_

"Counting down," Razor said softly. "You let me know if you have any last requests before I get started, buddy." When he heard no response, Razor peered over the front seat and saw that T-Bone's eyes were closed, his hands on the control interfaces. The slim tom smiled and said, "Roger that. I'll give you a bit of time. Ten seconds."

T-Bone didn't hear. Or at least, he didn't hear the entire thing. His mind was slowly slipping into that comfortable void, the place where everything was under control, nothing was difficult, and life was simple. Razor began his count. "Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two…"

_Once in a life, you can find a time to see  
And you get to turn it down  
Turn around, temporary sanity  
And then the mountain disappears without a trace  
All it took, was a sudden leap of faith_

"…_One_!" Razor immediately pressed in the trigger for the explosives, and T-Bone's eyes suddenly opened as he immediately punched the throttle to maximum burn. All three engines suddenly came alive as he broke right and began frantically increasing the TurboKat's output to its full capacity. The four solid fuel rocket boosters were definitely a bonus as they lit up as well, but would it be enough?

As for the rocket, the engines were the first thing to go, immediately detonating and taking a third of the craft with them. Systematically, the other explosives on the rocket followed suit, and as soon as the control room near the nose was reached, a massive flash of light burned behind the TurboKat, which was just outside of its range.

The bad news was that it was closing… fast.

_(Homeward, let your spirit rise)  
Darling I'm waiting for you  
(Homeward, one step at a time)  
(Homeward, watch it like a child)  
When will I reach the ocean?  
I'm filled with mixed emotions_

"We have the shockwave incoming, closing at high speed. Give it some more juice, T-Bone!" Razor was checking his radar, observing the incoming nuclear blast with increasing trepidation. He knew it would be a close thing, but he didn't know it would be this close. If they kept on as they were, not even the engines would be enough to outrun the damn thing. And then he saw something worse… "Oh fuck; debris! _Emergency maneuvers_!"

T-Bone didn't seem to hear clearly, he simply kept on flying as he was. The radar warning receiver blared from Razor's console and he shut his eyes tight as the first radioactive piece of the rocket came flying towards them… only to find the jet shifting suddenly to the right. One eye opened, and he saw it clear the ship harmlessly.

More were coming, but T-Bone deftly evaded them, without any kind of sight what so ever, even as the blast wave raced towards them. "Holy shit," Razor said to himself in amazement, "Flying blind and he's still managing to keep us in our skin. We just might make it out of this…" He checked his radar again and saw the profile of the blast wave still coming in. It was too close to be believed now… "Damn it, spoke too soon! **Brace for impact**!"

And then, something else happened. T-Bone pressed in a button beneath the control surfaces for the three engines, and the jet roared happily as the Speed of Heat turbines were put into motion. The shockwave was kissing the exhaust profiles of their engines, and yet they successfully stayed two steps ahead of it. All the while, his mind was completely empty.

Razor looked over at him, leaning forward to check on his partner, and found his face to be devoid of emotion, iron calm settled over T-Bone's features. 'Whoa… when did he get like this?'

But as soon as Razor checked the radar again, he sighed in relief. "We're clear! Damn good flying, buddy!"

The big tom simply sighed contently and said, "I know." With a smile he said, "You wanna know something? I wasn't even thinking while I did that. It just came to me, y'know? Maybe I've been flying for so long that it doesn't require thought anymore."

Razor shrugged and said, "Well whatever floats your boat, man. We're still alive, and the Metallikats are finally in so many pieces, _no one_ can put them back together. I'd say we're having a good day so far!"

T-Bone grinned and said, "Yeah, and I know how it could get even better. Let's head back to base!"

He was anxious to see Callie again. Of course, he was always anxious, but this time it was more pronounced. Escaping death like that would make one want to see the most important person in their lives first, after all. With that, the TurboKat roared towards the atmosphere again, heading towards the garage.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

* * *

Callie and Felina looked upwards towards the sky for any sign of the TurboKat, the two queens hoping that their respective toms were still in one piece. Quietly they reclined in the scrap yard, a pair of folding lawn chairs next to the makeshift lake that was part of the obstacle course.

And for once, neither of them was in what one expected them to wear. Then again, they were doing many unconventional things these days.

Callie's silver hair shone in the sun as she reclined near the water, a two-piece, equally silver bikini adorning her scintillating frame. A pair of mirrored, thin-framed shades covered her green eyes, thin ovals that looked as if they were made of liquid metal blocking the sun's rays from her sensitive sight. The only reason she wasn't boiling over was because of the sunscreen that she wore all along her body, making her skin and fur shine slightly as the sun harmlessly bounced off of the protective coat she wore.

Felina was sitting next to her, a pair of dark shades without any frames what so ever over her own eyes. Her own black and white striped bikini was more risqué, revealing much more of her tanned skin than the law should allow but still managing the difficult task of clinging to her figure. Dark hair shone in the sunlight as she sipped from a soda can, placing it atop a nearby small table after each drink.

"Should be any minute now," the brunette said as she adjusted a movable part of one of the arms that extended from the frames, turning it in clockwise fashion. The glasses slowly magnified the view of the sky, or at least a certain section of it, and she settled her fight hand down again. "You think they can make it?"

The platinum blonde next to her said without looking towards her friend, "They'll make it." And that, apparently, was that. She closed her eyes and lay back, settling down as if she were about to take a nap. Felina looked towards Callie with a raised eyebrow and said, "It's basically an improvised nuke, Callie-girl. Not much can escape from that."

Her friend sighed and said, "They've done crazy things like this before. Just chalk this up to another day as a SWAT Kat for them. There's no need to be worried unless something really bad happens." And she was one to tell whether or not a situation would turn sour or not. "They'll be back."

If she had a bad feeling about this whole thing before hand, she wouldn't have let them go in the first place. But nary had a thought come up, so she didn't mind them going to blow the Metallikats up. She was rarely wrong about things, and this time was no exception.

Felina looked towards the sky again, not so sure about their chances. But she trusted Callie again with that intuition of hers, as it had not failed them yet. Besides, she liked seeing this version of Calico Briggs; self-assured, calm, and absolutely certain of a situation, oftentimes before it happened. She was starting to become more and more like her ancestor, Callista, whom Felina had met once before.

But all thoughts seemed to cease as a sudden flash of light was seen in the air. Her glasses, still zoomed in, caught it clearly, and Felina felt her insides clench. "And it's fireworks time. You're missing it, Callie."

She said nothing, her eyes still closed. And yet, she heard what was said. Calico Briggs began emptying her mind, doing it as naturally as she breathed. It happened instantaneously, and as she plunged head-first into her void, she reached out with her senses, immediately locating T-Bone and Razor.

For some reason or other, her big, strong tom felt… calm. Unnaturally calm. He was as smooth as a block of well-carved ice, while before he was usually energetic and wild. It made her smile softly as she thought, 'That's the way. It doesn't even require you to think anymore, does it? You fly like a fish swims.'

Not even wondering how he was able to maintain this level of focus, she simply stayed in touch with him, knowing that he couldn't sense her like she could him. She felt a sort of satisfaction at this one-way connection; it made her feel unique.

Felina looked over at her friend and wondered how she could smile like that when there was a huge blast probably headed towards the two kats that they loved. Still, she didn't ask. Of course, as she lifted her eyes to the sky again, the flash and blast wave was gone. "Awww… party's over."

Callie nodded and stood up, stretching out languidly. "That it is. Let's go meet up with our boys, shall we? I trust they'll be back in a few minutes or so, with those engines of theirs." Felina followed Callie inside, and they both donned a pair of jeans each, Callie's a light blue while Felina's were black. They didn't feel the need for shirts at the moment; one was too lazy while the other wanted to, for all intents and purposes, flirt.

Which one was which was difficult to discern at the moment.

The two of them decided to order in, double the amount as usual since the other two SWAT Kats would more than likely be hungry upon their arrival. They wasted most of their time munching on half of their mega sub sandwiches and drinking from their extra-large sodas, watching television all the while. Of course, Ann Gora was on the news, reporting the explosion high above the city.

"And once again for those tuning in, we have confirmation of the destruction of the Metallikats from MASA launch base. The satellite imaging from space had a clear picture of the thrilling escape that the SWAT Kats successfully mounted as the rocket that was the prison for Mac and Molly Mange exploded in a nuclear blast. The effects of the radiation in space at this time are unknown, but it is assumed to be harmless until further notice."

The full picture that was shown before their eyes was indeed a very thrilling escape. Callie grinned as she watched the TurboKat nimbly evade one piece of giant shrapnel after another, while Felina sat on the edge of the couch. "Holy shit… has T-Bone ever flown like that before?"

Callie shook her head and said, "I don't think so. He certainly was in the zone, as far as I could sense. I've never felt such calm from him before. I think during this whole thing, he _was_ the TurboKat." Felina looked towards Callie with a raised eyebrow and the platinum blonde said, "Yeah I know, I don't quite understand that either, but it's the only way I can explain it. Maybe the situation was so dangerous that it required every last inch of focus he could bring forth?"

Felina nodded and said, "Oh. I can understand it when you put it that way. I've been in that kind of mess plenty of times."

Callie smiled and said, "And we're all thankful that you put yourself in that kind of trouble. I certainly hope that you keep that up when you go back to the Enforcers."

Felina lowered her head slightly and said, "Yeah, about that… I don't think I'll want to go back unless Benny is there." Callie went silent as Felina began explaining. "I mean, he's the only tom I trust in that whole outfit, and now that he's gone, well, I don't think I have a reason to return to active duty. Besides, I'm just fine as a private contractor. No one ordering me around, flexible missions, big payoffs; it's the _dream_, Callie."

The former Deputy Mayor nodded and said, "Well I understand that much." She chuckled and said, "I never thought I'd be anything but the Deputy Mayor, and now here I am as a SWAT Kat. Oh, this is the dream too Felina, just a different version of it." She shrugged and said, "And it's turning out to pay pretty well in the long run, almost as much as _your_ day job."

They both laughed as Felina changed the channel.

Not but forty five minutes later, the two of them heard the familiar roar of the engines as the TurboKat smoothly entered into the hangar. The sound made the whole lounge tremble, but Callie thrilled to it. She hopped up from the couch and said, "Well, let's go give 'em their surprise."

The hatch in the lounge was lifted upwards and the two of them headed down the ladder, Felina closing it after them. Below them, the sound of the TurboKat powering down echoed through the base, and they stood near the elevator, waiting for T-Bone and Razor to hop out as usual.

Callie grinned upwards at the big black jet as it rose upwards from underneath them, her eyes shining with pride for her tom. Felina only folded her arms and waited for hers to drop down so she could tell him what she thought personally. As they descended from their engine of destruction, Callie immediately set herself, waiting for him to land safely before she suddenly pounced towards him like some kind of playful kitten, her arms wrapping around his shoulders and her lips locking onto his with a wild passion.

Of course, T-Bone expected something like this, but not with this much zest to it. He chuckled as he lifted her up into the cradle of his arms and kissed back, letting his blood boil happily from the kiss... which quickly turned into a bout of tongue wrestling. Callie moved so quickly that he had to breathe through his nose to keep the oxygen coming in.

Razor had already taken his helmet off and said, "Oh come on you two, get a room!" Then he turned towards Felina, who had ended up right in front of him as he was distracted. "You're one to talk," she purred before she trapped him in her own sweet embrace, and he was pretty much lost to her as well. After a while of this though, Callie broke her kiss first, her eyes narrowed seductively. It appeared that the flirt had been revealed.

T-Bone smiled and said, "I'm going to guess that you're happy to see me."

Callie chuckled and said in a thick, sultry voice, "You're damn right I am. I saw you on the news…" She licked behind his right ear, which made him shiver deliciously. "Good work. I wouldn't have expected anything less from my hero."

Without his notice, she had taken his helmet off for him. He laughed and said, "As if I were the only one around here who could be called a hero! Everyone did great on this one. Got a call from Feral; we should be getting compensation for our work over the next few days." He scoffed and said, "I think he actually sounded grateful this time. Imagine that, huh buddy?"

There was no response, due to the fact that Felina wasn't quite done yet. As stated earlier, she was a bit more worried about the two of them than Callie was. She was determined to show it in every way she could. T-Bone smirked and said, "Let's leave them alone, huh? We've got some catching up of our own to do."

Callie raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't you guys want lunch first? It's just upstairs, should still be nice and warm." Both of his eyebrows rose and said, "You guys got us lunch?" He grinned in his characteristic, boyish manner and said, "I swear, we have two of the best she-kats in the city. Mega sub sandwiches?"

Callie nodded and nuzzled against his right cheek. "And it's your favorite. I do pay attention to details, after all."

He licked his lips and said, "Well, we can do that first. I'm hungry now anyways."

Seconds after they began heading towards the nearby lockers, Felina had finally broken her kiss, her hands framing Razor's face. "Don't you ever… make me so fucking worried about your safety again," she said in that soft purr of hers. The words she said however made that purr quite dangerous. "If you do, I will use you as my personal scratching post. Get me?"

Razor chuckled and said, "Yes, ma'am." He moved to nibble on her left ear, and it made her purr in a much less threatening fashion. "Noticed what you were wearing on the way down… personally, I can't wait to get you out of it," he whispered into that same ear.

Felina's heart rate shot up considerably. "Oh trust me when I say that will be happening very soon. We got you guys some subs though; might wanna take care of that first before we fuck." Razor raised an eyebrow. She was being blunt and straight to the point as usual, and he still wasn't used to it. He grinned and said, "Sure thing. I've gotta tell you about T-Bone's crazy-ass flying up there anyways."

* * *

"…He was completely emotionless," Jake explained as his story wound onwards. "I mean, his face was made of steel. You could almost polish the damn thing. It was like he didn't feel any pressure at all when he was flying our asses out of the fire."

Callie nodded as Felina simply looked towards Chance, eating half of his sandwich with an almost lazy look to him. She shook her head and said, "Sounds pretty uncommon, for this to happen."

The blonde smiled and said, "It is. There really are few people who can relax under pressure and tension." Felina looked towards Callie with a piercing stare, and the she-kat just laughed. "What, it is! I promise; I'm a rare kat."

Chance raised his extra large soda and said, "I hear that one." After taking a sip, he said, "So then, now that we're gonna get extremely paid, the first question is what we do with all the cash we've got." He would let everyone else share theirs first.

Jake was the first to throw out the quite obvious answer. "First things first; we pay off Feral. Get this goddamned shop off of our backs and move on with life. It's what we've been trying to do for a while, and this is a chance to do it."

Chance shook his head immediately. "While I would usually agree with your very good ideas, I have to disagree with this one." Before Jake could speak, Chance raised a hand and said, "Just hear me out. When he's not angry or prideful, Feral can be sharp as a tack. He's proven that during our short time working together. He's going to wonder where the hell we've been getting all this cash from, and will start sniffing around. He sniffs this place out, or rather, what's under it…"

Jake groaned and finished the statement with, "…Then we're all fucked, all four of us."

Chance nodded. "That one's out of the question, but it was a good idea. Even I thought of it as a first option, but then I had to factor in all that other stuff as well. It's not good, but we'll have to keep playing as if we're broke."

Jake sighed and said, "Well if that isn't the most fucked up idea I've ever heard. Damned if it doesn't make sense, though." He looked towards Jake and said, "So did you think of anything else while considering all that?"

T-Bone shrugged and said, "Except for storing it where it won't be traced, the usual bank that we've gotten all the rest of our funds locked up in, I have no clue." He chuckled and said, "We could get ourselves a ride for once; something besides that junk truck out there. But then that could be traced too. To be honest, I'd rather not do anything that'd get us revealed unless it was necessary."

Callie nodded in understanding. She didn't even feel the least bit angry at him. He did everything he did for a reason. But then she wondered what exactly his plans were, the ones he had hinted at earlier. She mentally shook it off and thought, 'Whatever his plans are, they'll be more than possible now.'

Felina grinned and said, "Well at least we won't go hungry any time soon! How about we go out for dinner sometime, a really fancy place? No one's gonna know who we are. We can go out in relative obscurity in the city these days, and without having to wear our gear."

Jake placed a hand on his chin and said, "She's got a point. We haven't gone much of anywhere that hasn't been about work. Besides, it's been a while since Chance and I have gone on a double date."

Chance chuckled and said, "Yeah, like since college." He nodded and said, "All right, that sounds good. We won't feel the bite. I haven't been able to go downtown in forever; might as well do it sometime soon, now that I've got a reason to." With that, he stretched out and said, "So what else is on? I mean, there's gotta be something that's not boring on TV these days, right?"

And thus, life in MegaKat City began to take some kind of normalcy again. Well, perhaps it was a bit eerie in a sense. Callie was being much more flirtatious than usual; purring into Chance's ear on the sly, rubbing his shoulders when she got the chance, and nuzzling against his right shoulder from time to time. It confused the big tom in more ways than one, and did more than just turn him on.

"What's goin' on?" he whispered towards her when he confirmed that Felina and Jake weren't watching them. "You're gettin' all weird on me, Callie. It's nice, sure, but why?"

She chuckled and extended one of the claws on her right hand, tracing it along the curve of one of Chance's ears. "I have no idea," she said with an almost distant sense of wonderment. "It might be because everything's going so well… and maybe the fact that we haven't had sex in a while… and maybe the fact that I missed you to death while you were up there, flying for your life."

Chance smirked and said, "You knew perfectly well I'd come back."

She nodded and nuzzled his right cheek, running a hand along his expansive chest. The rumble that she heard and felt was a sign of things to come. "I knew. And yet I still missed you." She nibbled on his right ear as one of her hands slid along the wall of muscle known as Chance's abs before brushing against the cock trapped in his pants that she knew was thick and hard by now.

The big tom gritted his teeth and looked over towards Felina and Jake, who seemed to have… somehow left the room. With a sigh he looked over his right shoulder and said, "You're crazy, you know that? What if Jake or Felina had caught us?"

She raised an eyebrow and said, "Would they care? More importantly, do you think _I_ would care?"

Chance chuckled and said as he leaned back against Callie, "No, you wouldn't."

She nodded and continued caressing the pole that was in his pants, enjoying how it felt against her hand. "Good boy. Now then, let's not talk about anyone else. In fact," she added as she began unzipping his jeans, "Let's not talk at all."

* * *

"Wow, you've been busy lately," Felina said as she looked at the blueprints that Jake had on his computer. The slim tom folded his arms and said, "Well yeah, I do try and dream stuff up once in a while. I just figured it'd be nice to have something like this for a change, since we go out into space more often than not. Not to mention it sure as hell would help with something that the TurboKat couldn't punch through all that easily."

Felina smirked and said, "So you think that this would more than likely do something against, say, an airship?"

Jake shrugged and said, "Well it sure is small enough- we'd be able to slip under radar without incident, and with the ECMs that'll be on it, I don't think that anything will be able to see us while we're in these."

What they were looking at was another of Jake's projects, one that looked rather elaborate. What it was, Felina didn't quite understand at first. It appeared that Jake was building some kind of robot, but he said that they would have to get inside of them. "How big are they," she asked as this thought popped up in her head.

Jake looked behind his right shoulder and said, "About as big as we are. Our height, our measurements… pretty much all is the same. The whole thing is supposed to fit like a glove." He tapped his mouse twice and the blueprint automatically rendered itself in silver. "It's supposed to use a special agracite-titanium alloy that's resistant to not only heat and mach speed, but the vacuum of space as well. Internal systems are controlled entirely by the pilot's neural centers- you think, it happens immediately."

Felina grimaced and said, "Isn't a computer safer?"

Jake shook his head and said, "We've had too many run-ins with computers that can go rogue due to a bug or some kind of uppity attitude. I'd rather we trust our own heads than some faulty programming."

Felina shrugged and said, "Whatever floats your boat. It's experimental anyways, right?"

Jake nodded and said, "Yeah. But here's the thing- it fits perfectly with our Glovatrixes, and the firing systems are designed to activate them without using the hand controls. That way, we can use two of them in tandem. I've always wanted to do that, and this is the perfect way to try that out. Not to mention that our shields will be replaced by the armor itself, since lasers can't really ram through it and bullets do squat."

Felina smirked and said, "That much looks likely. What else does it do?" She immediately asked, "You said it could withstand mach speed… does that mean we can fly in these things?"

Jake nodded. "Once I actually get one of 'em done, yeah. We're supposed to. Mind you, this is for infiltration of hardened structures and space combat, but these things are supposed to go at a top speed of Mach 1.5. That is, if I can get the proper fuel and jet systems for it."

Felina's eyes widened. "You have one hell of an imagination, Jake Clawson." She grinned and added, "Can't wait until it's actually put to use!"

He sighed and said, "Can't imagine when that'll be. It's gonna take a lot of money and resources that we don't have at the moment. Trust me," He said before she could say anything, "We don't have enough of either right now."

The queen just behind him and to the right placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned forward, whispering into his right ear. "I want to see it happen one day. In the right hands, these could keep the city safe for a while…"

Jake scoffed and said, "We'd need a different Mayor, a more hardcore training routine, more funding, and most of all, an actually competent leader." He knew what she was talking about, of course: the Enforcers. But no, he wasn't an Enforcer anymore, and neither was she. But if what she were saying came true, then yes, there wouldn't be a reason to worry about such things anymore.

As soon as he thought that, he turned around in his chair, making her take a few steps back. "You're thinking about going back to the Enforcers… you know, after all this is over," he said intuitively. "And you're thinking about taking me and Chance with you."

Felina didn't try to hide it. "Will you at least consider it? My uncle can't be mad at you forever. And besides, I'm sure I can find a way to the top. I'll change it so that you're both given what you deserve. You're two of the best operators I've ever come to know, and we… I mean, they… could use you. In fact, I think you've proven well enough that the Enforcers _need_ you."

Jake shook his head. "Until that actually happens, Felina, we're still SWAT Kats. I'd rather not have Feral flying off the handle on us again because of a clash in decision-making. Back then if he would have let us take our shot, Dark Kat wouldn't be around to do what he did to Callie." His eyes narrowed at the thought of it. "No, we're fine where we are."

Her ears lowered and her eyes closed sadly. Yes, Jake had a point; he always did. But still, he wouldn't even consider it? Not like she blamed him; her uncle was a bastard for what he did. She shrugged and said, "Can't blame me for trying," as she began walking out of his lab.

Jake's expression lightened slightly as he watched her leave. What he had seen in her eyes, that fire and drive, the ambition, he hadn't truly seen it in quite some time… at least, not recently. He had to admit that he liked seeing it. For a moment, he imagined what it would be like with Felina actually in charge… and as the scene unfolded in his head, even he had the notion that it would work. She was just like her uncle at times, stubborn and easily angered. But what she had that he did not was the flexibility needed to adapt when a situation turned sour, and the energy and drive needed to lead the Enforcers in a new direction; in his opinion, a better one.

"Felina, wait," he called out. She stopped and looked behind her, the expression on her face more curious than saddened. "Tell you what," Jake said with a hand on his chin. "When this whole SWAT Kat business is over, you can do whatever you want. If it's back to the Enforcers, that's fine… and if you happen to make it all the way up the ladder, you let me know. I'll talk to Chance about it, and we'll see what we can come up with."

One of Felina's eyebrows rose and said, "You sure?"

Jake nodded. "I have a good feeling about it, that's all. Besides," He said with a confident grin, "My plans always work!"

She smiled and said, "Of course they do." She tilted her hips slightly to the left, making her tail swing playfully in the same direction. "Come to bed with me?"

Jake's grin turned into a seductive smile. "Sure. Work sucks anyway."

* * *

Chance's head rolled back onto his shoulders as he sat there on the couch, one hair in the silver locks of Calico Briggs, who was currently attempting to drive him absolutely crazy. Her lips moving along his length, sucking on it as if it were the most decadent treat she had ever had, were doing a very good job of making him slightly delirious.

"Oh my God," Chance groaned as Callie sucked him off, her tongue wrapping along the head of his cock as she did so. He was already big, sure enough, but she was only making it worse. And the fact that Felina and Jake could come up or out from wherever they were at any time seemed to make him blush in a quite visible way.

Not like he cared anymore. "Don't stop," he moaned.

Callie purred in response as she began to pick up the pace. To be honest, this was one of her favorite parts of teasing her tom. He tasted wonderful to her, and a part of her liked it when he became forceful with her. She almost hoped he would snap and do just that, pushing her head all the way down to his hips, but for now she was content with seeing how far he could go without doing so.

'You'll give up sooner or later,' she thought to herself as she slowly lifted her head, being careful to move as slowly as she could in order to make it last. "No way," Chance pouted in disappointment as he saw what she was doing. "What, is it over already? Or is there something wrong?"

She chuckled as she reached the spongy head of his pipe… and then suddenly lowered her head all the way down to his hips, moving her head to one side or the other as she did so. Chance gasped in surprise before the long, lustful groan came forth from his throat. "Shit, that's what I'm talking about!" He growled as the hand in her hair tightened.

Her throat tightened as her lips did their work, and one hand surreptitiously reached for Chance's sack, gently playing with his balls as she began to downright torture him. Her tongue rubbed along the underside of his member as she began moving again, and she could feel Chance throbbing against her lips.

It was all making her, naturally, very wet between her legs, and Chance could smell her heady fragrance wafting through the air. He chuckled and said, "You can't take much more of this, can you?" He wouldn't brag about it, just the experience was good enough for him. "You're just waiting for me to decide whether or not I'll tear you apart."

She growled in a mixture of determination and sheer lust, frustrated at both his mocking and the fact that he was _absolutely right_. Oh, he would pay for that. She sucked hard, her tongue wickedly sliding along his heated, silken, sensitive skin, and any further taunts were effectively silenced by his next groan. He understood now to be careful what he said to her, or at least she hoped he did. Because she really, truly couldn't take much more of his scent, his taste, his soft, deep voice.

With that, she lifted her head completely and said, "Now will you be a good boy and not tease me again? I'm busy here." She playfully kissed the tip of his member and began undoing the top of her silver bikini.

Chance couldn't help but stare. Callie's beauty was always a sight to see, but when she got naked it was far better than imagining what she would look like without clothing. An example; her breasts were perfect to him, the size and shape fit into his hands nicely without being overbearing. "Have I ever told you how much I like those big twins of yours?"

She chuckled as she carelessly tossed the article of clothing to some unknown corner of the lounge. "You have, several times. And it doesn't hurt to hear it again. Now sit still," she said as she got herself into position, placing her breasts on either side of Chance's manhood, "And let me work."

The big tom was entirely helpless as he hissed through his teeth; the combination of the soft skin rubbing against him with the feel of her lips was overwhelming. "Damn, Callie… that feels so amazing!" He looked down at what she was doing, and the sight turned him on something fierce.

She purred at his words, happy that he was having a good time. She sure was, and that was for certain. But soon, the games would have to come to an end, and she knew it. He had to be nearing some kind of conclusion, whether it was forcefully taking her as she wanted, or filling her mouth with his tasty cream. At the moment, she didn't care which; her body burned with need for him.

In fact, she started moving faster.

Chance's breath stalled in his throat as he found it harder and harder to keep up with her attentions. It wouldn't be long before something gave way, and he figured it would be his sanity before it was his sack. But he resolved to hold on for as long as he could, since she was trying so hard. With a growl, he felt yet another shiver run down his spine as Callie ran her lips all the way along his length, only to start the combination of breasts and tongue all over again.

Fortunately, his persistence paid off. "I can't hold it," he said soon enough, and Callie responded perfectly, removing her breasts and sliding her head along his full length, from tip to base, once, twice… and the third time, he held her head against his hips as he finally gave up the ghost. Callie worked his length with her throat, wanting to savor every last drop that he gave her, and the deep, satisfied purr that she heard from him was well worth it.

A few seconds of this later, and Callie was allowed to move again. "Fuck," Chance said weakly, "That was the best. What _are_ you?" He had asked that once during one of their romps, finding it amazing that she could keep going like this, knowing exactly what he wanted or needed while they were having sex.

She lifted her head and answered the same thing as last time, which always made him laugh. "I'm a witch from out of your dreams, come to steal your soul away." She began removing his jeans and underwear entirely, her eyes narrowed to seductive slits. "You won't want it back when I'm done with you."

He smiled and said, "All right then, take it from me, if you can."

She grinned and tossed his pants towards the same corner that she had moved her own garments to, beginning to take off the rest of her own as well. Seconds later, they were both gloriously naked, and very eager for round two. Callie climbed into her tom's lap and kissed him without hesitation, and he responded in kind. As their tongues battled for position, he lifted her hips and blindly felt for her entrance with his length.

Her gasp, sudden and filled with ecstasy, was a sign that he had found it. Without any further ado, he slid into her, the lower lips giving way to him. She pulled away from the kiss and moaned happily as he went as far as he could, moving her hips down until they met his own. She shivered and said, "God you're so big… I love it!"

He chuckled and grabbed that wonderfully soft ass of hers, making her shudder again. She grabbed onto the back of the couch just to hold herself in place and said, "Do it. Make me scream."

He didn't need another invitation as his hips shoved upwards, and her heart seemed to leap into her throat as her body jumped from the movement. There was no turning back now; he would pound her until there was nothing left for either of them, and she knew it. Her mind slowly began to drift off to another place altogether as Chance began driving into her, gritting his teeth against the flood of sensation that ran through him.

Callie couldn't speak for lack of air to do it with. All of it was being used to keep her heart from bursting out of her chest, to keep her lungs supplied with fresh air. Her body felt like it was about to burn away, and she didn't think she'd mind if it did. The only thing she could manage was a moan or a cute squeak now and then, which Chance found amusing.

"Having fun up there?" he managed to ask as he opened his eyes, looking at the heavenly body above him. He suddenly had that boyish grin on his face as he said, "I sure am down here."

"Damn you," Callie said as she hissed from the latest hit of pleasure that ran across her nerves, "Don't stop!"

He hadn't stopped moving even as he talked, but that last comment from her only urged him to move faster. The ability to speak for either of them was robbed once again as Chance continued driving his she-kat to the brink, the sound of hot, messy, and very fun sex echoing throughout the lounge.

For some odd reason, it was the _sound_ that eventually got to Callie. Her ears pressed against her head and her tail swished this way and that wildly as she lost herself. "I can't _take_ it," she cried out at last, "I'm gonna come!!"

Chance growled as his movements changed from fast to just plain hard. She only needed a few of those, he knew by instinct, to finally pop. As the powerful strokes of his member assailed her, she cried out senselessly with every thrust. It was when her tom cried out in release that she let out her scream, a feral sound that had a visceral wantonness to it.

'Holy crap,' Chance's mind managed to piece together, 'Have I made her completely crazy?'

It didn't matter. The feel of his essence filling her was enough for him. The fact that she was actually able to speak again helped, and the way she was doing it made his pleasure all the more intense. "There's so much of it," Callie said as her hips twitched and her tail seemed to dance on its own. "Give me everything. Fill me up, sexy."

Chance groaned as he gave her what he had, until there was nothing left… and felt her collapse on top of him, entirely breathless. He couldn't blame her; that was one of the most intense sessions they'd ever had. It was about thirty seconds later that they finally caught their breath.

"Damn," he purred softly, "You're incredible."

She chuckled weakly and said, "Don't I know it. You are a fine tom to have around, and not just because you save my ass on an almost consistent basis."

They both laughed at this and rested silently in each other's company for a while. It was a surprise when Chance said quietly, "I want my own place again."

She looked towards him and raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

He spoke up. "I said I want my own place again. You see that Jake and I pretty much live here, right? It's not exactly the best conditions." He looked towards her and said, "I used to have at least an apartment while I was in the Enforcers, before everything went to Hell. It felt great to have a place of my own that I could hang my hat and lay my head. This place, as you know, is pretty much owned by Burke and Murray… so it's not mine."

She smiled and said, "Well why not get one when this is all over? I'm sure there will be plenty of chances to find somewhere that we can live without being pestered by two unruly goons." She nuzzled against his neck and said, "After that, we can go from there."

Chance nodded and said, "Yeah, that's the plan." He didn't stop there. "I have other plans too… but before I tell you, I gotta clear the air first about something. I mean something that happened a while back." Callie lifted her head again, letting him explain.

"You remember," he began, "About that airship that tried to take over the city, the one with those female pilots on it?"

She nodded and said, "Felina told me about that one. Why? Did one of them manage to catch your eye?" She was teasing, but part of her was very, very interested now.

He lowered his eyes and said, "Sort of. Jake and I were separated for a few moments, and we had a bit of work to do in order to take the whole thing down. Their leader, Turmoil, captured me and I thought she was about to go all evil torture session on me. But then she did something I didn't expect…"

Callie was silent as she wondered where this was going.

"She gave me an offer to join up," Chance said with a sigh, "And for a while I was tempted to. She had her squadron equipped with better jets than the Enforcers. They were competent, organized, focused… and beautiful." He looked towards Callie and continued with, "The only thing that kept me from joining for real was that they were on the wrong side. I had to stop them. But if I were any other kat…"

Callie smiled and said, "If you were any other kat, I wouldn't love you." She tilted her head to the left and said, "Is there more?"

He nodded and said, "While she was taking me on a tour of the place, I set remote charges in key locations." In other words, anywhere he thought that would cripple the airship to destruction. "I had to play against Jake for a while in order to keep us both alive, too. That hurt me. But you wanna know what happened this one time?"

She nodded without saying anything. He sighed and said, "I found her primary weapon, the Vertigo Beam, and was primed to take it out, but I had to do something to distract her. I saw that she was into me; I hadn't actually noticed before, but once I saw her eyes light up at something I said, I knew. There was only one way to draw her attention… and I did it without hesitation."

Callie didn't have to ask. "You kissed her."

Chance nodded and said, "Yeah. Felt bad for it, because… well, I liked _you_. I've _always_ liked you, you know that. But I did what I had to do," he added as if he were trying to explain himself. He heard her giggle and raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

She grinned and licked his nose. "It's just a kiss. If it were all that bad, why are you making all these excuses? Are you afraid I might bring my wrath down on you for something that was necessary? Besides," she added as her voice dropped to a seductive purr again, "I like sexy spies as boyfriends."

A single claw extended from a finger and she scratched underneath Chance's chin, which made him purr and relax significantly. "If we run into her again and she still has a thing for you, I will let her know clearly that you are taken. If that means I have to kick her ass, so be it. Just don't go off and kiss any other she-kats, or I might rethink this position. Copy that?"

Chance purred and replied, "Copy, always and forever. Besides, she's locked away. We won't be seeing her for quite some time." At least, he hoped not… Because a fate worse than being locked away now awaited her if she ever broke out! Heaven help the kat who made his queen angry…

* * *

**Chapter 49: **_**The Great Escape**_

WHOA. Now that's heavy.

Okay guys, thanks for turning the next page. It's astonishing how far we've come, almost 50 chapters. I have you guys to thank for it. This time I wrote entirely without a script or outline, so I hope this one flies straight and true. As for the lovin', let's just say I drew a bit of inspiration. Might not be as long as the others I've seen, but it's sufficient for my needs.

Hopefully for all you fans out there who have been waiting for some action, this is sufficient for your needs as well.

The lyrics at the escape scene belong to **Kenny Loggins**, and the song is called _Leap Of Faith_. For those of you who know who that is, you're going to ask me why I didn't use one of his other songs... well I'll use THAT one later. For now, this one fits the scene.

OKAY, time for another form of lovin': Reviewer Appreciation.

So then, let's start with the man I'm truly concerned about today, **trigger12**. _This_ will get you off of my back, I hope. My attempt here is to restore faith in this story. You dun think everything's on the up and up here, you message me. Savvy? Otherwise, leave your comments in a review. Thanks.

And now let's go to the usual suspects.

**ulyferal**, thanks for the good word! You write more drabbles and such than I do in a single month; I see more and more of your stories up all the time. My question is do you ever finish any of them? I know it's a silly question to ask, but one I've been meaning to for a while. Anyways, keep reading!

**GeekGirl2**, as usual, you are certainly boosting my morale. Nothing much to say here except thank you; you checking your updates is making my day here. Heck, my week, my month, and my entire year just improved by seeing that. Keep checking!

**RaidenSilversword**, just as expected, you come back for more. I'm glad, to be honest. Sorry that this one took so long; here's hoping the end of the Metallikats is worthwhile! Shame there's not much to say to you in return, but that's it.

**The Dark Lord Redrall** rises from the deep! And he comes with reviews. Thanks man, now you know who presses the Big Red Button. As for Benny, I expect he'll be around soon, just not here. Watch for his fate later, sometime in the next chapter. In the meantime, church bells? Maybe… you'll have to find out, won't you?

**inuficcrzy** is next up, and I must say I've missed ya. Yeah, he's a bugger, ain't he? As for Mayor Manx, I trust he will really have to work for his dollars now that his backup is out of the picture. I wonder what will become of his next election.

And here he is, the man of the hour (or at least the split second), **Raiden Snake**. To be honest, I have no idea what villain I will be throwing out of a twelve story window next, metaphorically speaking, but I'm running out of 'em. There are only a few more major threats left to tackle, one of which will be less of a threat and more in trouble. Not saying who.

Okay, that's it for that, fans. Tune in for the next exciting foray into MegaKat City!

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	50. Burn

Felina Feral smiled as she sat on the couch in her apartment, the television off and the blinds drawn. The look on her feminine, feline features was one of contentment, for she had a very sexy tom in her lap, or rather with his head in her lap. Still wearing the jeans that she had on from the day before but having replaced the bikini top for a dark blue, short-sleeved shirt, she looked at home in her home. The tom with tanned skin, just as hers, was fast asleep.

'And he does look cute when he's asleep, too,' she thought to herself as she scratched behind one of his ears. The targeted ear flicked as if in annoyance, but only once before Jake began to purr softly. Oh, that felt nice. It made Felina chuckle softly as she did it, thinking on how many times her tom had used that trick on her, especially during sex.

She shivered at the thought of it. 'Crap… even when you're not getting all hot with me under the sheets, you still make me horny, Clawson.'

It was the morning after the business with the Metallikats was finished, and Felina had decided to take a breather. Of course, she brought Jake with her; one would swear that the two of them were joined at the hip these days. Still, one could also say the same about another tom and his queen, but they were not present at the moment.

They hadn't even had time to have breakfast properly before Jake announced he was tired. She really wanted to try out some of those recipes that Callie had shown her (she had even written them down for fear of her good friend burning the place down, which was why they were stuck to the refrigerator via a magnet), but she figured it could wait. She was pretty tired as well.

Just as she was considering heading to bed, there was a knock on her door. Felina groaned softly as she gently picked up Jake's head and settled it onto the couch, but it apparently was not gentle enough, because her tom woke up. "Hmmm, what's the deal, Felina?"

She smiled and said, "Door. You wanna head to my bedroom?"

Jake smiled sleepily and said, "Long as you're coming in behind me in the next hour or so. I was having a good rest there."

Felina chuckled and shooed him off to her bedroom before sighing and heading towards the front door. "I really should have had at least a bowl of cereal or something when I got in," she lamented as she plodded towards the sound of more knocking. "Yeah, I'm coming!"

Of course, she looked through the peephole and found herself pleasantly surprised at who it was. Without hesitating, she opened the door with a grin. "Hi, Benny," she said warmly.

The tom that stood before her had a much more… relaxed expression on his features. "I sure hope," he said teasingly, "That you've got at least a bowl of cereal. I'm finding myself getting hungry every time I head towards your place. Mind if I come in?"

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

The bowl of cereal was followed by another one as Benny began eating rather contentedly. Felina noticed that he looked a lot better now than the last time she had seen him. If it were Callie, she would probably sense a change in his aura or something; she couldn't tell how her intuitive leanings worked. There were probably many ways that it worked, but the former Enforcer didn't bother with trying to figure them out.

After about five minutes of this, he sighed and said, "Well it's not exactly a good cooked meal, but it'll do," with a chuckle. "So then, let's get to the reason I'm here."

Felina nodded and leaned back in her chair, anxious to hear what he had to say. She hoped that it was good news, because if it weren't, she'd have to tell Jake about it. To be honest, she didn't want to ruin his sleep so early. The she-kat remained silent as her good friend cleared his throat and began speaking.

"I saw what happened on the news," he started out. "Damned if that wasn't the best flying I'd ever seen. And finally, we're completely rid of the Metallikats, since they're so much space dust now. Things are certainly looking up for the city, though I bet there's a lot of property damage that needs to be taken care of."

Felina nodded and smirked at the job that Mayor Manx would have to do. "Well I'm sure it'll be taken care of… sooner or later. Our good mayor can't be that incompetent, and if he is, this'll show it." She shook her head and said, "Is there more?"

Benny nodded and said, "Yeah. I've contacted Commander Feral with the very late fact that I'm the one that found out who the moles were, though it was entirely by accident. He says I'm due for a promotion when I come back… and he certainly sounds confident that I will, too."

Okay, now she was interested. "And will you?"

Benny sighed and said, "I dunno, Felina… I don't think I'm ready for active duty again. I mean, I can shoot, I can lead, but I can't _move_ as I used to. Being old can do that to a kat. I'll have to start working out again in order to actually get some of the results I'm looking for, and it'll be at least three or four months before I'm in top shape again."

Felina shrugged and said, "Nothing I can't fix. I trained Clara to defend herself; you'd do pretty well with training from me. Besides, forty isn't old," she added with a smile.

Benny chuckled and replied, "While that'd be nice, and somewhat amusing, I still have my own workout routine set. I've kinda drilled it into my own head in my younger days, and just in case that didn't work, I have it written down, minute-by-minute." He looked down at the table and said, "To be honest though, I don't think I have a choice _but_ to accept. Feral's gonna need all the good kats he can get these days. The Enforcers were hit pretty damn bad this week…"

Felina went silent again. She had heard about an entire Special Response Team being eliminated by a clever trap laid by the Metallikats, but she didn't think about the overall impact that it had on the Enforcers. Those kats were the best of the best besides the SWAT Kats, and if their numbers were dwindling, they were in big trouble.

"Any shortages on pilots?" she asked as her mind immediately switched to tactical mode.

Benny shrugged and said, "I have no idea, really. I'm not the one that does the counting on those things. But if I were to harbor a guess, I'd say we're good on that end. Besides those that were knocked out of commission during the raid on Steele's base, there's no shortage of good kats that can fly. But as for officers on the ground, the initial gang raid was already a heavy toll, and the explosion at the opera house took another good chunk out of our reserves." He shook his head and said, "We've still got the air, but anyone who tries to take the ground will more than likely succeed this time."

The she-kat suddenly wanted a cup of coffee. Usually, she never touched the stuff, but right now she thought it would come in handy. If there wasn't a team that could respond quickly enough to an assault on multiple fronts, it'd be over for the city in a matter of minutes rather than hours. And with the way the Enforcers already were…

'No,' she thought to herself as she shook her head, 'I can't think about that.'

Felina made a decision at that point; one that she'd probably regret later. "I'm gonna have to talk to my uncle, see if he can't see reason this time. The next time he goes out there, it might not be all that good in the end. He's going to need more backup than just the SWAT Kats. I know he doesn't want to rely on any further outside help, but I think KatGuard is going to play a major role from this point forward."

Benny shrugged and said, "If you think a bunch of mercenaries can handle the job, that's fine with me. We could use all the backup we can get, but… they require payment for their services. From what I hear, Feral's already been paying the SWAT Kats top dollar, and KatGuard has already helped out once. I doubt that there's enough money _left_ to put into any outside help…"

Felina grimaced and said, "He'll have to ask for more funding. I'm sure Mayor Manx can't afford to put any more of the taxpayers' money into his own little pet projects when their city is in jeopardy. This is for a good cause. Besides, there's not enough time for a recruitment drive; anything could happen at any time."

Benny nodded and said, "I understand. I'll let him know for you, if you want."

Felina smiled and said, "That'd be great. I don't quite forgive him yet." Not after the conversation she had had with Jake earlier. No, that had only gotten her angry at him again. A part of her mind nagged at her that she couldn't be angry forever; she'd have to let it go sometime, or it would blow up in her face like a stack of TNT.

She refused to let it go just yet; the anger gave her focus. In her mind, the only way to change the Enforcers was simple; unseat her uncle and change his policies. It was ambitious; something that Steele would have pulled. But she was better at his job, and had plans of her own; good, solid plans that would make the Enforcers better, stronger, and capable of a faster response time.

She was learning things from her time in the SWAT Kats that no Enforcer training camp could teach her. Sometimes one had to break things in order to save lives- smash in windows, kick in doors, fight as if it were a war instead of catching a criminal, because some criminals did not play by the book, and did not surrender easily.

'Sometimes you have to use a sledgehammer to fix a problem instead of crazy glue.'

Of course, that was why it was called Special Weapons and Tactics.

Breaking her train of thought, she said, "I'm going to have to introduce you to the rest of my friends one day. They're what you'd call… like-minded individuals. Sure, they're not the kind of kats that uncle would listen to, but they have good intentions."

Benny was silent for a moment, considering what she said, and then said something himself in a quiet tone of voice. "Felina, you've got a good heart, and that she-kat, Clara, is something else. She could keep a secret, and I appreciate that; it's what got us all out of this mess. But you gotta remember that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. It's not all that kosher to break the status quo; you'll very well be ostracized for it."

Felina set a determined expression on her face and said, "So be it. I'll do anything to keep kats from needlessly losing their lives."

Benny stared at her for a few moments before grinning. "Hell with it, then. If you're gonna burn, I might as well sit in the oven with you. You let me know what you need; I'll try and work the system and get it to you. That's not kosher either, but we're far beyond the point of no return."

Felina grinned in response and said, "That's my Benny, always one step ahead." Oh, this was good, very good. She hadn't even _done_ anything yet, and her plans were already being set into motion. Maybe, just maybe, those blueprints of Jake's would come in handy after all. But first, he'd have to get them built… but that was for later, wasn't it? Right now, she would have to keep from getting so excited that she let certain things slip.

Felina contained herself and said, "Matter of fact, you can do me an early favor, right now…"

* * *

"So that's who it was," Jake said as they ate lunch later that day. "There any chance of me meeting this friend of yours, so we can actually get things done?"

Felina shook her head as she took another bite of the pizza she'd had delivered. "You won't need to. I've got him doing a bit of work for us." She scratched her forehead and said, "I know it's wrong, but now that Callie's with us, someone has to inform us of situations beforehand so that we can stay on top of them. The Enforcers aren't exactly full of good officers anymore."

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "I get it, so who better than someone on the inside to pass information?" He smiled and said, "I sure got lucky, having a smart she-kat as a girlfriend. But we've already got the emergency frequency. I mean, that'll let us know plenty about a situation, right?"

Felina nodded and said, "Of course, but that won't always work. We're gonna have to be on point if we still want to remain one step ahead of the Enforcers. There's always the possibility that Uncle Feral might find out sooner or later, but I'll cover for Benny if I have to."

Jake frowned and said, "Let's hope you don't. We can't afford to lose even one SWAT Kat, especially in the days ahead. He finds out you were involved, you could be locked up with all the other criminals that we've put away. It's not exactly gonna be good for morale."

Felina smirked and said, "I can take care of myself. What we have to do now though is focus. Now that we don't have to worry about our radar, it's not going to be difficult to pick up on what they're doing. And if they're in trouble…"

Jake grinned and said, "Then it's our turn. I get ya." He picked up another bite of pizza and said, "Should we go ahead and tell Chance about this? I mean, the others have to know, after all."

Felina shrugged and said, "It'd help, sure enough. I mean, everyone needs to be let in on it. We're all going to have to meet him sometime, so I should let the others know too." Of course, she didn't really believe that. This was her own personal victory, and she wasn't about to share it with anyone easily. Then again, if she did that, wouldn't she be just like her uncle?

She mentally shook the thought off and decided that it was time to change topics. "You slept kinda long there, love." She liked calling him that; it made what they had a bit more real to her, somehow. "Are you all right?"

Jake nodded and said, "Well I am now. I mean, we've been getting so little sleep these days because I hardly ever have time for it. I mean, I was pretty wrecked when I got through the door a few hours ago. I'm surprised you're still up and running, Felina."

She grinned and said, "What can I say? I have too much energy and not enough ways to use it."

The slim tom chuckled and said, "I can probably think of one."

Felina's tail curled in quite the wonderful way as a chill raced along her spine. The way he was talking, it seemed like whatever they'd do would wear her out. "What've you got planned?"

Jake leaned over to lick along the ridge of her right ear, which made her purr softly. Of course, what he whispered next was enough to make her hair stand on end. "You said you would come to bed. I was kinda disappointed when I found out you weren't there." He licked again, and this time she moaned. "Come to bed."

Felina chuckled, her voice the thickness of dark, sweet melted chocolate. "I'll do whatever you say, handsome." As long as he kept acting like this, she'd do anything he wanted. She absolutely loved it when he radiated confidence. It only made her desire to pin him to the nearest wall like a butterfly and ravish him even hotter.

So when they finally reached the bedroom, away from the prying eyes of those who would inadvertently walk in, she immediately put him in a warm embrace followed by a searing kiss that was designed to knock his senses out of whack. Jake was taken by surprise for a moment, and Felina kicked the door closed behind her without a second thought.

'Callie might let her tom call the shots in bed,' she thought to herself feverishly, 'But that's not the way I operate.'

Walking Jake forward to the bed, she began taking his shirt off, or at least, tried to do so without breaking the kiss for any longer than she had to. It only took three seconds to take said shirt off and get her hands at that toned muscle and taut skin underneath. Jake was about to speak when he was suddenly smothered with another kiss. His eyes widened as she seemed to increase the pace.

'Damn, slow down, Felina!'

That was what he wanted to say, but her aggressive nature was not to be denied. He'd have to fight back, wouldn't he? Well then, that's what he'd do, if only to get her to listen to him. He attempted to break the kiss, but she pursued him with a short-lived grin. As soon as she moved forward though, he immediately circled behind her and used his position to take her to the mattress.

With a surprised squeal, she fell forward, and suddenly found herself underneath Jake as he straddled her lower back. "Whoa," he said with a laugh, "What's gotten into you?"

She made a half-hearted attempt to struggle, secretly enjoying how easily Jake seemed to take control of the situation. "You have," Felina replied, "And I want more of it, now."

Jake chuckled and said, "Calm down. You'll get it soon, I promise." With her arms stretched out in front of her, Felina casually rested her head on the bed, looking behind her at Jake from her prone position. Her brown eyes shone at him excitedly, promising all sorts of decadent tortures once she got loose. Her purr resounded through the room as Jake scratched the sweet spot just behind her ears where they connected to her head.

That just about wiped all thoughts of torture from her mind, and she didn't mind if the world ended around her, so long as he continued to do that. "Mmmmmm, that's not fair," she said as her muscles relaxed almost automatically.

Jake smirked and said, "Anything to get you to take this slowly. There's no rush, now is there?"

Well, she figured not… just as long as the ear scratching continued. Jake took his time about taking Felina's clothing off, and she lithely leaned backwards (yes, while lying prone) in order to help him with the annoying garments. A black sports bra was underneath, but Jake did nothing with it just yet. He simply began rubbing her shoulders and neck.

'Well, I have been kind of tense lately,' she thought to herself as the knots in her muscles made themselves quite known. How Jake knew that she needed this was beyond her, but she figured he was doing a good job with it so far. "Mmmmmm… didn't know you knew how to give good rubdowns too, Jake."

He chuckled and said, "I am a kat of many hidden talents," as he poked and prodded, seeing what needed fixing. Whenever Felina groaned or hissed in discomfort, Jake had to hide his wince as he worked on the problematic areas. Like the skilled technician he was, the slim tom wasted no time in turning his queen into so much jelly.

'Oh my God,' she thought absently to herself, 'Why didn't I ask for this sooner?'

The answer to the question did not matter. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, in fact. Jake's hands seemed to erase all conscious thought, replacing it with sensation and warmth. A purr began to resonate though the bedroom, and it made Jake smile. His hands still moving, he leaned forward to place a gentle kiss along the outside edge of one of Felina's ears.

She either didn't notice, or the sensation simply mixed with all the others, because she kept her eyes closed and continued to purr. She sounded like the engine of her car now, so loud was the noise of her contentment. In fact, she didn't seem to notice when one of his hands began to take off her sports bra. That was, until he kindly reminded her of what they were doing in bed in the first place.

"Could you move for a minute? This is getting in my way," Jake said with a grin.

Felina lazily opened her eyes and looked behind her, raising an eyebrow as she saw what one of his hands was working on. She smiled slowly and said, "Sure thing," her voice sounding a tad drained of energy. He was lulling her into a comfortable lethargy, at least mentally. Paradoxically, her body felt renewed and energized from what Jake's hands had done.

To think, he wasn't even finished yet.

She rolled over on her back using just her elbows, and Jake's hips moved to adjust. After that, she sat up, just enough to rise from the mattress, and the bra was gone in seconds, leaving her topless.

She lay back down with a teasing grin. "Is the massage over?"

Jake shook his head and said, "Not even halfway." He placed his hands on her bare breasts, making her moan softly, and began to fondle and gently squeeze. "In fact, it's only just starting."

Felina squirmed slightly, arching her back and grinding her hips when she could, trying to get Jake as excited as he was making her, but it wouldn't work. His lips mercilessly teased her nipples; tongue adding to the tantalizing, heady mix of sensations that she already had burning through her veins. He gently bit down on one of the sensitive peaks, and she had to grit her teeth as a fresh wave of heat and desire ran along her nerves.

'I'm good and trapped,' she thought to herself as she tried to move again. And then she realized, 'I find myself not minding one bit.'

The fact that his hips had hers pinned did nothing to sate her fires or calm her down. And yet, she could not move at all, which presented both an exciting and frustrating situation. Here she was, trying to control her lover, and instead she was being controlled _by_ him, and quite easily in fact. She wanted to be on top, dictating the action.

But right now, that wasn't in the cards as Jake continued his relentless attack, one hand reaching upwards to scratch just underneath her chin while the other headed towards one of her ears to scratch just behind it. The combination of the two movements was enough to send Felina into a fit of shivers. Add what his lips and tongue were doing to her, and one had a recipe for a very pleased she-kat.

'He's going to drive me insane, and we're not even at the good part yet!'

They were going to reach that part soon, though. How soon was another matter altogether. Hopefully, it would be before she went batty. Hope for her prolonged sanity faded further when Jake began kissing his way down her taut, toned stomach, sending small shocks of pleasure racing along her skin.

Felina giggled and muttered, "Tickles."

Jake smiled and said just before he reached her jeans, "It's gonna do more than that soon, trust me."

He began unbuttoning her slim fitting pants, making her squirm again in excitement. Jake's thumbs hooked into her panties as well, taking both remaining pieces of clothing off in one sweep. With that, she lay bare before him, a teasing and seductive look on her features. "I really could get used to this," Felina purred. "What'll happen next, sexy?"

Jake said nothing as he slid his tongue along Felina's heated petals, and it made her hips lift upwards to meet him. "God, yes… do that again."

Jake remained silent as he began having himself a snack out of Felina, his clever lips and playful hands causing all sorts of havoc in rather gentle fashion. Claws gently scratched along her inner thighs, resulting in her breaking out in all sorts of pleasant shivers. His tongue rested on her hot button now and then, and it made her squeal as if an alarm had gone off.

There were no thoughts running through her head, and all thoughts of retaliation were, for the moment, gone. Her fierce drive had been tamed, even though it had taken a while to do. Sure it'd come back, but for the moment, she was willing to play along like this.

"Oh, _yeah_… don't stop, Jake!"

Oh yes, very willing.

The slim tom finally let out a chuckle as he continue to drive Felina entirely nuts, her heated sex beginning to become slick with her essence. It wouldn't be long now, that was for sure. Further signs of her impending fate began to become evident: her toes curled, her ears flattened against her head, and her tail whipped around where it could, all signs of a very happy she-kat.

Felina looked down at Jake in amazement, as if she were wondering how this was possible. Her hands toyed with her breasts in the meantime, adding to the sensations that ran along her nerves like so much lightning. Of course, when Jake began sliding his tongue into her entrance, she squeezed harder and moaned louder.

"Right there, that's the spot! Oh _God_, Jake… I'm gonna come!" She gritted her teeth and put a good arch in her lower back as the waves began to come crashing down on her. Oh, the big one wasn't there yet, but it was on its way as the knot in the pit of her stomach began to tighten to an almost unbearable strain.

Thankfully - or unfortunately, depending on your point of view - Jake let up before she went entirely nuts. "Not yet," he said teasingly. "We haven't even gotten started yet."

Felina whimpered and said, "You're a mean bastard, Jake Clawson."

He grinned and said, "Can't help it." He began taking off his own pants as Felina's right hand rubbed and caressed at the juncture of her thighs while her left rubbed along her stomach. Oh, she was on fire now… but it was difficult to get herself finished. At this point, she certainly needed help.

"Jake," she whined, "Hurry up!"

The slim tom laughed as he carelessly discarded his clothing and climbed on top of Felina. "How's this?"

She rose up and kissed him, sliding her tongue into his mouth as she did so. When she pulled back she said, "It's a start. Now, let's finish this."

With that, Jake slowly pressed into her, his brown eyes intense and needful. The playfulness that he had exhibited before was gone. Felina gasped, her eyes widening as if she couldn't believe what he was doing to her. Her hips almost lifted by themselves, rising to meet him, and the two of them met halfway. Everything burned; the room, the sheets, her skin. It was all too hot, as if she still had on all of her clothing, and yet she didn't want to stop.

It started slowly at first, just the two of them trying to get a good rhythm. Her heart pounded in her chest as if it was trying to break free from her rib cage, but the constant wash of sensations helped her ignore it. Slowly, as if all of his muscles were tired from the foreplay, Jake began to tease with his body instead of words, and it made Felina go completely out of her mind.

'It's too much…'

She didn't care anymore when it was finished or how quickly. Such petty things were beyond her at the moment. Felina's eyes closed as she gave herself to the heat and the need, feeling like a marionette with the strings cut. Jake was her puppeteer now, and the stage was her bedroom. Her body seemed to move to his dictates, even as the teasing became too much for even him.

That was the point where he began picking up the pace, making Felina's body dance and gyrate. And yet she kept her eyes closed, feeling everything instead of seeing. She almost wished that he had blindfolded her, but even that thought was mercilessly blasted away by the overwhelming heat. Perhaps she'd see if he would do it later, but she was so caught up in the moment that her requests took a back seat.

Her toes curled and she cried out ecstatically as her body seemed to coil like a massive spring. A sharp jolt raced down her spine as she felt the heat and desire build to an impossible height… and then she opened her eyes. Jake looked wonderful, a sheen of sweat covering his skin. His eyes looked all the more intense as they penetrated into her very being, as if he were trying to search the depths of her mind.

It made her shiver in all sorts of places that he hadn't even touched yet.

'This tom loves you,' the voice in the back of her mind, the part that knew the truth without having to ask, whispered softly. 'That is a look of someone that's in love.'

Her eyes were fixed on his for all of five seconds before the dam that held all that sensation at bay finally fell apart. Felina closed her eyes, arched her back, and a cry of sheer abandon was let loose from her lips. It wouldn't be long before she would be entirely drained, but for now she had reached a sublime place where everything was possible and nothing was forbidden.

She wanted to stay forever, and it pained her deeply that she couldn't.

Seconds seemed to stretch into minutes as Jake attempted to leave her in that state for as long as he could, but even he couldn't hold out forever. "Shit, I'm gonna give!"

Felina didn't hear him, but he didn't much care. Jake let his essence seep deep into her, and was happily exhausted by the time it was over, as was his lover. The silence stretched on for a good two minutes as the two of them basked in the heady sensations that ran through them. After a while though, Felina finally purred softly, half-opening her eyes.

"Can we do that again later?" she asked lazily. "I wanna see what other talents you have." And before she forgot, Felina added, "This time I want to be blindfolded."

Jake chuckled and said, "You got it. Are there any other requests?"

She was silent for a few more moments before she said softly, "Look at me like you did when we made love." She looked towards him and said, "Don't ask anything; just try. I want to see it."

Jake's eyes narrowed slightly, and it made his brown eyes darken to a shade of devil's chocolate. It made her shiver from deep within, being examined like that. Her heart began trying to claw its way out of her chest again as she smiled. "You're beautiful," she whispered.

Jake smiled, his eyes still narrowed. "Guys aren't supposed to be called beautiful, Felina."

She ran a hand along his soft cheek and said, "But you are. I'm not going to put a lid on it, Jake." She touched his nose gently with her own and said, "You are incredibly sexy, but more than that, you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. They say a lot when you don't speak, you know."

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? So what are they saying now?"

Felina chuckled and said, "They say that you love me. Or at least, I hope they do. I mean, I could be wrong." She didn't want to be wrong; on the contrary, she always wanted to be right, especially on this. When she got scratched behind her right ear, she rewarded Jake with an instant purr.

"I do," he said softly. "I do love you, Felina. I don't think I've ever been like this with anyone else." He continued scratching and said, "When this is all over, let's get away from everything. I mean your uncle, the city and the mayor; whatever. We can do whatever we want; we'll certainly have enough money."

Felina was silent, having stopped purring to consider his words. To be sure, they were tempting. A part of her wanted that life; somewhere that they didn't need to worry about fighting or being robbed or anything. She wanted somewhere that she and Jake couldn't be bothered by petty things.

"I can't, Jake. Not yet. Not even after being a SWAT Kat." She began explaining, even as a part of her own heart broke off and fell into the void. "Someone has to clean up the Enforcers. Someone's gotta change the policies and how things work. Someone's gotta protect this city, and it has to be _me_." She smiled sadly and said, "Once this is all over, I have to go back to my life and you have to live a new one; one that's not spent slaving away at some junk yard. You're a goddamn _genius_, Jake. There's nothing you can't do…"

Her sentence was cut off by a gentle nip on her neck, one that made her moan softly. The gentle censure had effectively made her go silent as he began speaking shortly after. "Not without you," he whispered into her right ear. "If you're staying, I am too. If you go and change the Enforcers, I'll go ahead and suit up, like I said I'd do." He chuckled and said, "I might even try and convince that big lug, Chance, to come with me."

The she-kat grinned and said softly, "There's no better way I'd have said that."

She kissed him again and pulled him on top her wonderfully bare figure. "We're going to have to make reservations to the restaurant later…" She yawned and muttered, "After we take a nap."

Jake kissed just behind one of Felina's ears and stroked near the base of her tail, which made her arch her back all over again. She absolutely hated it when he did that, but loved it at the same time. "Well then, go to sleep. I mean, I'm tired too… you wore me out."

Felina kissed Jake's nose and said, "Sure thing, love."

As the two of them headed off to sleep, the sun turned the sky brilliant shades of gold as it began its path towards the sky line. Already, promises were being made that would more than likely be tested over and over again, and yet nothing needed to be said. After all, the language of one's heart was not in any sort of spoken form.

* * *

**Chapter 50: **_**Burn**_

WHOA. Now that took a long time to do. But I have suddenly had ten tons of projects fall into my lap, and I figure I could tell you about them later. Right now, this chapter is up, and it's a good thing that it is, too. I mean, I've been working on the Felina and Jake scene for a while, due to conflicting comments about the last one.

I know I can't please everyone, but that doesn't mean I can't try.

Anyways! It's time for me to pack it in; 8:20 PM and all that. But tell you what, let me just… wait, whoa. Hold up! Too many people for an RA! I mean seriously, there are a lot of you this time, and all for one chapter. I can't take all of you, unfortunately. But let's just say that you guys are the greatest! Seriously, you're the reason why this thing is still online. Thank you!

Okay, sleep now. I'll be back in a few days with another chapter.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	51. Informant

"So then," Callie said into the phone as she slid her fingers over the silver threads of her silk dress, "You have all the details of the reservation in place?"

Felina replied on her end as she attempted to pick out her own clothing for their outing that evening, "Yeah, it's done. The only thing that we have to do is show up." She raised an eyebrow and added, "Don't tell me that you didn't think I'd be able to do it."

The silver-haired she-kat chuckled and replied smoothly, "I was just afraid that you'd keep Jake holed up in your bedroom all day instead of actually carrying out your plans." She plucked the dress off of its hanger and asked, "When are you two coming back, anyways? It's getting pretty late."

Felina cleared her throat, trying to disguise the fact that her face was heating up significantly. Callie had once again accurately guessed what she was planning on doing, and the former Enforcer had, in all truth, just woken up about an hour ago to make the reservations. "We'll be back soon; we've still got a few hours until our names are brought up on the list." She finally decided on a crimson red party dress as she continued speaking. "You don't have to worry about us; we'll be back at the garage to drive you guys there."

Callie nodded and said, "Sure thing. I bet Jake needs to change into something nice as well." She began to pick out her shoes as well, continuing to speak into the cell phone as she did so. "Is there any idea where we're going for dinner? You haven't told me yet, after all."

Felina smiled and replied, "Can't anything be a surprise to you, Callie-girl? Just trust me; it's going to be a good time."

Callie shrugged on her end and said, "I trust you with this, Felina. I just hope you haven't picked anything too surprising." She chuckled and said, "Then again, you're pretty reliable when it comes to last-minute situations."

The she-kat on the other end laughed and said, "Got me there! See you in about an hour."

The two parties hung up and Callie sighed. "Seriously, you can't keep him there forever."

"I wouldn't be surprised," a voice said at her door, "If she tried to. You can't separate those two with a crow bar these days."

Well, it was more like their door, really. Callie turned towards the voice and said, "Is that so? Well you could say the same about us, with how clingy I'm getting around you." She chuckled and asked, "You ready, love?"

If one had heard her calling anyone a pet name like that earlier, they would have either laughed outright, or pulled her aside to ask what exactly she had eaten that morning. But seeing her now, one would understand exactly what was going on, especially with who was standing outside the room. "Waiting on you," the voice of the tom replied, an amused quality to it.

Callie finished pulling on the shoulder straps of the evening dress and checked her hair in the mirror one last time. The dye was still going strong even after all this time; she figured she would have to do a touch-up in the shower sometime in the next few weeks, but other than that, she smiled and said, "I'm just about done. Just have to get my shoes."

After putting on a pair of three inch patent heels that were the same color as her dress, she opened the door and found Chance Furlong standing just outside. Sure, he wore the same thing that he had during their last date, but still cut a good figure, at least to her. Once this was all over, she figured that she would help him a find a few more nice clothes. That was, if he would let her.

"Looking good, sexy," she purred softly as she nuzzled his right cheek. He grinned and said, "You don't look so bad yourself. So are they gonna come by or not?"

Callie nodded and said, "Felina said they were getting themselves cleaned up." She shrugged and added, "Shouldn't take long; no more than an hour and they should be here."

Chance smirked and said, "It'd better not. I won't want to order mega sub sandwiches when we're all dressed up like this." He placed an arm around Callie's shoulders and said, "You wanna do something while they're on their way?"

Callie wrapped an arm around his lower back and replied, "I wanna snuggle. Not have sex," she added quickly before he could respond in any way that would hinder their plans, "Just snuggle. We don't want to be the ones late, after all. Besides, we haven't just snuggled in a while, now have we?"

Chance shook his head and said, "You have a point; we haven't," as they headed upstairs. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to do so before those two actually arrive."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

During the aftermath of Mega War 2, kat kind began to rebuild their war-torn city, some parts of it from the ground up. The area that was currently known as downtown MegaKat City was one of those areas, due to a major enemy air raid that did significant damage. A family of immigrant kats decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to bring a bit of their home to the spotlight, and thus began building a restaurant that served French cuisine and offered a relaxing atmosphere.

The place was a hit within its first opening month for its unique dining, and soon, _La Vie_ was a booming success.

Business became so well that sometimes, reservations had to be made just to get into the front door. It was a tradition that continued to the present day; _La Vie_ was still one of the most popular fine dining establishments in the city. These days, multiple reinforcements and renovations were made to the building, including two more stories, a pair of elevators, new flooring and carpeting, and two private dining rooms.

But the philosophy remained the same; French dining in a relaxed atmosphere, with a little wine and a lot of tasty desserts. And the business was still family owned and operated.

It was here that Felina had made reservations, and the sheer size of it made Chance nod in silent approval. He liked big places like this, though the place that he and Callie had gone to on their very first outing wasn't this size. Still, it was nice because of who he was escorting. Jake wasn't all that excited about the building itself, but what they served.

"I've never really had French food before," he said as they were led towards their table on the third floor. "Got any recommendations, Felina?"

She shook her head and smiled. "You'll just have to close your eyes, put your finger on the menu, and just start from there. It's what I did the first time I came here."

Of course, once they sat down, the offer for a sample of wine was made, and while not everyone asked for a glass, Callie and Chance did. They hadn't had one in a while, after all, and who knew? This place might just have some good stuff. "When exactly," Callie asked as soon as they were comfortable, "Was the first time you came here?"

Felina laughed and said, "Oh, it was a long time ago, when I was a kitten. My dad always used to take me here whenever something big happened, like my birthday or a promotion. It was my uncle who was the Enforcer in the family though, and we went to his big parties too; at least, whenever they were held here."

Chance rolled his eyes and said, "Can't imagine how those went."

Felina chuckled and said, "Not as you would think. He certainly wasn't as fixed in his ways as he is these days." She placed a hand underneath her chin with an elbow propped on the table and continued with, "He was a good leader, had a good head on his shoulders. Well-respected and a good officer, but most importantly, he never lost sight of what was really important."

Jake smiled and said, "No wonder you wanted to be an Enforcer when you grew up."

Callie sad nothing as she listened to the tale about Commander Feral with a placid expression. It certainly would be some interesting information for later, that was for sure. Chance was silent as well, but he had a raised eyebrow instead, not entirely believing what he was hearing.

Felina nodded and continued onward. "I think my proudest moment was when he became Commander. The last one was getting on in years, and while he could still lead men and run things, he couldn't quite fight as well as he could in his younger days. They needed someone new, and my uncle was the Lieutenant Commander at the time. Given his track record, it was easy to pick someone to replace him."

Callie chose this moment to speak. "And as you know, only the Mayor can pick the Commander of the Enforcers. I'm surprised he made such an informed decision. Of course," she added with a laugh, "I wasn't even the Deputy Mayor back then."

Everyone laughed at that one, and Felina continued speaking again. "Well for a while, everything was going just fine; he led just as he did when he was Lieutenant Commander. Went by the book, stuck with the plan, and got the bad guys. And then…"

Chance sighed. "…Then the bad guys stopped playing by _his_ rules."

Felina nodded. "I don't know why he didn't change his tactics; I guess that since his methods were working for so long, he figured they'd work again as long as he kept at it. But ever since Dark Kat came onto the scene, things took a turn for the worse."

Jake sighed and said, "That problem would have been long since solved if he would have just..."

Chance stopped him there. "Let's not talk about that, buddy. We're having a good night." He looked towards Felina and said, "We're just glad you passed Academy when you had. I think the Enforcers were glad to have you on the scene. Damn shame you left, though."

No one really knew why she had left, though. Callie had an idea, but she wouldn't ask. It was Felina's business, and she respected her best friend's privacy. Sure, she _could_ look into it, but she no longer had the authority to do so. And it wasn't like she could just walk up to Mayor Manx and ask anymore; everyone thought she was dead.

However, she could listen. It was the least she could do now.

Felina shrugged and said, "Guess I got tired of the Enforcers getting their asses kicked all the time. Knowing that his tactical decisions were harming those I led really ticked me off. So I decided to make tracks." She chuckled and said, "It kinda resembles how you guys left, huh? Except that you guys exited in a much more… dramatic fashion."

"Yeah," Jake said with a laugh, "We left with a bang!"

Callie shook her head and finally spoke. "It doesn't matter. We know who was really at fault. It's in the past anyways, so let's just focus on the present."

Chance smirked and said, "And the present involves us eating. Let's get someone over here so we can actually order the food."

With that in mind, they managed to flag down a waiter and get their menus. As soon as that was finished, Jake did what Felina suggested and simply closed his eyes, tracing his fingers along the entrees that were listed. He felt strange about doing this, almost childish, but he did it anyway. "You'll know which one you want, don't worry. Once you pick one though, you'll never stop eating it, no matter how hard you want to break away."

Chance raised an eyebrow and said, "Is this place _really_ that good?"

Felina looked towards him and said, "Well there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

"Got it," Jake said as he suddenly felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck. He opened his eyes and said, "Hell, I don't know how to _pronounc_e that, but I sure would like to try it. I'll give it a shot at least once."

It would take a few minutes to get all the dishes ready, and there was still plenty of wine in the glasses left, though Felina made everyone promise to have only one glass. "We're not at the club tonight, so only one," she said after the waiter had left. "I don't want anyone walking out of here wasted; we could be on the clock tomorrow."

"Roger that," Chance said before he took another sip. "Too bad, though; this is kinda good."

Callie looked towards him and said, "You've never had wine before?"

Chance shrugged and said, "Never had time for it. 'Sides, I know what the stuff can do to a kat, so I skipped it during my time in the Enforcers. Guess I've got time for it now though, huh?" He took another sip and smiled warmly. "Maybe I should have just gone for it if I'd known I was leaving so soon!"

Jake chuckled and said, "Well, everything in moderation, big guy. Speaking of which…" He nudged Felina's right side with his elbow and she looked towards him, wondering what the fuss was about… until she remembered what she was really here for.

Felina cleared her throat to get everyone's attention and said, "I didn't exactly bring you guys here for celebration. Sure, we kicked some severe ass over the past few days, but… I have important business to discuss regarding that." She waited until everyone was looking towards her before speaking again. "There's this friend of mine in the Enforcers named Benjamin Lynx. He and I go way back to the Academy. I expect that, due to his actions during this week, he's been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, maybe even Captain."

Chance raised an eyebrow and said, "That the guy that gave us the tip off?" He nodded and said, "Then he deserves it. We were lucky that he caught it when he did."

Callie nodded and said, "I've met him; he's a gentleman and a quick thinker. But why exactly did you bring him up, Felina?"

She wanted to play with her tail. Hell, twist it in knots. Felina always ran her fingers through her tail when she was nervous, and she was indeed nervous at the moment. She didn't know what exactly everyone would think of her latest scheme, especially Chance. But she had to tell them anyway. "Well, I kinda asked Benny to do me a favor."

Chance smirked and said, "Kinda? And what favor did you ask, exactly?" He had a feeling this wasn't exactly good news. At the very least, he told himself that he would hear her out before blowing up.

Felina sighed and steeled herself for the oncoming assault from what could be her biggest opponent in this plan of hers. "You know how we used to have a contact that told us of everything that was going on in the city? I mean, how you guys used to…"

Chance nodded and said, "Yeah, and the one who used to give us that information is sitting right here. What's your point?"

Felina was lucky that she had picked a table on the third floor where they would have the least chance of being overheard. If anyone were nearby who knew what they were talking about, all of their covers were blown at once. Besides, the third floor was usually empty at this time of night, and tonight was no exception. She only had a few more minutes before the food came, so she had to make this quick.

"I kind of asked him to be a mole in the Enforcers for us… I mean ME, of course, but you get the idea." She wanted to smack herself on the forehead for that stumble. "Anyways, he monitors the calls and emergency situations for any kind of trouble that the Enforcers can't handle, and then when things get too hot, he lets me know about it. Given that I work for KatGuard, it's a good cover, but…"

She hadn't noticed that she was starting to talk at about a mile a minute. Usually during a crisis, her nerves didn't get to her, so what was wrong with her now?

Chance knew exactly what was going on, though. He raised a hand to stop her from talking and smiled. "First of all, drink some water. You're making _me_ tired with how fast you're talking, so I know _you_ must be."

Felina laughed and took a drink of water, then after about half the glass was drained, she sighed and said, "You're right, that did feel better. Okay, what's the second thing?" She was nervous again. He was probably going to say something negative, or at least that's what she thought.

"It's a good plan," Chance said with a nod, "But we gotta meet this guy for ourselves; see if he's legit. I don't necessarily trust anyone I haven't met before."

Jake agreed and added, "Considering our situation, I figure that's the best course of action. I doubt that he's a bad kat, but we have to make sure. You never know what a guy could pull on you, right? So we have to talk to him."

Felina smiled in relief and said, "That, I can manage. You just let me know when you want him over, and I'll set something up." They didn't know that she had already given him her contact information, but that was beside the point. If Chance and Jake liked him as much as Callie did, it would be smooth sailing. She only hoped that it wasn't…

"Would tomorrow be good?" Chance asked.

She wanted to scream. Tonight was turning from good to bad to worse. "Tomorrow when?" she asked, trying not to grit her teeth while she spoke.

Chance placed a hand underneath his chin and said, "I think we should do it first thing in the morning. I mean, it's important, right? So we should get it done as soon as we can. Then again, if that's not a good time…"

Felina shook her head, cursing herself for doing so all the while. "No, it's fine. I mean, we have to get this out of the way so that everything will run smoothly, right?" Of course, this wasn't going to run smoothly at all; it was going to be a total disaster. Benny would probably be dead tired, she would _definitely_ be dead tired, and who knew what else could happen? They might be on call the next day for all they knew.

Still… it had to be done.

"All right, let's do this," Chance said with a nod. He looked behind him and said, "Sweet, food time."

* * *

Benjamin Lynx was not one to be late.

The call came in early in the morning, at around five thirty. His mind attempted to figure out who in their right mind would call at that hour, but when he found out who it was, the reasons seemed to disappear. Not to mention that she promised breakfast once he got there. That alone motivated him to get out of bed, get a good cup of java in him, and prepare himself for the day ahead.

By the time eight in the morning rolled around, he stood in front of her apartment door, having had to drive for all of two hours since he had left his own domicile. For a while, he heard other noises, and took note that he wasn't the only one invited. Now more curious than ever as to why he was called, Benny knocked on the door. "Felina, I'm here!"

After a few moments of what sounded like someone tripping over their tail so to speak, followed by laughter, the door opened and revealed Felina as she attempted to straighten her hair with her right hand. "Benny, glad you could make it! We were just starting breakfast; come on in. I have someone I want you to meet."

He got a glimpse of who he was supposed to be meeting as he walked in. The table a few feet behind the couch was occupied by two more kats, with one seat left for him. He noticed that there was already a plate ready for him and smiled. "Who exactly made it this time?" He looked towards that silver-haired she-kat he had met the last time and said, "I certainly hope it's you; I'd love to get a taste of your cooking again, Clara."

She shook her head and smiled at him, saying, "Not me this time. You're gonna be eating Felina's cooking today." She added before he could get a word in, as if she knew exactly what he was going to say, "She's done a terrific job, Benny."

"You got that right," the slim tom said as he took another bite out of the pancakes, or rather, the ones left on his plate. "I'm Jake Clawson, by the way. It's nice to meet you, Benny."

He was about to sit down when he heard that, and stopped for a moment when he did. "Clawson… Rank of Detective III before being dishonorably discharged from the Enforcers for Criminal Negligence and disobedience of a direct order." He looked towards the big tom that looked like he could lift a truck and said, "So that must make you Chance Furlong; same rank, same offenses."

The big tom glowered at him; apparently, this was still a sore spot. "So you're in the Enforcers, I hear. How are things going these days with them?"

Felina felt that this was already headed in the wrong direction, but when Benny sighed and gave his answer, her hopes lifted a bit. "It's not good, unfortunately. We're really over the deep end." He sat down and continued speaking. "If it weren't for those SWAT Kats, we'd be totaled by now. It's too bad that our Commander won't admit it and ask for their help more often."

Chance seemed to calm down at this and said, "Well whether he wants to admit it or not, they'll do what they're doing anyways. I'm sure a lot of officers won't want to arrest them because of the times their tails have been saved by those kats."

Benny nodded and said, "Well, you have a point there." There was silence for a moment before he added, "I suppose I should get right down to the actual questions that come up in my mind now. The first one is obvious; what really happened up there the day you two hit the Enforcer building?"

The whole account lasted about five minutes. The two kats sitting there were getting excited, and angry, just talking about it. "So you almost had him… no one's ever gotten that close to Dark Kat because they didn't have enough guts to go that far in chasing him."

Chance pointed towards Benny and said, "Exactly! No one wanted to put their asses on the line to get rid of that psycho, so we had to. Not like there was anything wrong with it."

He chuckled and replied, "Not at all." Then he placed his chin on his hands and said, "There is something wrong, however, with Feral's order to stand down. Had you broken the lock on Dark Kat, it would have gone against not only the basic principles of the Enforcers, but your duty in general. Not to mention what happened afterwards; it sounds like our Commander, all right."

Jake grinned and said, "I like this guy."

Felina nodded and said, "I told you, didn't I?"

Benjamin smiled and said, "Nice to know. Anyways, if this account is true and we have some proper evidence, I trust you both know what this is."

Chance and Jake said the offense almost at the same time: "Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer."

Benny nodded and said, "That alone, plus his own version of reckless flying and improper leadership, will get him removed as Commander. Of course, we won't have a leader for a while, but that'll mean a severe reconstruction effort, which we'll definitely need about now." He looked towards Chance and said, "Do you still have the remains of your jet from back then?"

Chance raised an eyebrow and said, "Sure. We're the ones that had to clean the mess up in the first place. But I don't know how you could use all that for evidence if it's completely trashed."

Benny smirked and said, "Other Enforcers might look past the details, but I don't. It used to be my job to look at nothing _but_ the details, after all."

They were both interested in this. "Your job, huh? And what was that?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow of his own.

Benny noticed that the other she-kat in the room with silver hair seemed to lean forward, elbows propped on the table and her chin resting in both hands. She wanted to hear this as well. But before he could speak, Felina spoke for him. "Benny here," she declared with no small amount of pride, "Used to be an officer for Military Intelligence."

There was a brief silence over the table for a moment… only for a moment, though. "You're shitting me," Chance said softly before looking at Benny. "What rank?"

Benny looked back at him and replied, "Colonel. I was in charge of informing patrols of the situation at hand and what we needed to know from a specific enemy, just in case they ran into them. Of course back then, we ran into them often." He chuckled and said, "Most of the time, they didn't expect us because we knew more about them than they figured."

Callie smiled and looked towards Chance. "Are you happy now?"

Benny raised an eyebrow and said, "Happy about what?"

Jake scratched the back of his head and said, "Felina kinda told us about her plans with you. We wanted to see if you were on the up and up, just for her protection. We're her friends, after all."

Benny nodded and said, "A good idea, that. But I wish she had told me that before inviting me here, so I wouldn't be held in so much suspense." He smiled and said, "Then again, I wouldn't get to have such good food if she had just told me outright, now would I?" He looked down at his plate and raised an eyebrow; his food was untouched. "Well that's great… too much talking, not enough eating. It's probably cold."

He cut a piece out of the pancake stack that sat on his plate and took a bite. "Mmm… still good, though. How about we finish the rest of this, everyone? Then we'll talk about specifics."

By the time they were finished, Chance and Jake heard the entirety of the simple, and yet very dangerous plan. He was going to run into some major trouble if he were caught; it would be of no benefit to tell him who they really were. But Felina's cover as a KatGuard operative would be perfect, no question about that.

At the very least, now they had a new ally, one that could alert them to problems before they got out of hand. If worse came to worst, then they would let them in on their secret. But for the moment, it would have to remain between the four of them. Chance didn't like leaving Benny in the dark; he was a trustworthy tom who knew how to keep his head on straight. But the fact remained that he was too close to Commander Feral.

Still… it was good to have friends in the Enforcers again.

* * *

"So what now," Callie asked later that evening as she lay in the bed that she and Chance shared, a pearlescent night gown on her feline frame. "We've got a new liaison; how do we plan on using him? That's essentially what we're going to do anyways, right?"

Chance nodded and said, "It's not the best way to say it, but yeah. That's what we're gonna do. Then again, that would be the same as calling having you as a liaison using you. It's an odd situation, really."

Callie chuckled and said, "That's all right. I work better behind the scenes anyway." She scratched behind Chance's left ear, which made him purr like some kind of diesel engine. "I don't mind being used, as long as what I'm being used for is the right thing."

Chance smiled and kissed Callie's nose before saying, "I don't want to have to use anyone. Right now though, it's the best idea I've heard of so far, and I don't want any other Enforcers to get killed. Like it or not, if we fuck up, they're all that's left. If they're gone, we'll have our hands full, and vice-versa. We need to know what's going on before they head towards the scene."

Callie nodded and said, "I agree… it's kind of cold, but we've all had to do ugly things recently. The point is that we're keeping this city safe, and that's what counts."

There was silence for a moment as Chance considered what she had said. He soon realized that there was a problem and sighed. "Look… if you're having any doubts about this, it's not too late to go back to a normal life… You don't have to get crazy like this. We're all gonna head back to something normal sooner or later anyway."

Callie nodded and smiled sadly. "I know that. I don't like lying to everyone about how I'm dead, or lying to Benny about who he's doing this for. I know he's going to put two and two together when the SWAT Kats suddenly show up on the scene as soon as he calls Felina. He's not exactly as narrow-minded as a certain Commander we know. But we never had a choice, did we? We're doing what we have to, because a lot of bad kats out there aren't giving us any other options."

Chance pulled Callie close to him and said, "Yeah… we never had a choice. But even so, if this feels wrong in any way…"

He suddenly felt a pair of lips pressing against his, and his sentence was effectively cut off with a moan. It lasted all of three seconds before Callie pulled away with a smile and said softly, "As long as I'm with you, _nothing_ feels wrong."

Chance smiled and said, "You have no idea how much I appreciate you sticking with me."

Callie nuzzled his right cheek and replied, "Oh, I think I have a faint notion. But seriously, we have to get to bed. Tomorrow might be a busy day, and we don't know what's going to happen when the sun comes up."

Chance pulled his she-kat close to him and said, "I know what's gonna happen before then, though…"

Callie smirked and said, "You are insatiable, you know that?" She nibbled on his right ear seductively before she whispered, "But that's all right… I can't get enough of you, either."

Sleep was not obtained for quite some time.

* * *

**Chapter 51 – **_**Informant**_

My return was at hand long ago. But with things getting in the way, it wasn't easy to get this chapter out. But lo and behold, here it is. And for those who thought I was going to put yet another cuddly love scene in here, you are sorely mistaken. I did hint at it, though, because I like doing that sometimes. Kinda lets the imagination run free.

Anyways, FIFTY CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN SURPASSED. I only have one factor to thank for all this, and it's you guys. You've made it possible to come this far, and I thank you all. As a treat, let's go ahead and turn back the clock to October 21st, 2007! The first day that this insane idea came to life!

I remember trying to think of something interesting to write while I was off of LionHearts because of my other beta stating that life issues were getting in the way. I was looking up a few things on YouTube and ran into SWAT Kats episodes. Even found out there was an SK Encyclopedia. Then I remembered that they never finished the show, and as soon as I reached the end of it, I thought, "Damn them for not completing this epic, epic series!"

I figured I'd do it myself if no one else would take up the job, and poof. This was born. But I didn't stop at picking the series back up… I decided that if this was going to be the third season, it was going to be the end of EVERYTHING. Or at the very least, everything that fans currently knew about SWAT Kats. I decided that I would turn the whole universe upside down.

In other words, this is proof that I read too many military fiction novels. For those who figured I had gotten this from anime, that's false. For those who thought that I shouldn't be putting in original characters in this, says who? No one ever dictated what the next season would be like, did they? No.

But never mind. The fact of the matter is that one year has passed, this story still lives, and you guys are sticking with me as if I were made of crazy glue.

Thank you, from the bottom of this author's heart.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	52. Whiteout Part 1

"_I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood."_

-Bill Watterson

An oil drilling rig off of the Arctic coast was considered one of the best places to send condemned kats to do their time these days. The Enforcers were tired of the criminals they put away constantly coming back. So Commander Feral decided that he would start sending them to the one place that they would find not only hard to escape from, but hard to survive in. It was too bad if they wanted to leave; up there, there was no leaving.

There was some real time to consider one's fate up there when it was thirty below, and most if not all of the prisoners that worked on that rig did not like it, especially one who had been in a situation like this before. On top of that, all of the Enforcers that worked here were specially trained for extreme conditions, so if anyone had the crazy idea of trying to escape, it was made even crazier by the amount of guards stationed here.

Perhaps if they knew they were more needed back at home, they would have gone right away. But they had a job to do, and do it they did. There were two platoons of Enforcers and their respective Lieutenants stationed here, and they all had three goals; to keep the oil going, to keep the prisoners in line, and to make sure that they reported in to Commander Feral at least two times a week.

They hadn't really been able to get anything from the mainland in the past few days besides the normal routine, due to the internal corruption during the battle with the Metallikat Mafia. However, they would receive a few interesting reports now that the whole system was cleared out. Not today though; it wasn't time to report in yet.

That was a shame, because they would finally have something to report. Like any other day out here, it started the same; cold, grey, and with the sound of machinery echoing through the Arctic sky. In other words, it was routine. For some, it was the similar conditions that never really changed that got to them; others could stand in one spot for days, even weeks, and be content with their lot in life.

It'd be later that day when the boredom ceased.

One of the Lieutenants was on routine patrol around the rig for the daily inspection that afternoon. Yes, daily; they had to constantly make sure that the machinery on that oversized hunk of scrap metal was working properly. Of course, today's problem was not with the rig itself. So far, everything checked out. No, the problem that was reported in was of a different nature.

His radio crackled with static as a transmission attempted to get through to him. The Lieutenant picked up his radio and said, "This is Patrol One, what's the situation down there, over?"

The voice on the other end was fast-paced and sounded a bit hectic. The reason why was immediately evident. "Sir, we've got a breach, Block C! Crazy bastard down here managed to break out of his cell and is undertaking hostile action against guards, sir."

The Lieutenant grimaced as he heard the sound of gun fire on the other end. "Give me a damage assessment. I want to know how many kats he's downed before I get there." While that was being reported, he ordered one of his men to get a helicopter ready for immediate take off.

"He's got us pinned, sir. We can't get a shot off. He doesn't even have any _guns_; he's just using some kind of…" His radio picked up several screams of pain before the guard that he was talking to shouted, "Damn it, we have three officers down! We need immediate reinforcements; this guy is starting to break through our line of fire!"

"Understood," The Lieutenant said sternly, "I'm sending a team down there now. I'll be leading them myself."

Unfortunately, when the helicopter got there, the Lieutenant saw a billowing cloud of smoke rising from the detention facility. He gritted his teeth and said, "It's worse than I heard, boys; lethal force is now authorized. Someone's actually crazy enough to try and escape, and he's killing kats down there. Lock and load!"

The seven kats that were with him began ramming magazines home into their rifles and pulling their bullet-resistant visors down over their eyes. The helicopter landed on top of the prison, and as soon as it did, the two fire teams clamored out of the helicopter and immediately began heading towards the hole that had been blown through it.

"Alpha Two, you're my recon," the Lieutenant said as soon as they touched down. "Move in and assess the situation. Do not fire until you are fired upon, and make sure to check for survivors. Go!"

Four kats with thick, heavy winter coats and layers of clothing underneath, as well as their body armor atop the coats, headed in and took note of their immediate surroundings. As they roped down, they saw that the hole that they were heading down was duplicated in the walkway below. They also noticed that several in their prison cells were dead.

"Sir, we got a shit storm down here," the Sergeant that led the team whispered into his ear piece. "Multiple guards and inmates have been fatally wounded. Looks like…" The kat looked incredulously at the orange-clad prisoners for a moment before saying, "What the hell? Is that ice?"

The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow and said, "Report, Alpha Two. What exactly do you see down there?"

Silence for a moment, and then, "These guys have _ice_ buried in their chests, big chunks of it, sir. Whoever this kat is, he's either stronger than four of us, or he created these projectiles himself."

The Lieutenant gritted his teeth as his mind spun in confusion. Last he counted, no one had that ability; otherwise they would have been placed in the Special Ward. Someone must have gotten this just now… but how? "Stay alert," he said into his earpiece, "We're heading down to your position. Be as quiet as you can; you don't know where this guy will pop up."

His team roped into the area, with the same obligation to be as quiet as possible, but with different rules of engagement. They were the assault team, and had the responsibility of actually opening fire on whatever moved, unless it happened to be one of their own guards.

"This is Alpha Two," the Sergeant's voice whispered over the radio, "We have spotted the suspect. Just looks like a normal kat from here… we're in position to fire. We are holding position and awaiting orders."

"Copy that, we're en route to your location, over."

Sadly, it wasn't to last. The silence was broken as a guard sneezed from the cold. "Fuck," the Sergeant in charge of the reconnaissance team cursed softly as the kat that they were observing turned around towards the noise, extending his right hand and confirming what he had guessed. A quite large chunk of ice with a quite mean point to it fired right at their position. The good news was that they were behind a piece of cover. The bad news that the firing did not stop- he kept on coming.

"We've been compromised, Alpha One! Get your asses moving! We're opening fire on the suspect!" And open fire they did, but soon realized why bullets were not necessarily working. Faster than their eyes could trace, he made a thick, three foot high wall of ice that served as quite ample cover against small arms.

"Shit, he's gonna fire over our heads," the Sergeant immediately realized as he took a quick peek over the cover that was a pile of rubble. They didn't have the firepower to deal with this guy's cover. Fortunately for them, a voice behind them shouted, "Cavalry's arrived! Get your heads down!"

As soon as they did, four grenades launched from rifle-mounted launchers were sent flying at the thick, frozen cover, and did significant damage to the barrier. They didn't destroy it immediately, but it was a good start. "Reload and prepare to fire again!"

The kat behind the ice did not have much time left. Knowing this, he began considering a way out. First, he needed a distraction. He began launching multiple ice spikes over his cover, blindly trying to guess where the guards were. They were of formidable size, but were still easily destroyed by a single grenade round, as demonstrated by the assault team.

That was all right. He needed them to fire at something else besides his cover.

There were a few true things about this kat, one of which was that he had indeed just recently gotten these abilities. Everything he was doing at the moment was an experiment, completely random. But as long as it worked, he would keep doing it until he thought of something else.

And then he made a realization; if he had this much control over frozen water… then it should be no problem to manipulate it in other ways. With that said, he immediately thought as hard as he could about turning all that snow outside into a blizzard. Hey, it was how all this had worked in the first place.

Of course, it took some time, something that this kat did not have anymore.

"Guys, begin moving towards his left flank," the Lieutenant in charge shouted into his radio, hoping to be heard. "Alpha Two, maintain suppressive fire while we get into position. Understood?"

"Copy, Alpha One, we'll hammer him until his ears ring!" With that, the four officers began peppering the prisoner's position with a hail storm of lead, some of them shooting over the cover in order to keep his head down. The team that was moving into position climbed a nearby ladder up to the catwalks that comprised the second level of the prison, heading towards the improvised cover that the criminal had set up as soon as they were ready.

It was getting noticeably colder in the building however, and even through all the fighting, it was not all that hard to tell that something was wrong. At first, it was attributed to the hole that had been blasted in the roof… but that assumption was quickly remedied when a blast of ice and snow came from behind both teams.

"What the- AHHHHHHH!" The ice hurt. The snow was numbing their nerves and filling every possible hole that the guards had open. Not only did it suffocate them, but they were utterly frozen, almost within an instant. The oil rig outside was definitely in trouble; everyone that worked on and guarded it was now officially having a bad day.

The kat behind his ice wall did not care, he simply kept his eyes closed and prayed for rain. And snow. And everything else bad that could happen to whoever and whatever was in his way. The guards who kept him locked up here, the other prisoners that would more than likely try to kill him if this didn't work, that damned piece of junk outside that he was forced to slave away at.

That was a satisfying thought, and it led to another one. Who had made this place possible? Who had ordered its construction, its very existence? The ones back home, back where it was actually warm and had some traces of civilization. His name was Mayor Manx, wasn't it? Yes, him and his Deputy Mayor. And then there was the one who sent him here, that Commander Feral. Oh, he was especially pissed off at him.

The blizzard worsened.

And who had put him away in the first place, just as he was about to turn that city into so much rubble; just as he felt so powerful? He knew exactly who: those SWAT Kats, the vigilantes who had knocked him the fuck out, surprisingly without putting him down for good.

They would regret not doing that.

The kat grinned and stood up, not even heeding the blizzard that raged around him. Surprisingly though, his joints did not lock up and his body did not stop moving. With a sadistic laugh, he began heading towards the front doors of the detention facility, knowing perfectly well that everyone who would have covered security matters was dead.

'You might wanna get ready, MegaKat City. I'm coming home.'

* * *

**  
Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

**

* * *

**_  
Two days later…_

'Back on the grind again,' Chance brooded as he worked on an engine that was reported to have a bit of knocking, checking the damage if there was any. 'I'm just glad we'll be out of here soon,' he said to himself. As Jake helped him remove the hood, he looked behind him and said, "Come on, take a look at what's going on."

Callie walked towards what they were doing, a pair of coveralls hugging her frame and a pair of steel toed work boots adorning her feet. While she was here, she figured she might as well ask to see how exactly they got her car running so smoothly, and Chance figured it would be all right to show her. After all, it would be one of the last times she would ever see it, because they would indeed be leaving this place soon.

Benjamin Lynx had a plan for the Enforcers. Unfortunately, it involved having Commander Feral knocked out of the top seat, but it had to be done. But not yet; first, they would have to catch him being stubborn. So far, Feral had shown some intelligence on his part by directly asking for the SWAT Kats' help. Sure, if he kept this up, his track record might still survive… but it was still too much to ask for. Feral, after all, was a prideful and stubborn individual, and was probably taking the credit for the recent victory.

Then again, that's why our four heroes had been avoiding the news lately; they didn't want to hear his bragging.

"Is it really necessary to take the hood off like that?" she asked as she watched them begin the process of removing the engine.

Chance nodded and said, "The engine needs to go straight down in order to fit properly in the box. Anything that tends to get in the way has to go." With that said, they finished removing the hood and began unhinging the engine from everything attached to it; cables and cords and cooling fans and tubes and other things that needed to come undone before it could successfully be removed.

Callie looked on with an amazed sort of interest, watching as the engine block was hoisted upwards with Chance pulling on a long stretch of chain all by his lonesome. "Careful with it, buddy," Jake said with no small amount of trepidation in his voice, "We don't want to wreck the thing."

"Hush up," Chance grunted, "And let me work!"

The engine was set on the floor of the garage as gently as possible before they began checking what needed to be checked. "They say they've got a leak in one of the cylinders. Don't know how they could tell that, but we'll find out if they called it right," Jake said as he began taking his own little tour of the engine, specifically each of the six cylinders.

Chance took out a small terry cloth towel from his right pocket and began to wipe his face with it. To be honest, that was hard as hell, though he made hoisting that engine look easy. "Well hurry it up, huh? We don't have much time here before Burke and Murray come to check on us. I don't want to be rudely interrupted."

Callie leaned on his chest, buried her nose in his neck, and took a deep, luxurious sample of his scent. With a content sigh, she said, "That makes two of us."

Chance raised an eyebrow, wondering why exactly she had been so random, when a draft came through the garage, making him pull Callie tighter to him out of reflex. "Hey, did you feel that, Jake? Sure seems like it's getting a bit colder out there."

Jake didn't bother looking up from his inspection of the engine as he answered. "Well it's getting to be that time of year, Chance. Of course it'd be getting a bit drafty. And I found the problem," he added as he checked one of the pistons, "Seems this engine has a worn piston ring; more than one of 'em. We gotta replace these."

Chance nodded and let go of Callie, who had gone back to her interest with the engine. Hours began to pass without her knowledge as she watched them work on the machine, seemingly taking everything in. Of course, the phone rang at that point, which caused her to break from her trance. "I got it," she called out as she headed towards the lounge.

As she answered though, it was interesting enough that Burke called. 'Ugh,' she brooded to herself, 'That ape again.' Of course, she immediately regretted it when she heard that he was not doing too well. Carefully disguising her voice, she informed them that she would pass along the message that neither he nor Murray would be coming in. Of course when he asked who it was, she said that she was one of Chance's friends.

'Well that was lucky,' she thought to herself as she hung up. 'It seems like they get to work in peace today.'

Naturally though, such luck couldn't be considered luck for long. Another draft came through the garage. She could feel this one blow right through the lounge. With a shiver, she headed back out and said, "Are you guys all right out here? You'd better make sure you take a break soon; it's getting a bit too breezy out here."

Chance looked back at her and said, "Nah, I'm good. It's just a draft – I'm sure it'll go away sometime."

Jake looked outside and said, "I don't know, buddy… she's got a point. It's the middle of August and it's not supposed to be this cold yet, not this early. Either the weather's decided to be fickle, or something's wrong out there. We should bring it in."

Chance grimaced and said, "We got work to do, buddy. We can't just leave it out here, right? Feral's gonna have our heads if we don't meet quota."

Jake sighed and said, "Okay, but don't say we didn't warn you."

The brief spot of cold air passed as Chance said it would, and it was mostly ignored. Yet and still, there was something odd about it all, and Callie couldn't just forget about it. Jake was right; it wasn't supposed to be this cold at this time of year. She decided to make a call to Felina and see if anything had been going on over at her apartment or her job.

'She should be at work by now though,' Callie mused as she headed towards the lounge again, picking up the phone and dialing in the number for Felina's cell phone. "Hey Felina, it's me. I just wanted to ask you if anything weird happened on your way to work today."

On the other end, Felina was in the training room, getting her daily routine in. She had stopped to answer her phone and raised an eyebrow at her good friend's question. "Nah, nothing in particular, but it was cold for some reason. Can't imagine why; it's usually in the mid-seventies come six in the morning."

Callie nodded to herself as Felina's statement confirmed her suspicions. The weather was acting a bit strangely. Still, this wasn't proof enough for her. There had to be something else. She didn't know how she'd get it, but she knew she would, sooner or later. "Yeah, well I would watch the skies if I were you. It might be nothing, but I can't ignore these hunches of mine."

Felina smirked, a bit skeptical about all of this. "Whatever you say, oh wise one. Look, I have to get back to training. If there's anything _serious_ that you need…"

Callie smiled and said, "…I'll let you know. See you later, Felina."

* * *

  
And of course, the rest of that day was bright and sunny, without any kind of further pause for concern. Callie wondered if she were being paranoid when lunch came around and nothing else happened. She proceeded from that point on to forget all about the unusual incident earlier in the morning and tried to figure out, as she usually did these days, what she would do if she ever stopped being a SWAT Kat.

'It's going to happen sooner or later,' she thought as they ate a couple of sandwiches that Chance had ordered from the local deli. 'I can't imagine being without Chance anymore. I just hope that when this is all over someday, we'll be able to live together… and in our own place this time instead of down here.' But of course, that still left the question of what exactly she was going to do.

She had experience with the Mayor's office for several years, and as close to actual military survival training as one could receive. There were qualms about running the city, though; she didn't think she knew the first thing about politics, the actual strategies and tactics needed to take the mayoral seat. She just knew that the current mayor was probably in pins and needles without her, and was perhaps doing not much besides playing golf or making his big business deals. His only important issues were his pet projects, and not much else.

'There certainly does need to be someone else, though; that's for sure.'

But that still didn't answer the question of what she was going to do. Sure she was a good cook, but she couldn't see herself running a restaurant or anything. So what else was she good with? Did she even have any kind of options? Then she smiled and thought, 'Doesn't matter, as long as he's there with me.'

"What are you smiling about?" Chance said as he ran a hand through her blond hair. She looked towards him and said, "The best thing there is to smile about, Chance: you."

He chuckled and said, "I suppose that's a good enough reason, huh?" He took another bite out of his sandwich as he watched what was on the TV. "So what's up with Burke and Murray? I figured they'd have been here by now to dump more junk on our doorstep."

He would be surprised at her answer; pleasantly so, of course. "They caught a bug. You two are pretty much safe from any interruptions today, unless something else comes up." She cuddled up against his right side and said, "To be honest, I'm relieved. I don't want you to worry anymore about them."

Chance nodded and said, "That's actually a sign of a pretty good day. I just wish we had a few more of those." Running a hand through her hair, he sighed and said, "Is there anything you wanna do after work? Seriously, we need to try and get out a bit more."

Callie chuckled and said, "And suddenly you want to be a socialite, huh? There's no problem with that…" She stretched her arms over her head and yawned before continuing on. "But to be honest, I want to stay here and sleep. We've been really busy lately; not nearly enough time for a proper rest. Besides," She added as she nuzzled Chance's right cheek, "You're a good pillow."

Chance chuckled as he held Callie close to him and said, "I figure you have a point there. You tend to make a lot of good points lately." He sighed and said, "Things just seem a bit too easy right now, though. I can't help but feel like something's going to kick us out of this rut we're in pretty soon."

Callie scratched underneath the big tom's chin, causing him to purr luxuriously. "Let's try not to think of that right now, okay? I just want to be with you at this moment, while I still can." She knew perfectly well that they would get busy sooner or later. While there was peace, she wanted his attention not so focused on that which troubled him. The silver-haired she-kat couldn't help but feel a bit selfish for wanting all of his time to herself, but there was no possible way to know how long things would stay this good.

Chance nodded, knowing perfectly well what she was thinking. "Yeah… let's just not worry about anything, at least until tomorrow."

Naturally though, there would be little sleep at all for them the next day. Callie's phone rang at five in the morning, and she groggily answered it, muttering all the while.

"Hello?" she said sleepily after pressing the backlit, green receive button.

"Get your ass up and look outside," Felina said on the other end. She sounded distressed. "We have a major problem." She was still at her apartment from the day before, and the place was so cold that she had to close the windows and turn on the heat for the first time in months. She wore layers of clothing in the middle of _August_, which was bad enough. But it was what she saw out of her bedroom window that truly disturbed her.

Callie growled slightly as she got out of the bed in the much warmer underground complex that she had a room in, trying her hardest not to disturb Chance's sleep. Of course, he slept like a rock in a riverbed, so that was not a problem. As she put on a cream-colored bath robe, she said, "Felina, if this is not extremely important, I'm going to use you for my personal scratching post the next time I see you."

Felina smirked mirthlessly as she responded, "Deal; now look outside."

As Callie climbed the ladder, she noticed that it was noticeably colder the further up she went. She opened the hatch and felt the uncomfortable inrush of cold air from the lounge. Yes, the doors were locked tight, but it was still nice and chilly in there. At first, she attributed it to being so early in the morning, at least until she looked out of a nearby window.

"…What the hell?"

Snow was everywhere. Inches of fresh powder sprang up literally overnight. And it was covering the streets in a layer of ice that would be terrible to drive in. No one would be prepared for their homes suddenly being dropped a few degrees in temperature, much less the sight of all that white.

"You believe me now?" Felina asked after hearing Callie's reaction.

Callie nodded wordlessly for a moment before she realized there was still a conversation going on. "Oh, I hear you. Head over here ASAP; I'll wake the guys. We have to find out what's going on. I'm sure Commander Feral will have a field day with this one." Even as she spoke, she headed back towards the entrance to the base, now fully awake and her mind whirling into action.

'Sometimes, I hate being right,' she lamented to herself as she prepared to deliver the bizarre news to Chance and Jake. It appeared that the SWAT Kats were needed again… but for what, or who?

* * *

  
"What the hell?"

Commander Feral drove through the snow and ice that gently fell from the heavens, moving towards Enforcer Headquarters later that morning. First he wakes up to a much colder apartment, then he finds the skies gray and dreary before looking down at the buildings and seeing something he would never have thought to see: winter in midsummer.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself as he readjusted his winter coat, the one that he had awkwardly put on before leaving. Of course as he got out of the car and headed into the building, his cell phone began to ring. Removing it with a gloved hand, he flicked it open and checked the ID.

"Manx," he said with a slight growl. "What is it now?"

As he answered the call, a notably confused and panicking mayor nearly shouted in his ear. "I hope you have a good explanation for what exactly is happening," mayor Manx said as he paced his home in downtown MegaKat City, "Because I just looked outside and saw snow covering every inch of my city!"

Ulysses said rather diplomatically, "I can't explain it either, but I certainly know it's not natural. The Enforcers will look into whatever is causing this and bring it to an end as soon as we can. You have my word."

Manx still sounded tense. "Do it quickly, because I'm the one that has to explain to the citizens what exactly went on overnight. I want you to put every available unit out on this; leave no stone unturned until you find out what happened." Well the bad news of course, was that the mayor had not exactly prepared a speech for this occasion; that was the Deputy Mayor's job as far as he was concerned.

It made him actually miss her.

"Understood," Feral said as his spirits lifted slightly by being told exactly what he had to do. "Every last kat will be on the job. I'm heading into the office now; I'll call you as soon as we have a lead." With that, he hung up and began striding purposefully into the Enforcer building. This time, he was determined to resolve this without the help of the SWAT Kats.

The only problem was that he had few men to patrol the streets; very few indeed. He would need to rely on someone; that was for sure. With that, he began to make yet another call that he did not necessarily want to make. 'But anyone is better than those SWAT Kats. They might do a good job of things, but they are still vigilantes. I refuse to tolerate it any longer than I have to.'

"Hello, this is KatGuard Security, how may I direct your call?"

Feral cleared his throat and said, "This is Commander Ulysses Feral, Enforcers. Get me Marcus Puma, immediately. I have work for him."

The receptionist on the other end nodded and said, "I'll transfer you right now; please hold."

It was a surprisingly short wait, no longer than about fifteen seconds, before the bass drum voice of the former Enforcer was on the other end. "Commander… long time no hear. I trust you had to drive through the powder as well?"

Feral chuckled mirthlessly and said, "Seems _you_ made it all right to your office. Listen, I need your help again. The Enforcers are short of officers; with this weather, I doubt that the criminals will be taking an early holiday."

Puma nodded and said, "The city needs a solid force rolling around the streets in order to keep the leeches from sucking the stores dry. Some of them will most definitely be locked up tight due to the unexpected weather. So you want me to send out a force for you; is that it in a nutshell?"

Feral nodded and said, "Sharp of you. How many can you send out?"

Puma raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you kidding, Commander? Just tell me how many you need. Just remember… it's going to cost you."

Commander Feral almost groaned. 'A lot of things are costing me these days. What I wouldn't give for more officers right now.'

"I'll pay anything," he said wearily, "As long as I don't have to rely on those SWAT Kats anymore!"

* * *

**  
Chapter 52: Whiteout (Part 1) – **_**Christmas in July**_

MUAHAHAHAHA! How's that for ya? You like that?

I sure hope you do. This one took a while. And I like how I was able to fit it into less than six thousand words this time. I'll have to try it again. Anyways, from this point forward I find it almost pointless to put in Reviewer's Corners every time. I'm just going to say "thank you all" and be done with it. Not that I'm not grateful, but I need to get on the grind here and write, write, write! We're officially in the second half of the game, and embellishments are no longer an option.

You should still read, though. It's good for ya.

Big thanks to my reviewers who stuck with me all the way through Chapter 50. It's been a great ride so far; and it isn't even over yet. You will see more derring-do than a tightrope walker above a bed of iron spikes with no net, blindfolded. I promise.

The Slayer has returned.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	53. Whiteout Part 2

Standing atop a twenty story skyscraper, he looked down at the city below, now coated in sheets of the ice that gently drifted downward from the heavens. He did not hold any sympathy for this place; it was full of what he despised the most. There were kats down there that were better off than he was; they had food, shelter, money. They had lives to live. He didn't have much of one; not really. He did hard time in prison before this point, and this was the second time he had managed to escape from one.

'Of course,' he thought, 'this time is different.'

He had almost turned the entirety of the city into his own personal playground before, but now there was more than just rampaging around like a maniac on his mind. He had managed to get past the patrols of Enforcers somehow; he didn't know what exactly was going on over there, but that place would be a target of his sooner or later.

But his first thought was that he needed backup. He couldn't do all this cool stuff and not have men to lead. After all, he was still only one kat.

'I'll have to hit the streets sooner or later; go for the poor, the homeless. I'll have to comb the underground as well. Try to see if there are any who are looking for some dirty business.'

With that thought, he began heading back towards the nearby elevator that would take him back downwards. Those inside the building that got in his way met an unfortunate fate as he stormed through. There were workers frozen to their desks, security guards that were now living ice statues. The whole of the building, save for the elevator, the doors, and all its working components, was completely and totally ice blue.

As the elevator slowly headed down to the bottom floor, the kat took off the hood of his parka and removed the mask that covered the lower half of his face. Once he was finished, the kat stood there, basking in the warmth for a few moments. Sure he couldn't feel the cold, but he still preferred being indoors.

The sound of the chime signaled the end of the ride and he stepped out of the elevator, his boots crunching along the ice rink that was the first floor lobby. As he took a look around at his handiwork, he laughed menacingly. "Never thought it'd be so easy," he said as he walked through the front doors, replacing his hood and mask before doing so.

Though no one knew it yet, Rex Shard was back in town.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

"As temperatures drop to thirty-two degrees, local residents are suddenly breaking out their winter garb. While there is little explanation yet as to the mysterious circumstances, some are taking the bizarre weather quite well. One might even say they had expected it…"

Ann Gora was dressed in winter wear as well, but she was most certainly still on the job. The cameras showed children playing in the streets and having snowball fights, as if they didn't really care why the weather had changed. Still, to the four who were watching the news, it wasn't really that much fun.

The door to the lounge was closed tight with the bottom weather-sealed, and even then they had blankets around their shoulders. It was the first time in several months that they had to have this kind of protection against the elements with them, but Chance and Jake were glad they had it now.

"Concerns about the change in climate have not gone unnoticed by the Enforcers, however. Commander Ulysses Feral issued a statement that they would be working around the clock to discover the cause behind this unnatural weather and bring it to a close. Whether that is possible or not remains to be seen at this time. From downtown MegaKat City, this is Ann Gora, Kat's Eye News."

Chance picked up the remote for the TV and pressed the mute button. "I don't like to rag on those guys, especially with how much they lost, but they're not gonna be able to do it. There're gonna be a lot of kats out there who will try to take advantage of the cold to do a little 'early shopping'. With Feral's numbers, he's not gonna be able to handle it all on his lonesome, however much he wants to."

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "You're thinking there are gonna be a lot of five finger discounts around, don't you?"

Chance nodded. "It's only logical."

Callie smiled and said, "More paid work for us, then."

Chance shook his head. "Negative."

That comment made them all look towards him with more than slight puzzlement. The big tom expected this and began explaining. "He's going to use any means available to try and keep us out of the running, and that includes _actually_ trying to do it himself with what little forces he has left. But that's only if he gets desperate. So the first thing he'll do…"

Felina, realizing where this was headed, finished the explanation for him. "…Is one of the last things he wants to do. He's going to hire KatGuard."

Chance nodded. "I'm betting it's going to be their job to keep the stores from being cleaned out. It's a sound tactical decision, for him. But it leaves us out of any kind of cash. He probably expects us to do something about it anyway, though."

Callie's ears lowered a bit as she said, "Well what are we supposed to do, sit around and do nothing?"

Chance smirked. "Hell no we're not. We just can't stop ten robberies at once. What we do," he said as he stood up from the couch, "Is get out there and find out what caused this freak snow storm."

Jake raised an eyebrow and said, "We don't even know the first place to look, Chance."

Chance looked behind him and replied, "We sure as hell aren't going to find out by sitting around. Suit up; we got wheels up in five minutes."

That got everyone moving. Jake took the time to turn the television off before heading down with the others. Flight suits were donned; Glovatrixes were strapped on just in case they were needed, and within seconds, they were indeed the SWAT Kats. There was one additional element to the whole thing, though. One couldn't call the SWAT Kats unprepared. Each team member put on a winter coat, the same dark blue color as the flight suits, and the same red kat's head on the shoulders. A pair of leather gloves completed the preparations.

Jake and Chance immediately headed towards the TurboKat after they were finished gearing up, with Felina taking the StealthKat… or at least, she tried to. "Hang on," Razor said as he saw Lioness go for her elevator. He jogged back towards her and Ghost and said, "We're gonna need more than one kat on the ground today."

Lioness raised an eyebrow. "Don't you need more air power, just in case they have a few surprises that we didn't expect?"

Razor shook his head. "Nah, we're good for now. Whoever caused this isn't going to be stealing jets or choppers right away. We have to catch him before he does, though; otherwise, we _are_ gonna need that air power." He began heading back towards the TurboKat, but not before finishing what he was saying. "There's a pair of SnowKats down there in the hangar; they work the same way as the SandKat. Those emergency thrusters should do you some good for quick getaways, and the front's been equipped with a pair of mini-rocket launchers and a chain gun. Think you guys can handle that?"

Their answer was cut short by T-Bone shouting, "Razor, let's move! This guy isn't gonna wait for us!"

With that, he sprinted off towards the TurboKat and the two she-kats headed towards their vehicles. "They actually managed to mount a chain gun in these things?" Ghost asked as she walked towards the snowmobiles. Lioness shrugged and said, "Don't know about that, but I do see the rockets. These are the ones, all right."

As they both got on, the silver-haired she-kat quickly familiarized herself with the controls just as the TurboKat prepared to fire up its engines. Of course, she accidentally pressed one of the buttons for the weapon controls located on the right hand side, and lo and behold, the front of the SnowKat opened up to reveal a chain gun, chambered in rifle caliber.

"What is it that Razor can't do, exactly?" Callie said in amazement.

"Fly," Lioness said simply. "And that's why he needs T-Bone. I haven't seen a pilot as skilled or as crazy as he is."

Ghost smirked and said, "Except for you?"

Lioness chuckled and said, "Come on, let's go get us a bad guy."

* * *

Several black cars were patrolling the streets this day, each vehicle carrying two equally black-clad mercenaries with winter coats and gloves on. They had sophisticated electronics installed in each one, with the red, blue, and amber lights of a normal police car. But then again, these were not normal police.

No, normal police would not be armed with sub machine guns and assault rifles. Duty pistols were not the order of the day here. Body armor was concealable underneath the layers of clothing; no one expected anything heavier than small arms, and just in case someone had the big guns, they had a unit that could take those kinds of situations.

These were not Enforcers, but mercenaries from KatGuard, and although they weren't hired to fight a war, they certainly were ready for one. For now though, things were relatively quiet. Of course, they were expected to start out that way, but one could never be too careful. Naturally, some of the new kats were getting restless.

"This is Bengal in Zone Two; no problems so far." Reggie was one of those kats, and he was starting to get a bit annoyed about the lack of action. It was, after all, his first official deployment. Sure, no one expected the cold weather overnight, but it was what they had trained for. But at the same time, he felt nice and warm in this car… and it had only been about three hours since being sent out.

He sighed and began pulling out from the curb he had been parked at, the studded tires of the black sedan that he drove digging into the snow and ice. Sitting beside him was a she-kat just about his age named Frida. She looked over at him and asked, "You should look a bit less bored. At least we're getting paid, even if it turns out to be for absolutely nothing. Our job isn't exactly to stop robberies, but to-"

Reggie finished the sentence that he was expecting to hear. "…To provide a visible presence, a deterrent from anyone trying to do something stupid. I know." He sighed again and said, "Patrol work isn't my thing, though. I'd rather be on the Tactical Unit than just driving around like this."

She chuckled and said, "Like I haven't noticed that. Cheer up; at least we don't have to wear that heavy armor that slows a kat down."

He smirked and said, "No argument here."

The sound of breaking glass was heard from some distance away, which made Reggie and Frida turn their heads towards the noise. "Quiet this tin can down, Bengal," the young she-kat whispered, "I think we might be getting some work in today after all."

Slowly, they rounded the corner where they heard the noise and heard something else as well: the sound of a burglar alarm. Reggie cut the engine and slowly reached for the door handle. Frida quietly opened her own door and stepped out, readying an MP5. As stated before, duty pistols weren't in the equipment list of these guys, considering that they could be facing just about anything.

Reggie stepped out of his own door, a UMP slung across his own left shoulder. The two approached the building as stealthily as they could, and as they neared it, Reggie pointed down a nearby alley, signaling that he was going to try and enter in through the delivery entrance. Frida nodded and the two of them split up, with her taking the front door… or as the case was when she was close enough, the front window. They hadn't bothered with the door.

As Reggie headed down the alley, he clicked his radio and whispered, "This is Bengal in Zone Two, we have a tripped alarm at a hardware store, requesting an additional unit to head towards our position, over."

The radio replied in his ear piece a few seconds later, making him feel very fortunate that he had turned the volume down. "Copy that Zone Two, alarm has been confirmed. Nearby units are en route; hold position until they get there."

Reggie gritted his teeth, and yet replied as normally as he could, "Understood, holding position." But of course, he was too far gone to do that now. Besides, once their reinforcements got there, it would probably be too late. They had to take care of this now, while they still could.

He switched frequencies on his radio and began speaking again. "Frida, what's it look like up there?"

She was prone on her stomach underneath the store's window when she heard her radio. Getting up just enough to peek over the pane of the broken glass, she quickly lowered herself again and continued crawling forward. "I count three at the front. I don't think that they're the ones that broke the window in; they're just lookouts."

Reggie nodded and said as he peeked around the corner of the building that led towards the delivery door, "No one at the back so far…" and when he was finished peeking, he said, "Yeah, no one back here. I'll take this way. Whatever you're doing, stop and wait for my green light."

Frida halted where she was underneath the window and lay perfectly still. If her heart weren't beating a thousand times per minute before, it certainly was now. She was going for the door, but now realized that it would have been a mistake to do so. The already open window was just as good of an entry point, and besides, if she took the door she'd just get flanked.

Reggie wasn't about to go doing anything stupid either. This wasn't like the training exercises; these were kats who probably had real guns, and even if they didn't there were ten tons of sharp objects in a hardware store. This wasn't the time to go in loud like he would have done before he had been schooled in the real way to fight.

Fortunately for him, he had a few tools to get things done. 'If I had this earlier in my life, I wonder how many times I would have avoided being shot at,' he thought to himself as he withdrew a lock pick kit from his gear belt. "I'm in position," He whispered into his radio as he started breaking in, setting the tension wrench and lifting all the pins, just in case something stupid happened.

A series of soft clicks was heard as he slowly pulled the pick out, having to slide it back in a few times until he heard one. Within seconds, the wrench turned with a frightening ease as the lock gave way. He smirked and said softly without activating his radio, "That's one…"

Reggie slid the wrench out of the deadbolt and made for the door knob lock, which he did the same way. This time he got lucky as all five pins slid into position. With that, he put the tools away and quietly opened the door, lifting the UMP to shoulder level as he did so. "Frida, I'm in; go for it."

She took a deep breath and rolled over, fishing a flash bang from her duty vest. She wasn't about to be careful about pulling the pin on it; they were about to get noisy anyway. Immediately after, she tossed the noisemaker inside and covered her ears.

"What was that?" One of the kats inside said, making the other two turn and look in the direction of whatever had made that noise on the ground.

What happened in the next second was the desired effect. The flash bang went off, and the three kats that acted as lookouts were stunned and had a quite painful ringing in their ears. Still, one of them did manage to yell, "**Cops! We got cops out here!**"

'Shit,' Frida cursed silently as she sprang up from her hiding place and hopped through the window, her body a flurry of motion as she proceeded to disable the would-be robbers from doing anything else but walk around dazed. As she put them onto the tiled floor, they were handily handcuffed and whatever weapons they had on them were confiscated. Of course, none of them had a gun on them, just knives. Then again, that didn't mean that no one else did, nor did that make them any less dangerous.

"The three up front are neutralized; I'm heading towards your position," she said into her radio, no longer feeling the need to whisper.

"Negative," Reggie said as he scoured the back of the store, "Stay there until reinforcements arrive; then you can come back here. I got these last few guys."

Or at least, he thought he did. A split second after he had rounded a corner from the isle he was walking down, he had to take cover back behind the shelf. A hammer was sent flying at him and buried itself into the wall that his back would have been facing. It missed him by inches.

'Shit! That was too close…'

Reggie yelled out from behind his improvised cover, "Well that's a nice way to say hello! Now I'll have to throw something back at you!"

He pulled out a smoke grenade and pulled the pin on it before tossing the damn thing around his cover. Within seconds, a cloud of voluminous smoke filled the place where they were located, and even though it wasn't toxic, it made it damn hard for anyone to see anything.

As the smoke dispensed, Reggie began to circle around the other side, trying to move as quickly as he could to catch them from behind. He got close enough to hear one of them say, "Fuck this, we gotta get the hell out of here!"

And then, he struck.

Rounding the corner, Reggie shoved one of the poor bastards into the other two, causing them all to stumble and topple over. He leveled his gun at the three of them and said smugly, "Picked the wrong morning, guys. I wouldn't move if I were you."

He heard the sirens of another car outside and said, "Let's take a walk, shall we? Get up, you greedy bastards."

Frida headed towards Reggie with two other kats, and the four of them escorted the six criminals outside to their cars. Reggie hopped into the driver's seat again and said, "That wasn't so bad… could have been worse. I could have a hammer through my forehead right now, did you know that?"

Frida grimaced and said, "That was the last thing I wanted to know, Bengal. Let's just turn these guys in; there's probably going to be more of these later on."

He nodded and said, "The Captain is expecting as such." Then, with a grin he added, "Just another day at the office!"

* * *

His heavy orange winter coat, formerly a part of his prisoner's uniform, made him obvious against the dreary grey sky and the frozen streets piled with snow. The black arctic gloves on his hands were a dead giveaway as well as he walked along the alleyways, looking for kats that were out in the cold. Living in boxes, garbage dumps, whatever makeshift lean-tos they could conjure up.

He said the same thing over and over again to each homeless and destitute kat he passed: "Follow me if you want a new life."

You would think that one sentence would not have roused people out of their somewhat comfortable and yet uncomfortable positions to walk in the snow, but it did. By the time he had found a building in which to say his piece, somewhere that he and his new companions would not be interrupted, he had quite a following.

The black cloth mask that covered the lower half of his face was never taken off during any of this. He needed to put a bit of shock and awe into these kats, and hiding his face was part of it. The hood over his head completed the look and hid the rest of him effectively well.

Once he was inside the warehouse, which was somewhat warmer than it was outside, they were all quite relieved to be out of the cold… but they wouldn't be relieved for long. Stomping one foot down as soon as he was in the middle of the warehouse caused a five foot high pillar of ice to rise up from beneath him, taking him upwards in view of whoever wanted to listen.

After what he had just done, they all listened intently.

"I promised you," he began, "A new life. I meant that, every word. But of course, like everything else in this city, you're gonna have to work for it. Then again, none of you have jobs, shelter, and any way to get that kind of security. Other people have that, right?"

A murmur of agreement spread through the crowd that was gathered.

He nodded and said, "I don't think they deserve it. The ones who need that security are out there on the streets, you kats and your kittens. But no one cares; no one wants to help or give anything, especially not those in the top ranks of society." His eyes narrowed as he said, "You know something? I say we _take_ what's ours."

"And how are we gonna do that?" one kat called out to him. "Just who are you, anyways?"

One couldn't see the sinister smile underneath that black mask of his, but it was there. "I'm someone who feels your pain. Who knows what it's like to have nothing at all, not even respect. If you want any of your respect back, you'll follow me. Or you could always live in the dregs of society forever… it's your choice."

Silently, everyone pondered this for a few moments, which made Rex wonder if he were getting through to any of them. Then the tom that had spoken out against him earlier said, "Fine, what do we have to do."

The criminal smirked underneath his mask. 'Good, there goes the first part,' he thought. 'Now it's time for some logistics.'

Of course, what he meant by that was it was time to break stuff and "procure" supplies. He had quite a bit of work for his new force to accomplish, but they needed the gear to get it done. And he knew the perfect place to start first.

"Keep the queens and kittens here," he said from his frozen pedestal. He knew it would cut his forces in half, but he didn't want to lose the momentum he had just gained. "Before you she-kats say anything, just remember that someone's gotta stay here and take care of them. I don't doubt any of your abilities."

As the toms walked out of the warehouse and into the cold again, it wasn't too difficult to see that none of them liked it. Rex didn't care. It was their decision to follow him. Fortunately for them, he found something that would get them to their destination a bit faster: a transport truck.

"Pile in, now. We're going on a road trip."

They did, and eventually they happened upon the destination that Rex was driving them to, a gun shop. 'First things first,' he thought, 'we need weapons to get the goods. It's a time-honored rule that no one likes being shot. Of course,' he added to himself with a smirk, 'I don't need one.'

"Wait for me here," he said after he parked outside, just a few meters away from the shop. "Someone take the wheel and head towards the front door as soon as I come back out."

With that said, Rex walked inside, mask and hood still on. Fortunately for him, the shop was open, even with all the snow and ice around. "Can I help you with something?" the tom at the front counter asked as the door bell chimed.

Shard looked around for a moment, examining the many items that were there. Yeah, this would be enough for all of his guys out there. He looked towards the tom and said, "No… you can't." He extended his right hand, and within the next split second, the kat before him was turned to ice with a blast of light blue. He didn't even have enough time to hit the silent alarm, which of course was what Rex planned to do; hit him before he could warn anyone else that they were there.

'We still have to move quickly,' he said to himself as he moved back outside, 'A big truck parked in front of a gun shop would have _anyone_ checking to see what's going on.'

The next part wouldn't be so quiet, which was fine with him. He wanted certain individuals to know he was in town anyway.

As soon as the truck stopped, he said, "Get in there and load up with as much as you can carry, including ammo. Also, which one of you knows how to shoot?"

Two kats raised their hands and said they used to be in the military before losing their livelihoods. Rex nodded and said, "All right, from this point on you two are in charge of training. I want every kat that can walk and has two arms in this group ready for a raid as soon as possible."

They nodded grimly and headed into the store. Rex turned his back on what they were doing and smirked beneath his mask. 'And now for stage two.'

* * *

"Tell me again why we're doing this, T-Bone?" Razor asked as he sat in his usual seat in the TurboKat.

T-Bone grinned and replied, "'Cause we've never tested this baby in cold weather before. Besides, you know what happens when cold air hits an engine." As if to demonstrate, T-Bone throttled up and the happy whine of the engines were heard as they indeed took in that thicker, colder air. The two toms sunk back in their seats as the jet leapt forward like an excited kitten.

Razor nodded and said, "Well even if I didn't, that just told me. But seriously, aren't we supposed to be looking for the guy that's doing this? He could be doing something even worse down there if we don't get moving."

T-Bone looked back at his WSO and said, "We don't have enough information yet. I've been keeping the emergency band on and all I've gotten are the usual reports of robberies, a few traffic violations, but nothing else. Whoever this kat is, he's certainly keeping quiet for now." He looked forward again and said, "That's what our girls on the ground are for."

Razor sighed and said, "Fine, but it's getting a little dull up here. Almost makes me want to buzz Feral's control tower."

T-Bone laughed and said, "Don't worry, buddy; they'll find something for us to smash. Count on it."

Of course, things were much the same on the ground. The modified snowmobiles tore across the ice and snow that covered the streets, both she-kats tuning in to the same broadcast frequency only to find nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, Lioness had one more source she could turn to, but he was only to call her when things got hectic.

Right now, it just seemed like another day at the office for all involved, KatGuard or no.

"Something doesn't smell right about all this," Ghost said as they continued their patrol along the streets. "It's too normal for a day like this; we have a lot of attempted break-ins as expected, but nothing to warrant a lot of concern."

Lioness replied with, "Maybe that's a good thing. We should probably count ourselves lucky that we haven't had to do anything about this yet. It was a good idea on Commander Feral's part to hire those contractors; they're certainly doing a good job at not killing anyone outright just yet and are making good progress with keeping the storefronts safe."

Ghost nodded, still worried about something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She figured that she would know when she saw it though, and with that she didn't say much of anything else. It was then that she noticed the emergency thruster switch and grinned. "Wanna try these out?"

Lioness looked towards her with a raised eyebrow, confused as to what her friend was getting at, when she noticed what one of the silver-haired she-kat's thumbs were toying with. "Thought those were for emergencies?"

Ghost shrugged and said, "I know that. But come on, don't you at least want to see if they work?"

Lioness placed a thumb on the same switch and said, "To hell with it. I was getting bored anyways."

They seemed to hit their individual switches at the same time, and immediately they heard the sound of the turbines from the emergency thrusters firing up. Essentially, they were miniature jet engines and worked the same way. And as soon as the fans reached their intended operating speed (which didn't take long), the SnowKats launched forward, a bright blue cone of heat coming right out the back.

Ghost had the silliest grin on her face as she and her friend raced along the snow, keeping in mind that they would more than likely run into something unusual much faster this way. "This is awesome," she shouted as they let the engines do their thing, moving down the street faster than any of the cars on the road, as few as there were today.

Attempting to turn, of course, caused a bit of a problem… they weren't called emergency thrusters for nothing. "Shit, damn thing won't respond," Lioness cursed through clenched teeth as she tried to steer. Ghost gritted her teeth as well and said, "Cut 'em!"

They did, easing off of the throttle at the same time. They slid on the ice for a bit before finally coming to a stop, and Lioness said, "Knew that was a bad idea."

Ghost shook her head and said as she looked towards Lioness, "No, it wasn't. We know why they're called 'emergency' thrusters now: they only go one way and that's about it. We can still use that to our advantage."

Lioness smirked and said, "Ever the optimist, huh? You sure have changed from back then."

Ghost laughed before looking forward again, only to realize that there was a big white truck driving away from a building. She didn't think of it as anything special for now and began driving forward again… but the closer she got, the more she noticed that something was very, very wrong.

"Lioness," she said as she stopped in front of the building, "Check it out."

The brunette stopped as well and checked the door, as well as the sign above it. "A gun shop…" She checked the windows and her eyes widened. "Holy shit… someone cleaned this place out!"

Ghost nodded. "Yeah, and they did it without having the alarm tripped or any windows broken at that." She opened the door and gasped at what she saw. It was the store clerk, and he was frozen solid. Lioness stepped in after her and frowned distastefully. "Well, that's how they did it. Poor bastard didn't have time to hit any alarms at all."

Ghost immediately headed outside and hopped onto her SnowKat. "Then it looks like we have a lead." She fired up her engine and said, "Follow that truck!"

* * *

**Chapter 53: Whiteout (Part 2) – **_**Cold Reception**_

All right, another edible chapter in less than five thousand words. Um… skip that, less than six thousand. No matter, though. I'm just busy a-writin' away here, counting down the days until this one is finished. It might take a while, but it will be done, I assure you. In the meantime, hope you guys are doing all right. I figure I would take out the RA here as well, because there's not much to be said that hasn't been said already.

That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate you guys. I just need to focus on the important stuff here, such as work.

Speaking of work, I need to work on my other stories. Go read 'em if you have the courage/time/boredom factor. With that, I take my leave as always. See you next chapter!

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	54. Whiteout Part 3

The TurboKat, high above the city, made its rounds along each sector, searching for any possible cause for the weather anomaly that was currently plaguing the city. That wasn't even the bad part; it was getting worse. At one time, the jet's external sensors read the temperature as twenty-one degrees. That was only an hour ago. Razor's face looked grim as he announced the temperature yet again.

"It's dropped five more degrees out there. If we don't get something soon, T-Bone, we'll freeze our _tails_ off, and so will Lioness and Ghost."

The tom in question looked behind him and said, "Well this is why we're all bundled up like this, right? They can handle it down there. Besides, they've got good eyes on 'em; something's gonna turn up sooner or later." At least, he hoped so. If it got any colder, they'd have to fight out here. He knew what'd happen then; it would only be a matter of time before they had to get somewhere warm. Sure, he and Razor, and even Lioness were trained for extreme environments.

'But Ghost… she's the unknown factor in this. What's gonna happen if it gets colder and she's nowhere near prepared?'

He didn't want to know.

But of course, before long, the whereabouts of a lead turned up, and all thanks to the she-kat that T-Bone was just thinking about.

"We've got a hit, buddy," Razor said excitedly. "Gun store just got cleaned out, _without_ the silent alarm going off. Our ground team is in pursuit of a truck that's supposedly holding the goods. I got tracers on both SnowKats, and I've already gotten a lock on their signals!"

T-Bone grinned. 'That's my queen.' "Awesome; we're in pursuit. Get those weapons ready, Razor – we might be going in hot after all!"

The engines roared as the TurboKat headed towards the exact location of the modified snowmobiles that were on the ground, and as the tracker showed, they were hauling ass. It appeared that the two she-kats had indeed caught a scent after all…

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Rex drove as if there were nothing wrong with his vehicle. After all, no one saw them or knew what was going on; at least not yet. It wasn't marked, which wasn't all that bad. At least no one saw it as suspicious or anything. Besides, without that alarm tripped, who would care?

'Beautiful thing about this is,' he thought, 'Those SWAT Kats won't dare to respond. They won't come out unless those retards that call themselves cops are in trouble.'

The tom that was in the passenger's side of the cab was not as calm. One could tell by the way he looked into the side mirror every five minutes. It was a shame that thing had a limited field of view; otherwise he would be able to confirm or deny his fears a bit sooner. But he was stopped when the tom next to him said, "Would you quit doing that, you moron? No one's onto us."

The poor kat tried to calm down. "I just have a bad feeling about all this, boss…" He didn't dare call him by his name; hell, the guy hadn't been given a name to call, so he called the tom in the parka boss. It seemed fitting, since he was the one with the plans.

Rex smirked confidently and said, "Even if there is something wrong, there's always a contingency plan. I suggest you sit there and stay quiet for now, otherwise someone WILL notice something's up, and then we'll catch all sorts of hell." Not like that mattered; nothing mattered anymore. He had enough of this power, whatever it was, to freeze this city over twice if he wanted to. As soon as he learned to take full hold of it, it would be a snap.

'All these other rags, they can go to hell after that. So can this city.'

The other rags he was talking about were in the back, and with plenty of hardware to use later. Most of them however didn't know the first thing about shooting a gun, and the few that did were hesitant about doing so. They would learn soon enough, though. That was, if they were alive or still free by the time this was over.

It would be a few minutes later though that most of them would wish they had learned before raiding the weapons locker of that gun shop.

Behind the truck and closing fast was the pair of SnowKats, snowmobiles turned into mobile assault platforms. While they weren't exactly bristling with weapons, they were well-equipped enough for their riders to defend themselves when it came to it. Draped in black, blue, red and yellow, much like the several other vehicles like them, the SnowKats were in pursuit of this truck and anyone inside.

The riders were clad in navy blue winter coats, complete with hoods and black leather gloves. The masks over their eyes marked them as surely as the red kat's head on either shoulder of their coats – these were SWAT Kats. The sound of their engines couldn't be heard over the much larger engine of the truck, which helped a bit when it came to concealment.

The two she-kats, for she-kats they were, rode side by side, doing nothing for now but following the truck. While the one on the left had cream colored fur, the one on the left looked as if she had been out at the beach for a while, sporting a tan. Their names, respectfully, were Ghost and Lioness.

It was long assumed by those that did not know any better that there were only two SWAT Kats in existence, but that assumption, at least by this one thief and his new cohorts, was about to change.

"We're taking them at the next light," Ghost said into her helmet-integrated radio, "Get ready."

Lioness said nothing, simply narrowed her eyes and waited for the truck to stop. She thumbed the switch to activate the weapons, eagerly hoping that whoever this kat was, he or she would put up something of a struggle. If that weren't the case, then… well, it'd be boring.

Soon enough, the truck did stop at a red light, but the sound of the engines behind it was heard much easier. They didn't care; they _wanted_ the driver to know he was being followed, and even if they didn't, it would have happened sooner or later. As they approached and slowed down, still behind the truck, Ghost felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Something was wrong…

And then as soon as she thought that, the truck began speeding off through the intersection while there was still a red light. The cars that were passing through were bound to ram into it. 'He's awful desperate not to get caught,' Ghost thought as she watched the truck begin to head into traffic… and then her eyes widened as the cars froze in place almost instantly, seconds before they rammed into it!

Lioness didn't need any other reason to gun her engines, even as the imminent pileup began to happen. They had to get through, _now_! Ghost quickly followed, cars crashing around her and almost into her, which almost made her hit the switch for the emergency thrusters. But they both made it through without them and immediately resumed pursuit, now certain that whoever was driving, or maybe someone inside the back of the truck, was responsible for this weather.

"T-Bone, Razor, do you copy? We have confirmation that the one behind this freak snow storm is in that truck we're following! If you can hear this message, home in on our signal and pursue immediately," Ghost said as she armed her weapons. They would have to stop that vehicle at all costs before it got to where it was going.

She quickly lowered her helmet's visor, which brought up the usual heads-up display in a matter of mere moments. An aiming sight appeared as she armed the rockets, hoping to take the back wheels out and slow the truck down. Of course before she could do that… the back opened and revealed several kats in worn clothing, most of them armed with automatic rifles and sub machine guns.

'Guess we found the thieves, too.'

Of course, they subsequently found out that many of them were a bit reckless in their operation of the guns, and a bunch of them didn't even know that they had the safeties on. "Who the hell are these guys?" Lioness said as she locked onto three of them. "Doesn't matter, they're going to the Enforcer lockup when we're done with 'em. Take out the tires; I'll keep them from putting an accidental hole in us or someone else!"

With that, she fired a rocket, that wasn't all that harmful since there turned out to be a net installed in it. More than three kats were snagged in that, but not enough to stop the random fields of fire. To be honest, it was more dangerous for bullets to go everywhere than be focused all in one direction. Apparently, only a handful knew that, because three or four of them were firing straight at the SnowKats with controlled bursts.

The truck took a left turn and the snowmobiles followed suit, the two she-kats at the controls with their Glovatrix shields now deployed. After all, at least some of them knew how to shoot and had decent aim. The two of them quickly moved to the sides of the truck, going for the tires…

…When Ghost was suddenly visited upon by a bolt of ice blue light. She barely ducked underneath it, but even the tips of her ears felt the unnatural amount of energy behind it. Well that was nice; she had almost become an ice statue. "Right, well now you're about to have a bad day, whoever the hell you are," she muttered as she drove closer to the driver's side of the truck. Another blue bolt came towards her and she ducked again, this time a scant few seconds earlier due to the fact that she saw the hand come out of the window first. With that, she reached the front and immediately switched her Glovatrix to attack mode, causing the shield to fold back into place as she aimed the barrels toward the driver.

"You missed your chance to come quietly," was all she said before she fired shots of tar into the truck. The driver, who was wearing an orange parka and a black mask over his mouth, leaned back just enough for them to pass mere inches in front of his face, but the tom in the passenger's side wasn't so lucky and caught one right in the face.

The driver took a sharp left turn, trying to knock Ghost off of the road. He would have succeeded if she hadn't turned the engines as far as they could turn, which barely got her in front of the truck. Of course on the other side, Lioness was busy trying to puncture those wheels… but was being shot at from behind, forcing her to defend herself by keeping those that shot at her from poking their guns where they should not.

'Where are you guys at?' she brooded to herself. 'We kinda have our hands full here!'

Ghost, meanwhile, had a big truck breathing down her neck full of a bunch of rag tag kats who were more dangerous than someone who actually knew what they were doing. She was definitely mirroring Lioness' thoughts right now, only out loud and in her radio. "Hey guys, a little help would do right now! Where are you?"

Fortunately for her, her radio echoed, "Look above you!"

For a brief moment, she did… and lo and behold, the black bird of death known as the TurboKat had arrived. She then looked behind her and her eyes widened as the vehicle seemed to be closer than she had first thought. "Damn it, this is not a good day!" She suddenly found it a very, very good time to use those emergency thrusters, and did so without hesitation. "Lioness, haul ass," she said into her radio as her SnowKat suddenly accelerated ahead.

"You don't have to tell me twice; I just saw our toms overhead." She hit her emergency thrusters as well, attempting to catch up to Ghost as quickly as she could. Fortunately for her, she was out of the range of those shooting at her faster than one could blink, which left plenty of room for the TurboKat to engage that truck.

Speaking of the TurboKat, it had circled around to make a pass at the back of the truck. "So this guy even has his own army," Razor commented as he zoomed in to take a closer look with the jet's external camera. "Well they look like they got conscripted right off the street, literally. Just a bunch of homeless kats with guns, it seems."

"Then it should be easy," T-Bone said as he brought the TurboKat in closer, "As long as we don't hit any other cars while we're at it."

And, he thought to himself, as long as they didn't have any anti-tank or anti-air with them. He doubted that a gun store had that kind of firepower, but one had to cover every angle. The big tom got in as close as he could, and Razor began training his in-visor sights on the group that was carrying all the hardware. "Sorry for leaving such a mess," he said before firing the Cement Machine Gun. Quick-drying cement sprayed from the six-barrel Gatling gun, and hit right on target, covering most, if not all of those kats.

Those that weren't hit with that short burst returned fire, but it was mostly useless against the jet. T-Bone grinned and said, "Yeah, like that'll work." He sped up and rocketed past the truck so he could get in front of it and finish this nonsense.

Sadly, it wouldn't be that easy.

The TurboKat sliced right in the air and stopped in front of the truck, hovering in mid-air like an ominous specter. The two kats in the cockpit looked ominous as well, even with their winter gear on. "I wouldn't move if I were you," T-Bone said through the loudspeaker. "We're gonna end this before it gets worse. Get out of the truck, Frosty."

The truck's engine revved in challenge for it had indeed stopped, seeing as it was at one would call a very big obstacle. But it seemed that whoever was in there was not coming along quietly. It revved again, as if it were going to move any time soon, and Razor said, "I don't think he's gonna get out. Matter of fact, it looks like he's more prone to ram us than anything."

"Then there's not much choice, is there? See if you can't take that engine out, buddy." Of course, the big tom was ready to put the engines to work if he had to. Razor, without saying much, began readying a Megavolt Missile. "This should do the trick. I'm locked on…"

And that's when things went wrong. A bolt of ice blue came from the driver's side window, and all at once, Razor couldn't fire his weapons. A harsh alarm sounded, and as Razor checked the status of the jet, he grimaced. "Shit, weapons bay's frozen shut!" Two more bolts came at them, ramming into various parts of the TurboKat. T-Bone immediately fired his engines, and the aircraft shot upwards, avoiding any further shots… except one lucky one.

Another alarm sounded. Razor checked again, and his eyes widened. "The bastard took out our right intake; it's jammed with ice!" Subsequently, the right engine quietly cut out, with the fans still moving. They had two more, which meant they could still fly, but…

"If this keeps up, we won't be in the air," T-Bone said as he began executing evasive maneuvers. Razor's radar picked up movement from the truck again, this time behind them. "I figured something like this would happen," the slim tom muttered as they were now the ones being hunted. "We need to ditch this guy before he turns us into kat-sicles! Put those other engines on maximum burn, T-Bone!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," the big kat said as he throttled up. The remaining two engines lit up, and the TurboKat, even with one engine down, still gained an impressive lead.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the truck was being chased once again by Ghost and Lioness. "This time," The brunette said with her eyes narrowed angrily, "We're not just taking that truck out."

Ghost silently agreed; no one tried to run her over and got away with it. Still, she didn't want to kill anyone; she just wanted whoever was driving to stop what they were doing. Sure, she would if it came down to it, but she didn't want to. With that said, she trained the sights of the chain gun onto one of the rear wheels, and before anyone had the chance to fire at her, she opened up.

The cab of that truck was rocked as the back two tires were blown clean out. "Dammit, they finally got us." He knew he couldn't drive with that kind of damage, and at this rate the back two wheels would grind against the icy road, slowing him down even further. There was only one way to get out of this.

Well, there was more than one way, but he didn't want to take the more extreme measures yet.

The she-kats below suddenly saw white, and a whole lot of it. On instinct, they stopped the sleds and tightened up the straps on their hoods. Oh, this was nowhere near good… and where the hell did the _blizzard_ come from? Of course, it didn't take long to answer that question; it came from that kat in the orange parka and the black mask over his mouth.

But who knew he had this much control?

The TurboKat wasn't faring too well either. "Shit, I can't see an inch in front of my face like this! I'm taking her up, Razor!" As he did so, T-Bone knew perfectly well that they were letting this kat and whoever was left of his cronies get away, but it would be useless to follow them in this sudden snow storm. Fifteen thousand feet later, they were clear of the storm. "We can't keep on going like this," Razor said glumly. "We gotta pull back for now and find out what's with this kat."

T-Bone looked behind him and said, "What about Lioness and Ghost? They're still down there!"

Razor nodded and said with a grimace, "Yeah, I noticed. But we can't attempt a search and rescue with all that powder flying around." Then he smiled and added, "But I believe in those two; they'll be able to take it. Besides, I didn't just build those snowmobiles in a day; they can take whatever this freak can throw at them as well."

T-Bone turned to face forward again and said, "I sure as hell hope you're right. It'd suck if we lost them at this point." In more ways than one, to be sure, but he didn't say that out loud. He didn't have to.

Of course, what was expected to happen on the ground was happening. The driver of the truck got out, cursing vehemently to himself. To think that such a good plan would be ruined this early. He just hoped he had enough kats left back there to continue on. As he looked though, he found himself somewhat relieved.

"Let's go, you pathetic excuses for soldiers! This run is over; take what you can carry and follow me!" If he got away with at least something, it would be turned from a rout to a small tactical loss. Besides, he had more men left than expected. Those that were stuck to the floor would be taken in by the Enforcers sooner or later, but he didn't much care. He wanted people to know he was around anyway.

They began gathering what they could and proceeded to make their escape under the cover of the instantaneous blizzard. Of course, he couldn't leave without taunting his adversaries. Knowing that his two pursuers were still buried underneath the ever-growing pile of snow, he shouted, "Hear me, SWAT Kats! I'm only going to say this once; this is only a taste of what I can do to you, this city, and everyone in it! You want it to stop? Should you survive this, you bring Mayor Manx, Deputy Mayor Briggs, and that worthless Commander Feral to me! If you don't, I'll bury this city under a blizzard the likes of which even God has never seen!"

With that, and something akin to maniacal laughter, he began heading back towards his makeshift base, the rest of his army in tow. He had made them retreat and stopped them in their tracks; that was enough for now. Sure, he didn't expect there to be four of them now, but that was of little consequence. Next time, he'd kill them for sure, and that would be regardless of whether they met his demands or not.

As soon as he was well and gone, the blizzard died down quietly and slowly. Two piles of snow that looked much like grave markers were what covered Lioness and Ghost, and it was unlikely that they had heard what was said. Even if they had, there was one rule that a SWAT Kat followed above all others: never surrender.

A head suddenly rose from the pile to the left, and another rose from the one to the right. Two figures emerged from the snow, and they both looked pissed off. As they both brushed the snow off of their coats, Lioness said, "Damn it, he got some in my boots! I'm going to turn him into my own personal scratching post the next time I see him."

Ghost said nothing, simply looking towards the truck. She noticed that a few of the kats were still lying there, probably hit with the Cement Machine Gun. Sure they were immobile, but they were still alive. "At least we won't leave empty-handed," she said with a wry smile as she pointed towards the back of the truck.

She got off of her SnowKat and began heading towards the cab. "Call for a pickup of these suspects, Lioness; I'm gonna take a look around and see if there's anything we can learn about our walking natural disaster."

Of course, in order to do that, they'd need access to the Enforcer Biotech Lab. Dr. Conway had access to all that equipment, including DNA testing gear. The problem was that Feral would have little chance of letting them in. The solution of course was both simple, and complicated: talk to Dr. Conway himself. They'd done so before, and now he was one of the two kats in the city who could find out who was behind this.

'But we'd have to get in first, and then we'd have to present a sample of some sort. The second one shouldn't be a problem, but the first… they've probably tightened their defenses by now.'

Not that it would be impossible to get in, just that it would be a pain. Time was not on their side here.

The first place that Ghost looked was the most obvious; the driver's side of the cab. Immediately, she found what she was looking for. Amidst the snow that had been forced into the truck, she found several hairs. The question was whose were they? Well that didn't matter; they would find out soon enough. She managed to get enough of them for some viable evidence, and then heard the sound of sirens behind her.

'I'm surprised they got here this fast,' she thought to herself. But then, she was met with a surprise; it was a KatGuard helicopter equipped with the siren systems that were usually found on an Enforcer cruiser. She shrugged and said, "Better them than the real thing, I guess."

The suspects still had the stolen firearms in hand, which no longer made them suspects. This meant that the mercenaries would get paid yet again. Everyone won something in this, it seemed. As the helicopter flew off to dump the precious cargo at Enforcer headquarters, Ghost walked towards Lioness and presented the hairs she had collected. "We have to get these into Enforcer HQ as well; someone there can find out who is behind this."

Lioness raised an eyebrow and said, "And how did you plan on getting in there, exactly?"

Ghost grimaced and said, "The hard way."

Lioness smirked and said, "Like we need to do it like that. Use your head, please; I know you can."

The answer was so obvious; Ghost was shocked that she didn't think of it sooner. Still, the reason that she _didn't_ think of it sooner came to her as soon as she realized what Lioness was getting at. "I don't want to get him involved in this any more than we have to. He's our liaison, and nothing else."

Lioness almost pouted. "He said that he'd help any way he could, right? Well this is a way to help. If we can get this evidence into the Biotech Lab without causing a riot while doing so, Feral will stay out of our hair and we get the full story at the same time."

Ghost had to concede that point to her friend. They didn't need Commander Feral sticking his nose into this. But she still had doubts. "If he gets caught, I wouldn't feel right about it for a while. He's a nice tom and I don't want to see him in trouble."

Lioness nodded and said, "Neither do I, but I'm sure he'd agree that this is the best way if he were here."

Ghost sighed and said, "All right, let's go for it. Call Benny up as soon as we get back to base and tell him to meet up at the garage." They were risking a lot by doing this; he was a sharp kat, and if he saw anything that made him suspicious, the four of them would be in for it. "For now, we have a whole different problem: how are we going to get these back to base?"

Lioness grinned and said, "Awww, there's always a way to do things. You just have to be creative."

One could almost see a sweat drop forming along Ghost's forehead. 'Okay, just as long as those creative methods don't get things broken.'

* * *

T-Bone and Razor had long since entered the hangar and began repair work; they were both planning on returning to the downtown area and pick up the other two members of their team. "Great, so now we've got the cause for this weather pinned down, and we've found out that he's annoying as all hell," T-Bone said as he attempted to clear the right intake.

Razor nodded and said, "On top of that, we don't know where he's hiding at; we just ran into him. We didn't even get a chance to put a tracer on him or any of his flunkies." He sighed and added, "This just might get worse before it gets better, but since when is that new?" He was busy scraping the ice off of the weapons bay as he spoke. "Remind me to get some kind of anti-freeze coating for the jet, if there even is such a thing."

T-Bone shrugged. "Meh, I wouldn't worry too much about that. I'm sure someone will have thought of that by now." He took off his helmet and said, "We just have to get this ice off and get back in the air before things get _really_ ugly. I don't want the Enforcers to jump into this with so little manpower."

Razor laughed and replied, "Like that's ever stopped Feral!"

Of course, that was the point when the launch bay opened, and the two toms seemed to perk their ears. "I told you," Razor said with a smirk. T-Bone rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, just don't let it get to your head, buddy." But of course, he was happy they were back as well.

The two SnowKats rolled in, with two tired and cold-looking she-kats on the back. T-Bone stopped what he was doing and walked over towards Ghost. "You two are late," he said teasingly.

The silver-haired she-kat smiled and said, "I know. We had to go out and pick up a few things." She held up a small bag filled with the hairs she had gathered earlier. "Like this, for example. If we can find out who these belong to, we'll be one step closer to finding out how to stop him." That was assuming that it was someone they had faced before. If not, they may have a new set of problems to deal with all the same.

Razor shrugged and said, "Evidence, huh? Well we don't have the equipment to do a DNA test or anything like that. The Enforcers do, but it isn't going to be easy-"

"Yeah, I know," Ghost cut in, already knowing what he was going to say. "But we don't necessarily have to go in. Someone else could do it for us."

T-Bone and Razor immediately got the gist of what she was saying. "You sure that'll be okay?" the big tom asked as he looked towards Lioness. "If something goes wrong, it's on us."

The brunette nodded. "If there were anything that I would call a sure-fire, foolproof plan, this would be it. Besides, have I ever steered you wrong before?"

With that, she changed out of her gear and made an important phone call to a good friend.

* * *

**Chapter 54: Whiteout (Part 3) – **_**City of Ice**_

Well, there goes another one. Phew, this one took a long time to execute, huh? But still, it was worth it to provide you guys with yet another installment of excitement and adventure. Whether you guys liked it or not has yet to be seen, but I liked writing it. In any event, job sucks because it takes away from writing. Heck, the same could be said about all of life, but one has to get out of the house sometime.

Anyways, let me know how it was. Yeah, for those who wanted an RA, my apologies. I'm trying to put these chapters in the most consumable, bite-sized bits I can. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not thankful; on the contrary. I'm happy you guys are even taking time out to look at my stuff, and thankful for all my readers.

I'm going to take a rest now.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	55. Whiteout Part 4

Dr. Conway looked through his microscope, analyzing what could be some of the most puzzling samples he had ever seen. Granted, he had seen some odd things in his lifetime; this was, after all, MegaKat City. But this was too strange for even him to believe; something entirely new and unexpected. That didn't mean he couldn't figure it out; it just meant that it would take some doing this time. It also didn't mean that he couldn't find out easily who it was; in fact, he already knew.

'That of course,' he brooded to himself, 'leaves two questions: How did he get back here, and what is he planning?'

Benjamin Lynx was there in the Biotech Lab with the good doctor, arms crossed in front of his chest. He wore the uniform of a Captain, which was the standard Enforcer dark blues with the addition of a long coat, same color. The silver bars of rank were on a patch on his right shoulder, the Enforcer emblem on his left. "So then, what do we have, Dr. Conway?"

"Plenty," he said worriedly, "And that's the rub, isn't it?" He removed himself from the microscope and said, "This specific criminal shouldn't even _be_ here, in theory. It was considered impossible to escape from where he was holed up at; not without a slow, painful, and very cold death."

Lynx grimaced. "I know what you're talking about; that Arctic Detention Facility way up north."

Conway nodded. "As of now, we have no idea how many are alive up there, if any at all; nor do we know how he got here. All we know is that he's here, he's the one freezing the city, and we need to stop him."

Benny raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? And how do you know that he's the one that's causing this freak ice storm?"

The doctor gestured over towards his microscope and said, "Take a look."

The Captain peered into the microscope, adjusting a bit to make sure that everything came out all right for him. After a few moments of taking a look at the hair samples, he muttered half under his breath, "What the hell…?"

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

_Five hours earlier._

Benjamin Lynx pulled up in front of the scrap yard that he had seen only once before, having been directed to come here by Felina. He was in your standard Enforcer cruiser, so it wasn't all that surprising when Jake and Chance suddenly hopped up in a mixture of surprise and alarm when they heard the sound of a siren outside, just two short, staccato noises to get one's attention. They both headed cautiously towards the windows to see what the deal was, but Felina simply headed outside without any worry.

"Just relax, it's him," she said with a smirk as she walked past. They both sighed and headed back to the couch. Callie rolled her eyes in part disbelief and part amusement as she sat back down in Chance's lap. It wasn't like there was much they could do until the next time this guy struck; thus, they were forced to wait.

Wearing black tactical gear and her usual trench coat of similar coloring, Felina looked all the part of the KatGuard mercenary that she had signed up to be. And for good reason; if Benny saw her in her… other clothing… then he would immediately flip out. No, better for him to assume that she was on the job and just stopping by to check up on her friends.

"Hey there, badass," Benny said with a grin as she approached. "Are you taking a break or something? I thought you were getting paid to patrol downtown."

Felina smiled and said, "Can't a girl check up on her friends once in a while?"

Benny shrugged and said, "You've got a point there. Were I in your position, I'd want to see if you were all right too." His expression turned serious as he said, "It's cold out here, so let's make this quick. You said you had found a break in the case?"

She nodded and dug into the right outside pocket of the voluminous coat that she wore over her gear. When the gloved hand came forth, it opened and displayed the hairs that had been collected. "I figure this should be enough to get a fix on whoever this kat is and whether he's the one that's causing this weather."

Benny took the small bag and examined it. "And where'd you get this evidence from?"

Felina really hated this part. "A gun store that was robbed," she lied. Some part of her cringed at the fact that she had done it so easily. "Some kats just shed a bit easier than others."

Benny looked up towards her and said, "You were there and you didn't stop him?"

She shrugged and lied again, "We got there after the fact that the place was cleaned out. Nothing's perfect, Benny; we can't stop everything. But this should help, right?"

The Captain studied her face, her eyes, looking for some sign of falsehood. Felina, for her part, schooled her features into a mask and did not look away. She had done that with her uncle before when she was far too angry to talk, but had to follow the chain of command and be respectful. Only now the anger was directed inward. But she knew that if Benny suspected anything at all, the whole arrangement that they had made would be put in jeopardy.

After a few moments, the Enforcer Captain nodded and said, "Yeah, it should. So then, should I call you first when I find something down at the Biotech Lab? I'm sure the Commander would love to hear who is responsible for this; the Mayor is breathing down his neck to do so, after all. But KatGuard are the only ones who can really do anything about it, so…"

Felina nodded and said, "That'd be for the best. Let me know as soon as you find something; it'll make the search a lot easier."

Benny smiled and started up his car again. "You got it, Felina. You make sure to keep warm, all right? Hopefully, there will be clear skies and clean streets next week after this!"

Benny drove off after that, headed towards Enforcer Headquarters to get the sample tested. As Felina looked off after him, the mask vanished to a look of mild anguish. She absolutely hated doing that to him, but it had to be done. 'One day, Benny, I'll tell you everything. I just hope you won't hate me for it in the end.'

She felt a hand on her right shoulder and hunched up defensively. Callie had silently come up behind her, not wanting to disturb anything. She could only guess what her friend had to do in order to keep the whole deal intact, and all she could do was comfort her in some small way.

Her thoughts proved true when Felina said softly, "I hate lies, Callie," with her head hanging down.

The silver-haired she-kat nodded and embraced the brunette in a hug from behind. "I hate them too. But sometimes we have to do bad things in order to achieve good ends."

Felina shook her head and said, "It doesn't make it right. The ends don't justify the means, Callie-girl."

Callie closed her eyes and said, "This is what we have to do now. We can't get him tangled up in our mess. If he ever finds out who we are and what we do…"

Felina gritted her teeth; so much that they could be heard grinding against each other. "I know that, damn it! I just…" She wanted to cry, scream, or hit something. The last two sounded like a lot of stress relief, to be honest. But instead she clenched her fists and let her friend hold her as it began to snow. Felina felt like she was turning into her uncle, and she hated herself for it.

Callie didn't know what Felina was going through, but she knew that it was time to go. "Come on," she said, "Let's get something warm in you while we wait for things to happen."

* * *

_Three hours earlier._

The first thing that Benny did when he got back from the garage was immediately head down to the Biotech Lab. It was there that all the equipment for testing and matching DNA was stored and used, and he needed to find a certain match, as fast as possible. It seemed a bit too convenient to him that the evidence should just fall into their lap so easily, but he didn't dwell on it for the time being. He had to get this to Dr. Conway, and fast.

"What's the hurry, Captain?" a familiar and not-entirely-expected voice called out to him. It almost made Benny freeze in his tracks when he heard the Commander, but he slowed down only a moment.

"We got some evidence from one of the stores that were robbed," he said hurriedly. "I'm heading to the lab to get it to the Doc." He began moving again when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. Well, this was turning out to be a fine day, wasn't it? But the next few words put a sort of ease into him.

"I'm coming along too," Feral said. Benny had expected that, but what he hadn't expected was, "I have a report due to the Mayor in a few hours; he wants to know how the search is going." The Commander rolled his eyes and added, "He really should be doing something about this on his own; it'd be a nice change for once."

Benny chuckled and said, "Doubt that'll happen. Okay, let's go."

The two of them headed towards the area in question, and the doctor was there behind his desk as usual. "Commander, Captain," he said as he stood, "I trust you have something for me, finally?"

Captain Lynx tossed the small bag of hairs onto the desk and said, "See what you can make of this. A reliable resource gave it to me and told me to get it down here as fast as I could."

Commander Feral raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? And just who is this resource?"

Benny turned to his commanding officer and said, "A Captain in the KatGuard private military. You could say we're drinking buddies." It was all he would say for the moment.

Apparently, it was enough. "Very well," Feral said as he walked out of the lab, "I have to put this progress in my report. Call me with the results once you get them."

Benny sighed as soon as Feral was out of earshot and said, "Well, that was interesting. I don't know what I'd have said if he had stayed longer."

Dr. Conway looked towards the Captain and said, "Why, is there something about your contact that you don't want to reveal just yet?"

"You have no idea," Benny said as he leaned against the doc's desk. "Let's get this done, Conway. I don't want to delay on this any more than I have to. If you need me, I'll be right here, waiting for the results." Before the doctor could respond to that, the Captain cut in. "Hey, someone's got to stay and report things, right?"

Dr. Conway shrugged and said, "Very well. We'll start DNA testing immediately. It'll take a while, so I hope you brought something to read, or at least a snack."

Benny grimaced and cursed himself for not bringing something like that earlier. Well, whatever; he was in it for the long haul now. He had a vague idea of how many criminals they had in the database, so he could estimate how long it would take. But when his mind came up with a rough answer, it only made him sigh.

'It's gonna be a long day today,' he brooded to himself.

* * *

_Now._

"Can you explain this to me, doc?" Benny asked as he looked up from the microscope. "There's some stuff in this hair that I've never seen before."

Dr. Conway shrugged and said, "Nothing I've seen before either, but just the hexagonal pattern on the hairs alone tells us who this is, let alone the DNA matching. First things first; this kat is none other than Rex Shard. What you're seeing now is the aftereffects of what happened to him when he was hit with the Gemkat 6000."

Benny raised an eyebrow and said, "Wait, you're saying that he's still got some of his abilities left?"

Conway nodded. "It's not only possible, but I can guarantee that his DNA was permanently changed by the first exposure. That reversal that the SWAT Kats performed on him didn't entirely remove the problem. But that's only the half of it." The doctor began walking towards the window, looking out at the now snow-covered city. "Somehow, his extended stay at the Arctic Detention Facility gave him an adaptation of sorts. I'm betting that he's not only in control of the weather, but he's probably turning things to ice of his own volition. And with what happened previously…"

Benny grimaced. "He can turn _himself_ to ice as well, and I doubt that the last little trick that was used to put him down will work on him a second time." This was not a good day. Benny pulled out his cell phone and began walking out of the lab.

"Giving the information to Feral?" Conway asked.

Benny nodded and said, "Yeah. That and I need to make a call."

Immediately following the plan that he himself had set, he began to call Felina. She needed to hear this before anyone else, seeing as the people she worked for were out there on the streets in the first place. It wouldn't be long, he knew, before they mobilized and began a full-on search for Rex, but not even he knew what would happen when they finally found him.

'It could be that he wants to know who he is,' he brooded even as he dialed the number of her cell phone, 'but we don't have much of a choice.'

Two rings later, Felina's voice was heard. "This is Feral," she said in an unhurried tone.

Benny almost laughed. She was more like her uncle than she wanted to admit. "It's me. We got a positive ID on our walking snow machine. This is going to sound utterly predictable, but our man is Rex Shard. Don't say anything just yet," he cut in before she could respond, "Because what I'm about to tell you is important."

Over the next two minutes, he began explaining in short what Dr. Conway had told him. It took a few seconds for her to respond, but when she did, she sounded stressed. "This day is just getting better and better, isn't it? And you're sure that the last tactic used on him won't work?"

Benny shrugged and replied, "We don't know for sure, but Dr. Conway certainly seems adamant in his suggestion not to try it again. You guys are going to have to devise a workable strategy, and make it quick. If this keeps up, the city is going to be frozen over and completely under his control."

The response he got was, "We'll take care of it as soon as possible, Benny. First though, we have to find him… it's not necessarily going to be easy."

Well, at least she wasn't overly optimistic about things like the Commander sometimes was. "Doesn't matter; you have to find him, and fast," the Captain said as he began heading towards the top floor. "It's not official yet, but this is a manhunt. Use every resource at your disposal to find him and bring him in."

The next words were typical of a mercenary, and he had a response already in the works for it. "Would you prefer him dead, or alive?" Felina asked with a somewhat subdued voice. She seemed to have already made her decision on the matter.

"Alive," Benny said, "Because it's the right thing to do. We're not paying you to kill anyone, you know." She began to argue, but he cut her off again. "Just do it, okay? I know that knocking him off would be the fast way to end this, but don't. I don't want to have to come after you guys…"

Felina sighed and said, "Understood. We'll try to restrain him. But if we start losing kats…"

Benny nodded. "…Then do what you have to. I'll just have to get the Commander to see that it was necessary. I'll even keep tabs on the radio chatter to confirm."

The former Enforcer smiled and said, "Thanks for understanding, Benny. I'll go give the order now."

Captain Lynx replied with, "Good. I'll go tell the Commander that the situation has changed. Good luck out there." With that, he hung up and sighed to himself. Telling his commanding officer who was behind this would only get him fired up, and he would want in on it, wouldn't he? His usual hard-line tactics would not work here; not like they had ever worked in the first place.

'Sure, they worked back in the day, but a bit more of a subtle approach is needed.' Oddly enough, there was one group of kats that he could rely on for the subtle things, even if they made more noise than even the Commander did sometimes.

'I just hope we don't have to see that black jet in the air today,' he thought as he headed up the elevator, 'Because that's a sign that things have really, truly gotten bad.'

* * *

Felina hung up from giving her order via a secure channel and turned back towards those in the lounge of the garage. "Well, we should get ready, just in case. It's not going to be all that pretty when they get a fix on him. This guy hasn't exactly been one to come along quietly in the past."

Callie nodded solemnly and said, "Not to mention that threat he made if the Mayor and myself don't make an appearance soon. Then again, I'm not the Deputy Mayor anymore, and for all everyone knows, I'm dead."

Jake grimaced and said, "I bet he'll settle for just about anyone connected with him getting put on ice; Commander Feral would be a likely target. It probably doesn't matter what he wants though, he'll probably continue doing what he's doing until there's no warm place left. You remember how crazy he got last time when turning skyscrapers into crystals got to his head?"

Chance gritted his teeth and said, "We almost didn't stop him back then. It took something huge to put him down the last time. If it doesn't have much chance of working this time, then what does?" It was a very serious question indeed, and it needed an immediate answer.

For a while, no one said anything, for everyone was racking their brains looking for some kind of solution. If a high-frequency sound wave wouldn't be able to crack him, then something else would have to happen. The first natural answer would be heat, but with the combination of his altered traits and his new abilities, one couldn't just put him into the sunshine and use the magnifying glass trick. They'd need quite the lens to do that anyway.

In fact, the only thing that could very well affect something like an oversized Rex in his current condition would be…

Callie said softly, "Jake, what's the melting point for a diamond?"

The slim tom looked towards her and said, "Upwards of six thousand degrees, but there's not much that can produce that kind of heat. Only thing that's close enough would be an active volcano." He raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't tell me you're thinking of melting the guy into extinction?"

She nodded and said, "That _was_ the plan in my head…" She paused for a while and asked, "Do we have anything here that can withstand that kind of heat without being eaten through?"

Jake placed a hand on his chin and said, "The TurboKat can survive atmospheric reentry. I figure it's because of the Agracite construction of the frame" He pointed towards Callie and said, "If I could make an alloy out of it that could withstand something with a bigger burn…"

She nodded and said, "That's the point. Thing is, we don't have time for testing and even less time for waiting. How soon can you make a weapon that can deliver a payload of something we've never even thought of using before?"

It was Felina that got the point. "You plan on using _lava_ to toast the bastard."

Callie smirked. "If sound won't do it, something else has to." She turned towards Jake again and said, "So how long? Can it even be done at all?"

Jake nodded and said, "I think it can. It's gonna take some doing, though, at least a day or two."

This was the point when Chance finally spoke again. "Do it."

Everyone stared at him for a few moments before Jake said, "How can you just say all that without knowing where to get what we need? Seriously, we've gotta put our heads together and think about how to-"

Chance growled slightly and said, "We have _zero_ time for thinking, buddy. He's out there somewhere, freezing another section of downtown or robbing some store with his rag tag army; hell, he might have even gotten big enough balls to rob a vault." With an almost brutal efficiency, he began listing the downsides of the situation. "The Enforcers can't hope to stop him as they are now and KatGuard is a distraction at best; that leaves it all on us."

Felina clenched her fists slightly. What hurt about that was that he was right; Rex had stopped her and Callie cold, figuratively and literally. What was a private army to him?

"There's gotta be some solution to this," Chance plowed onward, "And if this is what it's gonna take to end this, then we have to get it _done_. Besides, there are plenty of places that we can get lava from; it's not that hard to look. All we need is something that can hold it in, deliver it, and punch through him like a well-placed sledgehammer."

Well, at least he was confident in what he said; there was no question about that. Jake nodded and replied, "Roger that. I'll have to put in a few calls to MASA and MegaKat Metallurgical to run the numbers for me. That shouldn't take long. From there, all I'd have to do is get enough of it to make a few missiles…"

Felina grinned and said, "Well finally, we're in business here. Only thing we need to do at that point is drop the hammer on him and call it a day!"

Callie didn't think it would be that easy, but she kept her comments to herself. The mood was high at the moment, and she had to admit that it made her think they had a chance to pull this off in a relatively short time. The sound of a cell phone's ring tone halted the conversation however, and Felina was the one to answer. After only a few seconds, she nodded and hung up, a determined grimace painted on her face.

"We got the call; silent alarm at a grocery store downtown." She got up and immediately headed out towards her car.

Chance raised an eyebrow and said, "Why the hell would he hit something like that?"

Callie frowned distastefully and said, "Logistics; he's got an army of homeless kats to feed. I feel sorry for them, but this is what they get." She looked toward Felina and said, "Kick their asses good, and don't do anything stupid. We want you back here without anything permanently frozen."

Felina simply walked out of the lounge with a farewell wave behind her, as if everything would be fine. As soon as she got outside though, Chance's words echoed in her ears. What could she do to minimize losses in this kind of situation? No matter how one sliced it, some kats were going to be turned into ice statues, civilian or otherwise.

'Then we don't fight like police,' she told herself. 'This isn't justice anymore; it's war. Forgive me, Benny.'

* * *

They entered with guns blazing. Kats screamed and instinctively ran for cover or any exit they could find as shots were fired into the ceiling, but the shooters came in from both of the front entrances and thus cut off any sort of escape. More of them flooded further into the store and shouted at anyone they encountered to shut up and stay where they were.

Twenty, thirty, forty of them began to storm the building, covering every possible angle. The door of a car was heard closing outside and a tom in an orange parka and pants strolled in with an almost casual gait.

He began speaking in a sardonic tone, "Attention shoppers! If you pathetic excuses for kats have not noticed by now, this is a raid. You've seen 'em on TV, so you know the rules. You stay still and you don't get a hole through somewhere you don't want to. You do something stupid, and I can't guarantee that you all get out of here alive."

More kats were entering the building, carrying bags and boxes. "Take as much as you can carry," the tom in the parka said as they walked by, "Then get another box and start over. I don't care how long it takes."

The reason he didn't care was simple; Rex Shard was expecting company. Someone had to notice sooner or later, and when they did, it would be a riot. He couldn't help but allow himself a cruel chuckle. Who was going to stop him when he had this much power? Everyone appeared to be so tied up in their own doings that they weren't able to focus on what was really going on.

Still, he wouldn't be surprised if in the next few minutes, someone came along and tried to deter him.

Wait, what was that? Something from the stock room, were they here already? Rex gritted his teeth. Too soon! "Someone check that noise!" he shouted.

Was he just hearing things? No, that didn't matter. He had to send someone to check anyway. The Enforcers might be inept at the best of times, but the ones out on the streets now? They weren't. It was why they had been hired.

He heard the sound of footsteps, looked over to where they were coming from. The two kats he sent were manhandling a stock boy; kid barely looked seventeen. Rex scoffed. "Herd him up with the others," he said with a slight growl to his voice. He really needed to relax.

He could put this entire city in a deep freeze. What the hell was he so worried about? Rex relaxed again and smiled. Let them come. They could bring as many as they wanted, and it still wouldn't change the fact that he had the upper hand in this situation.

Anyone who stood in his way was going to be put on ice, indefinitely. And all he had to do was sit back and let them come.

The engine of the sports car roared as Felina hauled ass towards the silent alarm call. Damn it, she was going to be late to the party. So it was Rex Shard, was it? Well he wasn't going to go any farther with his plans today. She tapped the call button on her wireless earpiece. "This is Feral, give me an ETA."

"Five minutes," the kat in charge of Tactical replied. "We've already got a layout of the store. Back entrance is the way to go."

She nodded. Perfect. They'd be able to do this without breaking anything. "Take any necessary detours; we don't want him knowing we're there until it's too late. Don't move until I get into position." Beep. Conversation was at an end. Left turn ahead, the tires squealed as she took it hard. She turned on the siren and burned through the red light.

Damn Chance and his words! She'd prove him wrong; this bastard was not going to stop her. Right turn ahead, cut through that, cars moving out of her way. Quick glance at the GPS, she was still heading down the fastest route. Good; the sooner she got there, the sooner this would be over.

Getting closer now, cut the noise, cut the computer. Felina started slowing down, several feet away from her intended destination. There it was, the MegaKat Superstore. And oh look, a cargo truck; the same one she had seen earlier. Felina shut the engine off, stepped out of the car and into the nearby alley as inconspicuously as she could.

She pulled out a pair of military-grade binoculars and peered down the street, zooming in for a better view. They were pretty hard at work, weren't they? How many were there in total? Did they have hostages? Felina tapped her earpiece again. "This is Feral, I'm inbound. Give me a status report."

"We're in position, waiting for your green light, Captain," the Tactical leader replied in a much softer voice now. "Two teams all set to storm the place."

Two teams, four kats each. Wasn't there more to work with? "I'm approaching," she whispered, "Be ready to go when I get there." Beep. She took another look at the truck, no one there. Go time. Felina put away the binoculars and withdrew the USP from her right thigh holster. Just in case.

The she-kat moved across the street, low and fast, looking to her right once, twice. She reached the adjacent alley and continued her approach, the streets eerily silent despite the activity that was going on. No one had been shot yet; at least, she didn't think so. There was only one way to find out, and that was to get in there and discern the situation.

She was closer now; saw the two black vans and the eight mercenaries preparing to enter. Move down the street; check both ways to see if there was anyone posted outside. Good, no one. Felina circled one finger over her head as she came in sight, and the two teams rallied around her.

"I'm taking command." she told the kat in charge, and he only nodded. "You're leading the first team that goes in; eyes open and ears sharp. I'll lead the second. Put the cans on and check your fire. We don't know what to expect in there." Silencers were attached to barrels and the mercenaries nodded. It was now or never.

"Stack up, both sides of the door. Let's take it to 'em."

Four kats stacked to the left, while the rest of them lined up to the right. Felina took a deep breath. Please don't let there be any hostages. No one had to die needlessly today. "Team one, go." The four kats on the left side opened the door slowly, hoping not to make any noise during their entry. The leader silently made his way towards the exit to the stock room, the other three kats in tow.

"Gimme the wire cam," he whispered as he reached his right hand backwards, and the kat behind him provided the tool. Withdrawing a pair of translucent, frameless glasses from his tactical vest, the leader of team one activated the cam and the uplink to the eyewear. Sliding it under the door, he began to move it around, sweeping the area for any sign of activity.

The glasses saw what the camera saw, and what it saw was expected. "Hostile contacts." He slowly moved the camera and counted as he saw someone patrolling the area, or just standing around. "Counting one… two… three… four contacts." He withdrew the camera and gave it back to the tom behind him. "Door is priority one. Anyone else is secondary. Weapons hot."

The safeties on the UMPs were switched off, and they nodded to show they were ready. The leader clicked his ear piece and whispered, "Team one, ready to enter on your go, Captain."

Felina nodded. "Team two will be right behind you. Stand by…"

Kats were going to die. She couldn't save everyone. A fit of anger welled up inside her, causing her to bare her teeth. Rex was not going to get away with this. She swore by the end of the day, he would be inside Enforcer Headquarters one of two ways: in a cell, or in the morgue.

"Go."

Team one moved immediately, opening both doors smoothly and silently. Two kats moved forward and the other two moved slightly to the right, training their sights on the ragged toms. The suppressor of the leader's sub machine gun coughed as he pulled the trigger, and the tango nearest to the door was put down with a three round burst to the back of his head.

The other three mercenaries opened fire as well, making each shot count. The other three kats were downed without pause, and team one re-formed again, holding position. Felina's team entered and immediately moved to the right as she said "Spread out, teams of two. Comb the place aisle by aisle."

Thus they split up, Felina opting to go alone. The sound of footsteps to her right, she immediately stopped and leaned against the shelves. Peek around the corner; there's one of them. So far, he hadn't noticed anything. She moved back behind cover, fired two shots blindly, and he fell. Come out from behind the corner, put a shot in his head, and move on.

She put two shots to the head of the kat that was patrolling up an aisle. Move on. No reason for alarm yet… the sound of a rifle going off. Crap! She tapped her ear piece. "All elements go loud!" She ran now, her heart threatening to leap out of her chest via her throat. She stopped at the end of the aisle she was in, checked around the corner, and withdrew her head as bullets came flying her way. Shit!

She returned fire without looking, tried to keep those who had shot at her from poking their barrels out again; or worse, coming over to play. Pull a flash bang from the vest, yank the pin free, and throw it over the top of the shelf. Please make it, please make it… BANG. She rounded the corner, ran two aisles over, and opened fire on the three toms she saw there, holding their ears in pain.

No remorse. Move on.

Her ear piece beeped. "We're pinned down near the front, Captain! They had hostages but we took their attention away from the civilians. The good news is that they're out safe; the bad news is that their captors are all over us now!" The sound of bullets bouncing off of whatever cover the leader of team one was behind. "We can't hold these guys for much longer!"

"I'm on my way," Felina said as she moved as fast as she could towards the sound of rifles going off. Her ears rung with the sound of bullets as she pulled out another flash bang; one left. She saw the kats ahead, and those that were firing at them from the registers. The sound of the truck's engine made her ears swivel in its direction. They were going to get away again!

That was when she saw him; the kat in the orange parka. That was him all right. She opened fire on the kats at the checkouts, downing two of them as they popped their heads out from cover. "Cover me," She said as she moved to the left, trying to circle around their positions. The mercenaries responded swiftly, and before long their targets were back behind cover again.

That was when she saw Rex extend one of his arms, aiming it at one of her team members. She ran over and pulled the kat behind cover again, the bolt of ice blue passing inches in front of the tom's face. It slammed into the shelf behind them and instantly caused it to frost over.

Too close.

The sound of magazines being released and reloaded was heard over the gunfire, the mercenaries efficiently continuing their spray of concentrated fire. They didn't have much ammo left, but they would make every shot worth it. Felina took the kat that she had saved along with her and the two of them attempted to flank those hiding behind the registers.

Shots of ice blue followed them as they moved; flying over their heads and onto the floor just inches from their boots, but it was sporadic due to the fact that even he had to take cover. It wasn't safe here anymore. "Peel out," Rex yelled over the gunfire as he began blasting the black-clad soldiers with frost, causing them to remove themselves from what they were doing.

One after another, they began retreating, trying to pull out of the fight, only to be met with fire from Felina and the teammate that she had brought with her. But they couldn't cover both exits, and the majority of the kats got away… including Rex, who smashed through the glass behind him.

"Get after him," Felina shouted, and they did so as fast as possible, but had to take cover again as those who had escaped being shot down covered their comrades' escape. So they weren't going to make it after all.

That didn't mean she would walk away empty-handed.

As the truck began to drive off, she put the flash bang back into its pocket and pulled out something else: a small, black, almost unnoticeable tracer. She reeled back and threw the tracer at the back of the vehicle. She couldn't hear the noise of it sticking to the truck, but she didn't necessarily care. Breathing heavily, she watched them get away, a snarl on her features.

No one died, but the bad guys certainly had time to clean out at least half the store. This was not a good day. Her only consolation, her only hope, was that the tracer was doing its job. Immediately, she began heading back to her car. "Pack up, we're leaving."

They began to exit, but not before Felina walked towards one of those that were still breathing and hauled him up by his collar. "I should shoot you, really I should. But the law dictates that you go to jail, and that's what I'm paid to do; bring you and anyone else who isn't dead in." She began carrying him off to her car and said, "Before I do that, you are going to answer some questions for me…"

* * *

**Chapter 55: Whiteout (Part 4) – **_**Frozen Heart**_

Well, there it is for you. I tried to change my style just a bit; I felt like trying something different this time, but if you don't notice, that's fine too. Just as long as you enjoy it, right? In any event, I know I took a while to write this one, and I'm sorry. Really, truly I am. Looking for a school kinda gets in the way of things, you know?

In any event, tune in next time when we find out the fate of the city, the threats made on it, and what happens when you try to melt what has to be the world's largest diamond.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	56. Whiteout Finale

Jake Clawson sighed and rubbed his temples with the pads of his fingers. Shit. This wasn't going anywhere! No matter how hard they tried to solve this, it wouldn't be enough. He'd called both MASA and Puma Dyne for some kind of way to do what he'd been asked to, but they both turned out the same answer.

He gritted his teeth and growled, eyebrows knotting and hair standing on end. "Damn it."

The phone rang and the tips of his ears perked up. Was this it? He reached for the receiver, lifted it. "Hello?"

"Razor, it's the representative from MASA; we spoke earlier about your problem."

Jake nodded. Good thing he hadn't told the guy his real name. "Yeah, I know. You told me it's not possible to hold anything with those temperatures. You'd need something that could generate a ton of energy to melt that kind of substance, right?" He shrugged. "No problem, really; I'll deal with it."

"Actually, there's another solution you probably haven't thought of yet. Have you ever seen an arc flash before?"

Jake raised an eyebrow. "No, but I've heard of what it can do. That kind of shit can really mess with someone in more ways than one. I don't know if it'll do the trick, though; I forgot how high it could go."

"Well, the maximum temperature that a flash could reach is about twenty-thousand degrees Celsius. You do the math as far as Kelvin goes, but that's going to put a dent into whatever you're trying to melt, diamond included. Most of the time, it's an accident due to faulty wiring; but in the right circumstances it can be artificially produced."

Jake smirked. Bingo. "I'm listening." Finally, they were back in business.

The conversation ended in two minutes and he pounded his right fist on the table twice. "Yes, yes, yes! This'll work!" He shoved himself up out of the swivel chair and bolted towards the training room. The sound of a heavy bag's chains echoed along the hallways as he closed in.

He threw open the door and yelled, "We _did_ it, Chance!"

The big tom stopped the bag with his hands, craned his head towards him. "What'd we do, buddy?"

Jake almost split his face clean in half with the grin that he sported. "We found an answer. There's a way to stop Frosty without using lava."

One of Chance's eyebrows lifted. "Well how the hell are we gonna do that?"

Jake strutted over towards the big lug and rested a hand on his left shoulder. "Lend me your ears for a moment, bud. This'll be a surefire plan."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

"So, tell me what this does again? These diagrams don't really make any sense."

Jake shrugged. He didn't expect anyone to understand, really. "Basically Callie, we're gonna fry him without pulling from a volcano. It's a pocket arc flash that packs over five thousand Kelvin worth of heat. The warhead's packed with thermite; we've got plenty of that here. Once the warhead makes contact, the detonator goes off, heating the thermite to boiling and making it go bang. A chain reaction goes from there to the wires, toasting the insulation to failing point. Once that happens… well, it's academic from there."

Callie raised an eyebrow. "So the spark that results from the wires being fried will generate enough energy to blow pieces of the guy off?" She bowed her head, eyes turned downward and half-lidded, eyebrows furrowed; her left hand rubbed her right arm. "Sounds better than my plan..."

He shook his head. That wasn't the way to go about this. "It wasn't a bad plan at all. It gave me the idea for this one." He looked towards Chance. "This is the only shot we got at stopping this before it's too late."

Chance nodded. "How fast can you get a few of 'em set up?"

Jake shrugged. "About half an hour for each one; might take a day or two tops. Depends on how much time we've got."

His big buddy grimaced. "We got zero time here, dude. We've gotta take him out before he turns the city into his own skating rink. Get to it."

Jake opened the door to the lounge and headed back towards the hatch in the garage, the icy winds biting his ears. "I hate the cold," he muttered as he lifted it and climbed down the ladder. The warmth seeped through his bones the further down he went, and it was finally all right to take off his jacket. He jogged towards his workshop, tossing his jacket along the way.

"All right, time to kick this guy's ass." He unlocked his computer and got to work designing the new weapon. Yeah, there wasn't much time, but he had to do this first; part of the whole process. They'd need at least four in order to properly weaken him. Both birds would be in the air; he'd have to triple that number.

Jake rolled his shoulders and set himself for the long haul. An almost dead silence set over the room, save for the quiet hum of the fan and the clicks of his mouse. He had no clue how much time had passed when the phone rang, but when it did, he let the answer machine pick up, 'cause he was too busy to really care.

Felina's voice came from the loudspeaker. "Hey guys, it's me. I'm over here at the office, keeping tabs on that tracer we put on the truck that got away from the robbery. These guys won't be hiding from us for long. Anyways, how's the problem-solving going? I sure hope you've got something, because once we find him, all hell is probably going to break loose. We're going to need something big to put this creep down, or he's going to make good on his threats."

Jake grimaced. "Yeah, I get that. You don't have to remind me."

"I'm gonna be here for a while, but I'll be in touch," she continued. "Once you've got everything ready, hit me up. In the meantime, I'll inform you all of any changes in the situation. Be ready; KatGuard might need you guys for backup in case things turn sour. Tell Jake not to work himself too hard, okay? See you guys later."

The message ended and Jake smiled. That last one seriously made his day. "Thanks, Felina." Determination brought his focus back onto what he was doing. He had to make sure everyone got out all right. She relied on him. Hell, the whole city did. He couldn't let them down, any of them.

It must have been about ten minutes or so; hell, he couldn't keep track of time anyways. But he was finally finished. Jake leaned back and looked at his design with a satisfied smile. "There it is… the Flash Missile."

He based the crimson and white piece of work with a stylized thunderbolt on the body on the Megavolt Missile, except this one had a bigger bang. Instead of transferring the current into the target, it would instead intentionally short out due to the first explosion from the thermite reaction. The result would be a ten thousand volt arc flash, a blast that'd toast anything in its path.

They'd have to get Rex as far away from the city as they could before throwing those at him. They needed to avoid collateral damage this time.

Jake stood and stretched out until his joints popped. "Okay, time for phase two."

* * *

The KatGuard offices, located downtown, buzzed with activity.

Since the news came in that Felina had placed a tracer on the truck loaded with stolen goods from a major supermarket, they began suiting up, keeping tabs on the vehicle and preparing to mobilize. The decision was made to have a full squad ready to mobilize once the bug had reached its final destination, and after a wait of ten minutes to confirm, they would get a move on.

Felina stood at ease in Captain Puma's office, the big black tom reclining in his plush leather swivel chair. "You've done some exceptional work, Feral." He sighed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk. "I'm just regretful that we couldn't stop 'em from leaving with the goods."

She nodded. "It happens, Sir. We're just gonna have to get it back, that's all."

Puma grunted in agreement. "That, or destroy it. We don't want anyone else getting a hold of those supplies." He stood and stalked out from behind his desk, pacing the length of the room. "We're gonna need to know how many there are, what they're carrying and when they go to sleep, if at all. I want you to pick a scout-sniper team and have them get there as soon as we get a lock on that tracer. Full stealth; no contact unless fired upon." He turned towards Felina, blue eyes pinning her where she stood. "Your unit has shotgun when we go for the raid. Understood?"

Felina nodded and a satisfied smile developed along her features, head tilted upwards. "Hooah, Sir."

Marcus nodded. "That's my girl." He snapped to attention and saluted, hand level with his eyebrows. "Fight for the safety of the city."

She stiffened and saluted as well. "Fight for the pride of the team," she responded.

"Get it done, Felina."

She pulled an about face and got moving, opening the door without any kind of fanfare. Heading towards the elevators, she hammered out a strategy, fought the fight before it even started. When the elevator stopped at the third floor, she had already won twice and was working on attempt number three.

"Officer on site," someone bellowed, and saluted as Felina walked through the offices. Those that saw her enter stood and saluted as well; soon, she had everyone's attention. She stopped in the middle of the room. "At ease, kats." They relaxed and the room fell silent.

Felina took a deep breath and began. "This is it, people. In the next few hours, you will be engaging one of the most difficult targets you've ever gone after. He's got enough power over the weather to shut this entire city down for an indefinite period of time. He's building an army out of the homeless and destitute, and they are being trained to defend their position, execute raids, and take hostages."

She peered at each face, making sure that the message was setting in. "We are _not_ going to let this city be overrun by a tyrant and a bunch of rags. Our goal is to halt this before it spills over; to keep the Enforcers from wasting any more manpower and resources on this." Felina craned her head over towards the chief intelligence officer. "You got a lock on that signal?"

He nodded. "Yes ma'am. It's stopped in the old warehouse district near the port."

She nodded. "I need two volunteers to scout the place; preferably one sniper and one observer. Anyone who can't shoot for anywhere beyond five hundred yards, take a seat." Several sat. Felina nodded and spoke again. "Give me seven hundred." More sat; fewer this time. She looked around. "Okay, anyone up for nine hundred yards?"

A few more sat down, and soon it was down to a few… including Reggie Bengal. Felina raised an eyebrow as she looked towards him. "Kid, you better not be shitting me."

He stood a bit straighter. "No ma'am, I am not."

She walked towards him, sized the tom up. He couldn't be any younger than about eighteen, maybe nineteen. "Is that so? Well then can you tell me what your longest shot is?"

He smiled. "It's one thousand, three hundred yards."

Felina nodded. "Who do you trust more than anyone else here?"

He pointed towards a she-kat with Prussian blue eyes and black hair. "Frida over there; we trained together."

Felina's gaze was directed to where Reggie pointed. "Stand up, Frida." She stood and saluted quickly before resting at ease. "Reggie, you're the sniper. Frida, you're the scout. You two are to head over to the location that the tracker is marking, set up shop, and observe anything that's going on; I mean _anything_. We need all the information we can get before the raid."

"Understood," they said in tandem.

Felina paced back towards the elevators with Reggie and Frida in tow. "I need my squad and another to form up on me, ASAP. It's almost time to get moving. I want those coordinates loaded up onto every GPS transponder we've got, yesterday." Immediately, seventeen kats clad in black tactical gear stood and headed for the elevators as well. "Let's get moving, people! He's not going to wait all day for us."

The office brimmed with activity again and the elevator doors slid closed, Felina's team with the sniper-scout element in one and the secondary squad in the other. She lay out the ground work on the way down. "The strategy is simple," she began. "We have to keep these guys from doing this again. Of course, Mayor Manx could help with that, but since he's an idiot we'll have to do it ourselves. We're gonna try to limit casualties to just the primary target; anyone that puts down their weapon and surrenders, cuff 'em and cover 'em. If they keep shooting at you, you don't stop until they do or they're down."

They all nodded in agreement, faces expressionless. It was, after all, their mistake for joining Rex.

The elevator opened, both teams spilling out into the lobby and heading towards the armory to gear up. On the way, Felina continued explaining the plan. "We capture as many as we can, destroy their supplies, and take out Rex Shard as quickly as possible. He's too dangerous to lock up in some cage." She glanced towards the second team leader. "Your team will be the distraction when things go down, got it?"

He nodded. "I got it. We'll keep their heads down."

The doors to the armory slid open as the two teams walked towards it. Guns and grenades and tactical vests lined the walls; magazines and ammunition were neatly stacked in boxes. A faint scent of gunpowder hung in the air, not nearly enough to be overpowering. Felina loved that smell, but wasted little time taking it in. "Gear up. Flash bangs only; no grenades. We don't want any extra messes to clean up."

The teams dispersed, and everyone picked out their ideal weapons. For the most part, the differences were in handguns, since the standard rifle for KatGuard was the 416. Reggie however did something a bit unorthodox and picked the biggest gun in the room. Frida's eyes widened, eyebrows high at what she saw him reaching for.

"What the hell… that's crazy, Reg."

He grinned. "I can't help it. This one likes me." Reggie cradled a Barrett M107 in his arms like a kitten, a ridiculous grin on his face. "You never know what we'll run into," he said as he picked four magazines from a nearby box. "I figure this'll be enough for what we're doing." He squared the ammo away on his vest before picking up a fifth magazine, ten rounds already inside. He rammed it home and smiled as the satisfying click rang in his ears.

Frida lifted her rifle and got it loaded, rolling her eyes as she did so. "It's too noisy," she muttered.

Reggie looked at her behind his left shoulder. "We're not exactly going to be quiet once it gets going, are we?"

She shook her head. "I still think it's a bit ostentatious."

He shrugged and said, "It gets the job done. That's all that matters, right?"

The sound of a pair of hands clapping twice cut into the conversation and made everyone in the room focus their attention on Felina. "Prep time is over. Let's get moving, now!"

They filed out of the armory and headed for the garage, located two floors below. A pregnant silence hung over their heads as the elevators slid downwards. As the elevators reached the bottom, they shifted their weight from one foot to the other, some of them furrowing their brows. No matter how hard they tried to keep casualties to a minimum besides the one that counted, it'd be ugly.

It was no time to falter, though. Action had to be taken or else the city would be under a permanent deep freeze. The doors opened again and they moved towards nearby APCs, each team leader taking the driver's seat. Frida and Reggie were with Felina's team as the back hatches closed, and once they did the lights in the back turned on.

"We got the GPS signal set up," Felina said over their radios. "Looks like the truck stopped at 17th street, and it's in the Warehouse District just like the guys in intelligence said." The engines started. "We're gonna be two blocks away from the building at first, so get ready to hoof it. Activate your displays and get ready for uplink."

Each team member put on their helmet and the bullet-resistant visor came down over their eyes, flashing blue for a moment after a few seconds. Data and information spread along the clear glass for a few seconds before a map of the city was displayed, with an arrow pointing towards the location of the signal. Frida and Reggie didn't need helmets; they would be too far away to even be involved in direct action. They put on glasses with the same polycarbonate lenses as the visors, and the same data was shown to them as their teammates.

"Uplink confirmed. We're in stealth as soon as we hop out. Reggie, Frida, you leave first. It's up to you to find the best position to cover the rest of the team and provide recon. Understood?"

Reggie nodded. "Copy that. We'll keep an eye out for you."

"Good man. All right people, we're heading out!"

The APCs rolled out of the garage, heading for the location of the tracer. Reggie's eyes closed and his breath slowed to an almost imperceptible pace. One of the other mercenaries glanced over to him, an eyebrow raised. "What's he doing?"

Frida smiled and looked over to him as well. "He's in his quiet place. All good snipers have one. I bet he can't even hear us talking about him right now." She tugged on one of his ears; he didn't move. "See? Part of him isn't even here."

The tom smirked. "Sure seems that way. I just hope he doesn't get all sleepy like that when it's time to shoot something."

Frida rolled her eyes. "Just do your job and let us do ours. When he fires the big gun he's got, you'll know it."

The tom nodded. "Okay. I gotta say though, it's impressive he can even _carry_ the damn thing." He leaned forward, staring at the big fifty-caliber rifle. "How much does it take to even pick it up? It looks like it weighs a ton."

Frida shrugged. "Hell if I know. I just know that he can pick it up, aim with it, and fire two shots on target in less than three seconds. That's enough for me."

After they drove for two hours, the APCs jolted to a halt, breaks squealing. "We're here, kats. Get ready for the big show."

"_Hooah_!" they all yelled as the doors opened. Felina's voice echoed across her team's channel. "Recon element, move out. Make sure not to get caught out there." She waited until they were well beyond the APC before she closed the doors.

Until they picked a site that was secure and high enough to provide a decent over watch, they were on their own. That meant complete radio silence for however long it took.

"If you wanna start praying for them," she said over her team's radios, "Now's the time."

* * *

Jake wiped the sweat from his forehead as he worked on his fourth Flash Missile. There just wasn't enough time to make as many of these as they needed. If he'd known who exactly was behind the snow storm a bit sooner and what he was capable of, he'd have gotten all the tools together much faster. But they had to work with what they had, and now he was behind. He began setting up the warhead for the almost finished weapon when a quiet clink made him turn his head to the right.

"Looks like hard stuff," Callie said with a smile as she removed her hand from the cup of hot chocolate.

Jake chuckled. "Usually it's not so bad." He took a sip from the mug. "But this is some seriously deep shit we're in this time. He could make good on that city wide freeze at any time, and like you guys said, he'd made specific demands for the Mayor, Commander Feral, and the Deputy - I mean, you."

Callie grinned. "Funny thing about being dead is that when people want you for something, they don't get what they want. He's going to be sorely disappointed." She ruffled his hair. "I certainly wish I knew how to do all this; then I'd be able to help out."

He shrugged and took another sip. "This is help enough for me. You make some pretty good hot chocolate. I could run all night on this if I wanted." He put the mug down on the workbench and sighed. "Felina has to have found them by now. If she has, things could get ugly really quickly."

The silver-haired queen nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But think about what'll happen if she hasn't found them yet."

Jake grimaced, his mouth turning down in distaste. "I see your point on that. He might think that no one's gonna step up. But if someone does, he might do something stupid that requires our immediate attention. If we have to use these things before we're ready, it might not turn out well."

Callie placed a hand on his right shoulder. "Well then, she just has to reduce their ability to fight, that's all. If it were me though, I'd try to capture as many as I could rather than kill anyone. They're just a bunch of homeless kats that are looking for a warm place to sleep and some hot food. If you can remove the reason to fight, you can win without fighting at all."

Jake peered towards her, one of his eyebrows quirked. "First you talk about logistics; now you talk about weakening the will to fight. You're a really good strategist, you know that?"

Her cheeks flushed and her head tilted down slightly as a small smile graced her features. "I just don't want this to go on any longer than it has to, that's all. Long fights only make things worse for everyone involved."

She began to head out of Jake's workshop, turning to look over her left shoulder as she reached the doorway. "Let me know if you need another mug!" With that, she turned the corner and left, the glossy silver tail swaying behind her. Jake couldn't help but stare for a moment before he shook his head.

He sure wished Felina were here, but Callie had a point. She had work to do; damn important work at that. Probably best not to worry about her too much and keep slugging it out. Jake picked up where he left off, fixing a thermite warhead to missile number four. Good thing he had plenty of stuff to work with; otherwise this would take more than just putting it all together.

Time refused to slow down for them, but it was best not to rush this kind of work. Besides, Felina could settle this situation before the SWAT Kats ever got a chance to show up! At least, he hoped she could. This was one of those times when you didn't really want to mobilize…

* * *

A scraggly kat dressed in old, worn-down clothing and a long, heavy winter coat draped over his shoulders paced along an alleyway, a G36C cradled in his arms. His ears twitched this way and that for the slightest hint of intruders. His hands gripped the rifle to the point where it protested slightly, knuckles turning white.

He shivered, taking a moment to adjust his coat. This wasn't his kinda work, damn it! They just wanted a place to stay and some food, and if they had to steal it, fine. But the sick bastard in that orange coat of his was getting them ready to fight a damn _war_.

He set off on his patrol route again when a sharp crack echoed along the walls. The kat jumped the tiniest bit, almost dropping his rifle. He pointed the damn thing downrange from his right hip and shouted, "Who's there?"

The wind caused loose junk to rustle and drift past him. He crept forward and tried not to shake too much. At the end of the alley, he stopped and checked the corners... finding no one. His body went slack and he sighed. Definitely not his kinda work.

"I wouldn't move if I were you."

He stiffened, his eyes widening and jaw clenching. Something colder than the night air around him pressed against the back of his head. Oh, hell. "Please… please don't kill me!"

"I won't." A she-kat's voice, but it was detached, unemotional. "Not if you cooperate, anyway. Put the gun down, slowly."

He bent at the knees and placed the gun on the ground. The damn thing was useless. He heard her tell him to face the right wall and he did, unable to stop his shakes. This was fucking embarrassing! His shoulders complained slightly as his hands were forced behind his back, and he heard the sound of several clicks. Great.

She turned him around. "Get his gun," the she-kat called out. There _was_ someone else here? Shit!

A second kat jumped into the alley from above, the snow crunching beneath his feet. He knew he heard something. It just wasn't from where he thought it was. The kat walked over, picked the gun off of the ground. A light shone from the wrap-around lenses he wore. "Hmm… safety's on. Who exactly is training you guys?"

A shot of bravado ran through him. "Like I'd tell you mugs that."

"Shut up," the she-kat snapped, "We already know anyways."

His ears flattened back on his head. Crap, he'd fallen right into that one. "S-sorry."

The broad scoffed. "Not sorry enough. Stay still and stay quiet."

She started patting him down, looking for anything else on him. "Not even a radio. Probably trying to keep his communications secure."

The other kat chuckled. "If he has any. I suppose that's a good thing on our part; means that we can get to the target area without anyone calling us in."

The she-kat turned to look at the guy. "You found somewhere?"

"Yeah; it's a ways yet, but it'll provide a good angle."

She nodded. "Okay, let's move."

He smiled winningly at the lady. "Hey, this mean you guys are gonna let me go?"

"No," was the last thing he heard before his brain rattled in the cage that was his skull. The world fell away as he collapsed to the snow.

* * *

Felina was still in her team's APC, eyes closed and her breathing slow and steady in a constant rhythm. The plan was to wait for at least three hours until there was no radio contact, then charge in after them since the plan had been botched somehow. It had been two hours now, and Frida and Reggie hadn't called in yet. She was starting to get a little worried.

Her ear bud chirped, made her eyes open. Thank God, they made it. She clicked the earpiece. "This is Assault One, go ahead Eyeball."

"Good to hear you, Assault One. Eyeball is on site and scoped up."

Frida. Reggie was probably looking down the scope of that big gun. Good. "I wanna know how many, what they've got, and whether our guy is there or not. Understood?"

"Copy that, One. We already know the last part; they're carrying HKs mostly; G36C and KV. Still a bunch of greenhorns and most of them are probably cold and tired by now. We're counting around twenty on patrol in alleyways and side streets though; they're expecting company. Evasion is advised if possible."

She nodded. "Any sign of the primary target?"

"Negative. We're still looking out for him."

Felina sighed. At least they had something. "Switch on your beacon, Eyeball. We're mobilizing." She switched the HUD on her visor to strategic view and a map of the warehouse district popped in a small window on the right side of the display.

"Copy, stand by… beacon active, confirm."

A yellow blip appeared on a rooftop seven hundred yards away from the target building. Oh, that was perfect. Some nice easy shots, just in case they needed to take 'em. "Confirmed, that's a good spot you picked there, Eyeball. Assault One and Two are en route. Keep me posted on the situation, out."

Felina clicked her ear bud again, bringing the contact to a close. Go time. She made a tight fist with her right hand and pounded on the ceiling three times. "Saddle up!" Her thumb pressed the button to open the rear hatch. The doors on the other APC opened as well and Felina climbed out of the driver's seat, her 416 and a USP Tactical .45 strapped to her right thigh. "Form up on me, double time!"

"Hooah!" The mercenaries rallied around Felina.

"Get your heads in the zone, we're going in. We got sentries on the way there, numbering anywhere from ten to twenty, so eyes wide and mouths shut. Don't shoot anyone unless they shoot at you. Eyeball will be informing us of changes in the situation on the way, so be prepared for anything once we get into position." She turned toward the leader of Assault Two. "I want you to place charges on that truck. When I give the word, blow it to hell; we're not letting _anyone_ get out of this."

"I got it, boss."

After checking their gear one last time, Felina sent the second team ahead as over watch, with hers trailing a few feet behind. The two squads slunk from building to building, leapfrogged over each other. The sentries remained oblivious to their presence for a full half-hour before Felina's ear bud chirped again. Damn. She clicked.

"Assault One, this is Eyeball; we have a situation."

Felina gritted her teeth. Well that was wonderful. She took a knee and held up her right hand in a fist; her team stopped and followed suit. "Report."

"We've got eyes on the primary target, but there's a snag."

One of her eyebrows rose. "And what's that?"

"There're queens and kids in the area. Sure doesn't look like they're hostages."

Felina grimaced. Shit. "They got any weapons?"

"Negative. They're probably in there to keep out of the cold."

Double shit. This just got messy as all hell. Felina's eyebrows knotted, going nearly flat, her mouth turned down in a pout. What the hell else was gonna go wrong? "You are to maintain observational status unless told otherwise, got that? Don't shoot unless you are ordered to or a teammate's life is in serious danger."

"Gotcha, One. We'll maintain recon posture unless notified to do otherwise."

She clicked off the ear bud and stood. They weren't gonna stop just because of a snag. "Keep moving."

A hundred yards from the warehouse, Felina halted her team and clicked her ear piece, switching to the second squad's frequency. "Assault Two, place the C4 on the truck, then get into position."

"Copy, Assault One. We're on the move."

Felina switched the view on her visor's HUD to that of the camera installed in the second squad leader's helmet. From there, she could see what he saw and make sure that they were in the right place.

The team approached the corner before the truck and Assault Two took a peek. Three sentries so far, how many more? He tilted his head back behind cover, craned his head over at his squad, pointed to two kats and gestured towards the corner. They moved, rounded the bend, and the leader looked out again. The stocks of their rifles smashed against the skulls of the sentries, made them collapse limply. Out like a couple of candles.

Felina winced. Damn. That had to hurt. Better than killing them, though.

The microphone on the camera picked up Assault Two's order to 'rig up'. Four kats moved from behind cover and set explosives to the truck while the other four, plus the leader, stood as lookouts.

She switched frequencies, switched cameras. The roof adjacent to the warehouse, the barrel of the M107 stretched towards the entrance. Who had the cam? "Eyeball, report your status."

"Status is green, ma'am. We've got a visual on Assault Two; they're heading towards their waypoint now."

Okay. Frida wore the shades with the micro camera installed. Good. "Zoom in for me down there, Eyeball."

"Roger that."

The camera closed in on the truck. Felina could see the C4 that'd been placed; they'd done their job. She nodded. "Thanks, they did what they were supposed to. Remember, no firing until I order it or unless there's a damn good reason."

"Copy that."

Felina cut the feed to Frida's cam, got as close to the gaping warehouse entrance as she could before posting up against the corner of the building with her squad. She clicked her ear piece. "All elements report," she whispered.

"Assault Two is in position."

"This is Eyeball; standing by on over watch."

Felina nodded and withdrew a flash bang from her assault vest. "Assault Two, prep a bang. On my go, you toss it and subdue everyone on the warehouse's right side. We'll take the left. Clear?"

"Crystal, Assault One."

Felina nodded, craned her head around the corner. No guards here. Probably all inside, protecting the women, children, and most of all, Rex. They were definitely going to shoot. She grimaced, pulled her head back around. Deaths couldn't be avoided now, but they could be cut back on.

She clicked her ear piece. "All elements stand by. Three… two… one…_go loud_."

She rounded the corner, tossed the bang as far in as she could, hid behind her cover again. Someone yelled before the flashes went off. Felina's team stormed the place, fired at the first few kats in their way. Lucky. They were guards. A few kats swung to the left and let loose; three more gunmen down. Women and children huddled on the ground, covering their heads. The squads hustled along the walls, shot at any kat that carried a weapon while they were still stunned.

Seven seconds gone.

Felina saw a huge half-sphere of ice ahead. Rex. She gritted her teeth and charged headlong. No getting away this time. Bullets flew through the air, narrowly missed her ears. Five feet left. The dome of ice broke free, a bolt of frost blue blazed out from the rubble. Felina dove to her right, rolled over her shoulder, aimed and fired. Shit! More ice in the way! "Sit still and die, damn you!"

The ice melted and revealed a hooded Rex shard, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Make me."

Felina snarled, closed the distance and, swinging with the stock of her 416, tried to dislocate the bastard's jaw. He ducked, tried to hit her with a short right uppercut. Spin to the inside; come in with that rifle again. The stock smacked his right temple, forced him to roll for all of five feet. She stalked him, eyes narrowing. "I'm gonna enjoy this."

Rex growled, flung a spike of ice at her from his right hand. She smashed it with her rifle, another, a third. She rammed the heel of her right boot into his face, sent him sliding across the ground again. Felina aimed again, went for the kill; Rex raised his right hand and blasted at her. Her eyes widened as she pivoted on her right foot, the bolt passing barely two inches in front of her nose.

Her ears twitched, she hopped backwards. Another energy bolt, closer now. She saw another from the corner of her right eye and rolled forward, fired a three-round burst from one knee. Rex's body twitched as the shots landed near his liver and he stumbled to the ground, blood soaking his winter coat.

Felina lowered her rifle for a moment, clenched her right fist. "Check."

She stood, rifle leveled towards his head. Eight other rifles pointed downrange as well and Felina's face broke out in a smug smile. She lowered her gun, lifting her head and staring down her nose at Rex. "Are you done now?"

He chuckled, his left hand applying pressure to the wounds that had been made.

Felina raised an eyebrow, the smile turning into a sneer. "What the hell's so funny?"

Rex's chuckle escalated; became a laugh.

Felina set the rifle's stock to her shoulder again, peering down the red dot sight. "What the hell is so _goddamned funny_!?"

Rex's laugh tapered off. "_You are_, ya mugs. You think you're the big heroes here? Huh?" He glared at her. "Let me tell you the truth; you ain't got me dead to rights yet, bitch. Tomorrow, everyone in this city will be kat-sicles; including these pathetic excuses for soldiers."

Her ears picked up a collection of shocked gasps from behind her. "You… you bastard," one of the cuffed homeless toms shouted. Too bad. They had it coming.

He grinned, eyes narrowed and brows low. "I don't give a shit about you, them, or this city. Only thing I want is to make everyone that put me away suffer for as long as I can before killing them."

Felina's face twisted in a snarl, nostrils flared and head tilted forward, as if she were about ready to charge him like a bull. Her finger twitched just the slightest bit, applying just enough pressure to the trigger. The bolt was sent flying forward, firing pin ramming into the primer and sending the round careening down the barrel towards its intended target.

The bullet sliced through the air to punch through Rex's head.

Her eyes widened, eyebrows arched high and lips tight as he exploded in a cloud of snow. No. Not again. Her hands tightened on her rifle, causing it to creak slightly. Gone. Was he even here in the first place? Was this all just a trap to lure them away from what he really wanted?

The snarl returned to her face; this time, a growl came along with it. The growl turned into a roar that echoed through the cold night air.

She flung the rifle to the warehouse floor and stormed out, ignorant of the shattered remains that she left in her wake. Not fucking again. The next time she saw him, she would tear into him with her claws instead of just shooting him.

The mercenaries lowered their rifles, staring in disbelief at their leader. "Holy shit," one of them muttered under his breath.

The leader of Assault Two nodded. "Poor son of a bitch doesn't know what he just did to himself. Now she won't stop until either he's dead or she is." He looked around at the kats that were still left alive. "This is what you get for following the wrong kat," he declared. "I know life's tough as hell, but this ain't the way to go about it. Don't think you're getting off easy tonight, either; any of you." With that, he called in for pickup and extraction, and then pulled out a remote detonator from one of his pockets.

He smirked. "Perfect way to end the night; fireworks."

His right index finger squeezed the trigger, held it for two seconds. Explosions rocked the warehouse as the truck outside met its fate.

* * *

A silhouette staggered out from behind one of the warehouse buildings, several hundred meters away from the raid site. It breathed harshly, dragged its feet. The left arm pressed against its right side as if trying to hold something in.

"Damn it. She really nailed me."

The light of the pale, silvery moon bathed the shadow-draped figure, revealing the orange coat and black face mask of Rex Shard. Her shots went clean through, narrowly missing the liver. That didn't mean that it didn't hurt or he wasn't in serious trouble, just meant that he wasn't immediately dead. He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the pain for long enough that he could get his focus back.

Rex concentrated on the ice, pictured it drawing towards him. He gasped as a sudden chill ran along his skin. The snow filled the holes, packed in tight, sealing the wounds. He groaned through his teeth. That made the pain worse! The bleeding had stopped, though.

He straightened, glaring toward the warehouse that he'd narrowly managed to escape. He was bluffing; she _did_ have him dead to rights back there. That yammering was just to buy him enough time to get the hell out, and it worked.

Rex shuddered. He wouldn't be standing here if she'd managed to see through that bluff. "Next time, I'm gonna smash the hell outta the ice statue that I turn you into." Ice began to form on his features, traveling from his boots, up the legs of his pants and the hem of his coat, along the fingers of his gloves; covering his shoulders, neck, head; the tips of his ears.

Three seconds passed in stillness before the ice sculpture fell away, white powder falling in a heavy curtain to the ground.

Chance headed towards the base with Callie in tow, intending to check on Jake's progress. Damn. He'd asked him to do all that in such a short time. Guilt welled up inside him, made him quicken his steps. He was probably half-baked by now.

He opened the door, grinning. "Hey buddy, how's it…" His voice tapered down as he saw Jake resting. "…Going?"

He smiled. Poor guy. He deserved every inch of rest he could get right now. Chance looked toward Callie; she nodded and vanished around the corner. He took a look around; the missiles on the far right wall caught his eye. Chance walked over, eyeballed 'em. Wow, pretty sweet. Crimson red, metal flake paint on the nose, fins and wings with a thunderbolt of the same color on the body. The rest of it was white. Twelve feet long, looked like it weighed about four hundred pounds. He could bench that, easy.

Chance nodded. "Not bad. This'll do nicely."

He faced the doorway again. Callie was there with one of the blankets from their room. "Thanks," Chance whispered. "He's been at this all night."

She nodded, draped the blanket around Jake's shoulders. "I know. He worked his tail off to get these done. We'd better use them well." She headed over to him, gave him a firm stare. "I don't want you to pass out either. You'd better get some sleep too, ya big ape."

Chance scratched the back of his head. Wow, scary. "I just woke up from a nap." Yeah. Five in the morning, and he called it a nap. "I'm more worried about Jake here than me."

She leaned in and kissed him on his right cheek. "I know. That's one of the reasons I love you." She left the workshop, hips and tail swaying. Chance looked behind his right shoulder, one eyebrow raised. Goddamn. He was gonna have to do something about that ass later. He looked toward the missiles again, sighed. "Guess I'd better wake him up soon. Gotta have some help with these."

He waited half an hour before lightly shaking Jake's right shoulder. "Jake, come on. It's time to wake up, buddy; we got a big day ahead." Wow. That one had to win understatement of the year.

Jake's eyes opened, half-lidded and unfocused. "Mmm? What's up?"

Chance chuckled. He'd do something really nice for him after this, if they weren't frozen food at the end. "We got stuff to do, dude. I see you did what I asked ya to; awesome."

"Couldn't finish 'em all." His buddy shook his head slowly, ears low and flat.

Chance's expression took on a worried cast, eyebrows curving upwards. "Are you kidding me? This is plenty." He grinned. "We'll fry this punk in seconds flat and be back in time for some breakfast."

"Are you sure? What if it's not enough?"

Chance ruffled Jake's hair. "You worry too much sometimes, bud. We got the gear, thanks to you; now we just need to use it and see what's what." He started heading out, turned to look at Jake as he reached the doorway. "You need anything?"

"Yeah, a cup of coffee with two lumps of sugar and five minutes to shower."

He laughed. That was more like it. "I'll get you that drink, you just be ready to move out when we get the call." Hell. Chances were they would, and soon. Wouldn't be the first time they had to step in for someone else. But the guys at KatGuard were different. Pros. _Something_ had to have gone right last night.

He scaled the ladder again and headed towards the lounge to get that cup of coffee. He looked to his right and… there was Felina, sitting on the couch. Whoa. That was freaky. He was just thinking about her three minutes ago. Her face looked worn, her expression blank as a slab of granite and eyes bloodshot. Oh crap. Not good.

"I'm gonna assume that things didn't go well."

She turned her head toward him, eyes boring into his skull. He raised his hands as if trying to put a wall between him and that stare. Okay. Bad question. "Sorry. You just look like…"

"…Shit, I know." Her eyes narrowed, brows lowered so much that the top eyelid just about disappeared. "I want to smash something."

Chance smirked. "Yeah, I get that. You need some sleep, though."

"No, I _don't_." She tightened her right fist and rammed into the coffee table. "What I _need_ to do is get into the air. Kick his ass to next week. I want to _vaporize_ him before he does what he plans on doing."

No. Not like she was now. He hardened his features as much as he could stand. "I'm not letting you take a single step towards the StealthKat unless you are one hundred percent, you got that?"

She glared at him, eyebrows knotted and head tilted forward. "I'm not in the mood right now, Chance. Let me head out or I'll make you."

"You _both_ need to calm down, _now_."

They turned their heads toward the voice. Callie. Her hands were on her hips, her face clearly showed her irritation. "Seriously, this is getting out of hand. I am _not_ going to have you two killing each other, let alone going out to get yourselves killed."

Felina's jaw tightened as she gave her intense glare a new target. "He's gonna kill everyone in this city, starting with the ones that put him away. That means he's gonna go after Uncle and the mayor. Do you want that on your head?"

Callie crossed her arms, met Felina's stare with her own. "Do you know where he is?"

Felina went silent, glaring for a few more seconds before she turned her head away. "No. But we can't just sit around." Her voice lost its aggression.

Chance grimaced. Hadn't he tried to make that painfully clear before? He'd been right. She was doing the same right now. Good intentions, but the fact was that she was drained and time for a big search was not there anymore.

Callie walked over toward Felina, sat down, ran her right hand through her hair. Her expression softened; the tip and curve of her eyebrows lifted and her mouth turned down. "You're trashed. Get some sleep, at least three hours. Jake did that when he got too tired to keep going."

"Jake?" Felina's head raised a little, the tips of her ears perked. "Is he okay?"

Callie nodded. "Got everything nice and shiny for when we bust Shard up. He should be sleeping now."

Chance scratched the back of his head. Crap. He'd forgotten all about that, hadn't he? "Um, actually… I kinda woke him up."

Shit. Callie was pouting at him now. "What'd you go and do _that_ for? He needs to get his strength back."

He sighed. Yeah. Just make him feel even more like crap, why don't you. "We've gotta be ready for the call; I can't have him falling asleep in mid-air. I don't have his aim, you know that."

She sighed. "Yeah, I know that. It's just kinda harsh, that's all."

Yeah. It was harsh. "Situation's forced us into this. We're gonna have to end it quickly when it finally goes down." He looked toward Felina. "You, go. Get down to the hangar, get into bed, and get some rest. That's an order."

Felina looked behind her right shoulder. "Well aren't you mister leader now?"

Chance shrugged. "Someone's gotta do it. Get."

Felina chuckled. "Okay, mister leader." She stood slowly, her exhaustion finally showing through. "Wake me when we get the call." She was gone within thirty seconds.

Callie stood, brushed her jeans off as if there were a layer of dirt on it. Oops. Not a good sign. "Well, that was productive." She looked up at him through her lashes, eyebrows slightly knotted. "So then, mister leader… you wanna tell me what that was about?"

He sighed. "She wanted to go storming off out there looking for him. You saw how she was; if she went off half-cocked and wasted, she'd get herself in some serious trouble. I tried to make her go to bed, she made a threat; we almost came to blows." He shrugged. That was about it.

Callie's expression shifted from upset to sympathetic. She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled up, shifted her hips; buried her head in the crook of his neck. "We have to finish this before it gets worse for everyone."

He stroked her hair with his left hand, rubbed at the base of her tail with his right. She purred softly and a gentle smile spread across Chance's face, eyes relaxing. "We _will_ finish this. He's not going any further." Callie nuzzled against his neck, the purr rising in volume. He raised an eyebrow. Whoa. What was up with her? "You okay?"

She nodded. "You feel nice."

He chuckled. Was that all? Probably scared and worried and a bit frustrated. Like him. "You feel nice too." He pushed her away, just slightly. No time for this. "I gotta get Jake some coffee, two lumps of sugar."

Callie smiled, one eyebrow lifting. "Did he really ask for that?" She chuckled. "He must be okay then. I'll get it for him. Go ahead and turn on the news; should be coming on in a bit." She pulled away and headed for the brewer.

Damn it. She was just too good to him. He sat down, turned on the tube. No news yet, it was only six-thirty. He yawned. Crap. No more sleep for him, though. He'd get himself a cup of Joe later.

* * *

For the first time that week, the early morning passed without incident. Once the nine o' clock news rolled around though, things would pick up with a vengeance. Chance leaned forward as the fanfare for Kat's Eye News played, ears turned towards the speakers. A certain something would come on sooner or later; when it did, that'd be their cue.

Callie sat next to him, a bit more relaxed. "Just sit back, Chance. You don't have to glue yourself to the screen."

He didn't move. When was it gonna happen? He wrung his hands, eyebrows furrowed. Come on, it had to show up sooner or later.

"Temperatures are at an all-time low downtown, with the weather approaching whiteout conditions. The MegaKat Weather Center is putting up a Storm Advisory Warning for the time being. Looks like this is only gonna get worse."

Chance grimaced. Crap. That'd make flying damn near impossible. Oh well. They had to get in the air.

"Thanks, Dan." The camera showed Ann Gora, brown hair cropped on her head and almond eyes fixed forward, alert and attentive. "With the weather as bad as it is, people are beginning to wonder when it will end. The Enforcers have not yet made a statement, but KatGuard, the security force employed to bolster them, informed us that they were on the hunt. Sources have identified the kat responsible for the foul weather as none other than Rex Shard, recently escaped from… hey, what's going on back there?"

Chance leaned forward a bit more, a runner at the starter's block. His ears twitched. Falling equipment, breaking glass. Shouts turned to screams. A shot of ice blue made Ann duck behind the news desk; her co-anchor wasn't so lucky, got turned into a frozen statue. Damn. He knew it'd happen.

Callie gasped. "Oh God…" She leaned forward as well, eyes locked on the screen.

The orange coat soon displayed itself, hood down. Rex Shard strutted onto the set of Kat's Eye News, sat on the desk. "We interrupt this broadcast to inform you that you, citizens of MegaKat City, are screwed."

Chance gritted his teeth, his lips curled into a snarl. Cocky bastard. He'd pay for that.

Rex smirked, looking down his nose at the camera. "As you are fully aware by now, I'm in control of the weather. I got the power to shut down freeways, cancel flights; freeze the water and cut the power. You see out your windows? It's white, all of it. You can't see two inches in front of your face anymore when this kinda shit happens." He chuckled mirthlessly. "Sooner or later, the heat's gonna go. I wonder what you'll do once that happens."

Chance began to get to his feet, anxious to shut this guy up. A hand on his shoulder; he looked to his right, saw Callie shake her head. He sat back down again. What was the deal?

"I don't want money, I don't want safety; hell, I don't even want your damn _respect_. You want this to end? I want Commander Ulysses Feral, Mayor Ryan Manx, and Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs here in this studio in two hours or less. Once time runs out and they're not here, that storm warning is gonna turn into a reality, and this city will freeze in Hell." Rex began to stand, and then sat back down again. "Almost forgot. No cops, no mercs. They get here before or during our little chat and I will white this city out. I do however, invite the SWAT Kats. We got business to conclude." He chuckled, an evil smirk crossing his features. "You have an hour and fifty-nine minutes. Have a nice day, you poor bastards." He raised his right hand; the feed cut in the blink of an eye.

"Now we can go." Callie got to her feet, hopped over the table and ran towards the garage. Chance followed suit. Holy fucking shit. Ann was still alive in there! He'd use her as leverage for sure; they had to get in there and get her out. Throw open the hatch, slide down the ladder. They hauled ass, reached the hangar in record time. The meaty underside of his left fist rammed into the Panic Button near the phone and the alarm went off throughout the base. Callie sprinted to her locker, started putting on her gear.

Jake and Felina rushed him, stopped a few feet in front of him. "Suit up, we got the call."

Felina crammed her right fist into her left hand. "Let's melt us a snowman."

They moved to the lockers, donned their flight gear. Chance put a hand on Jake's right shoulder. "You okay?"

Jake grinned. "I'm awake if that's what you're asking. The Flash Missiles are ready to deploy, but there's only six for each bird. We gotta make 'em count."

He nodded, started heading towards the TurboKat. "Rex has the Kat's Eye News building on lockdown. Got at least one hostage in there, maybe more. Someone needs to get in and see what's up, maybe try to get him outta there so we can actually fight him."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Callie?"

Chance nodded. "Callie. She can't quite fly yet or operate a weapons station. We get her behind enemy lines, have her tell us the situation, and then she takes it from there."

"Is that so?"

They turned to face her, now in full combat gear. Chance grinned. "Yeah, that's so. You're going in first. Think you can handle him?"

She nodded. "You bet your ass. Just give me a few flash bangs, a breaching charge, and a good distraction."

Chance nodded. "Think you can handle a pick set?"

Callie raised an eyebrow, lips pursed and pupils shrinking a bit. After a moment, she shook her head. "Nope, can't do that yet. Sorry."

"It's okay." He headed for the storage area, opened up a box with the explosives inside. "Take two charges, maybe three. Don't use them until you get there, or unless you have to. It's up to you whether you wanna go in through the front or find a different entrance. He's in the studio though, so he's probably not watching any security cams."

She nodded. "Probably gonna take the roof anyway. Ventilation is one of the best ways to go when you don't know exactly where the guy is. I just hope there's a way to get in without having to get there on the ground." She shook her head, stopping him before he said a word. "Don't bother flying me there. I'll think of something."

Chance shrugged. "All right, be careful in there."

Callie saluted, dug into the crate. Chance and Jake began heading for the TurboKat, donning their helmets on the way. Chance's radio buzzed, he tapped the receive panel on his helmet. "What's the word?"

"This is Lioness. I'm prepped for flight."

He nodded. Awesome. "Don't leave just yet; we got hostages in the studio. Ghost is gonna do a recon run before we go airborne."

"What!? Oh, that's just spectacular. When did this happen?"

Chance smirked. She really did want to beat the crap out of him. Well she'd get her chance soon enough. "While you were asleep. Look, I'm just as eager as you, but we need intel, maybe even a way to get him out of that building. We're gonna remain on standby as well, so don't freak out. You copy?"

A sigh. "Copy that. I'm on standby, out."

He nodded. All right, that takes care of that for now. He leapt into the cockpit, followed closely by Jake. The canopy slid closed and the bird swiveled down to the staging area. Chance pressed a button on the remote that was always in the jet, causing the exit to the hangar to open up. He looked to his right, saw Ghost wearing a Delta Pack. Was that how she'd do it? He nodded. Good plan. Best way to get in there without being detected. He tapped his radio. "Ghost, let us know when you're in. We'll be on standby here until you infiltrate."

He saw her nod. "Roger that. I'll keep you posted." The burners went live and Ghost floated upwards; within the next two seconds she was racing down the launch tunnel. "I'm clear," the radio buzzed once she exited.

Chance smiled. "Good luck out there." Okay. Now came the hard part: waiting. He looked behind him; Jake was still alert. Good. "How was your nap?"

Jake shrugged. "Could've been better, but the coffee and the shower helped."

Chance nodded, faced forward again. "I sure hope so. I don't want you passing out on me up there. Once she gets him outta there, if she can, we're going in hot and loud." It was gonna be messy. No matter. They had to stop him now, before things got even worse.

* * *

The bullet-resistant visor on Ghost's helmet shielded her eyes; an oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth, feeding her fresh air. Wow. You really couldn't see anything out here. Lucky for her the helmets had GPS transponders.

Her destination showed as a blue pulse on her heads-up display, with a grid map of the city as a reference point. Keep moving. It was still about an hour away. How many? Where exactly in the building were they? T-Bone said the main studio, right? She'd been there before.

She sped up, confidence welling up within her. The mission was already done. She'd be back in the hangar eating a late breakfast. Snuggle time. Ghost smiled. It'd be a good way to end all this, relieve some stress.

She neared her destination and told her brain to shut up. Her face schooled itself into a blank mask, clear of emotion. In the face of that iron curtain she drew up around her mind, her discursive thoughts fled in terror, leaving it completely empty and free to react to everything.

She hovered over the roof, saw the air duct. Ghost cut the power and unceremoniously dumped the Delta Pack off of the ledge she stood on. It was pretty much useless now that she was here. She fished into her gear; found the pocket cutting torch. She lit up and, putting the flame to the frame, began slicing open a hole big enough for her to fit through.

Fifteen seconds later, she was in. Ghost tapped the panel on the right side of her helmet, which turned on her radio. "All wings, this is Ghost. I snuck into his house, ready to go to work. Repeat, I'm in the house. Deploy immediately."

"Copy that Ghost, we're scrambling. Keep us posted on intel, T-Bone out."

She switched off the channel and, following the schematic map to the Kat's Eye News building on her visor display, she headed straight and turned left, taking the first right after the corner. Second left; that one back there was the wrong room. She turned left again, then right. The map displayed before her eyes served her well, silently guiding her towards the room in question. She made as little noise as she could; even her breathing was nigh-impossible to pick up.

It was all of five minutes before she forced herself to a stop, hairs on the back of her neck bristling and insides twisting. She lay flat on her stomach and played dead. Her ears twitched, turning this way and that like radar dishes.

Garbled speech echoed off of the walls of the metal labyrinth. Getting close? Maybe she was. She took the next right, inched toward the vent that the voices originated from and looked down.

"Get to the point, Shard. What do you want from us?"

That was Commander Feral's voice, which meant she was in the right place. Rex was there too; she could see that ostentatious orange coat of his. He pushed off from the news desk, strutting towards the imposing tom. She could see the cocky smirk he no doubt wore.

The frost-flinging criminal got up in his enemy's face. "I want you to suffer, Feral. Hell, I want _everyone_ to suffer now." He looked to his right. "Good old Mayor Manx! I never figured I'd get to see your fat ass again. I'm surprised you haven't skipped town."

She watched as he adjusted his collar, wrung his hands against each other. "I wouldn't want to miss an important occasion like this, you know. You just let me know what you want and it's yours; anything!"

Ghost diverted her attention from the little chat they were having and began scanning the rest of what she could see. There were other kats down there, huddled behind the news desk. Her eyebrows rose. Among the six that were there, she saw a green business jacket and matching skirt, bob-cut brown hair. Ann.

She looked away, tapped her radio. "T-Bone, I'm at the news room."

"Good. What's your status?"

"Green, still unobserved." She looked down again. "We got six hostages including Ann Gora. They're still alive, for now. I also have visual confirmation of Mayor Manx and Commander Feral." Movement. She zoomed in, saw Rex making threatening gestures. "I think it's about to go down. I'm going loud. You guys better haul ass, out."

She tapped her radio again, her right hand slipped into the Glovatrix strapped at her thigh. She pulled it out, got herself ready to move.

"This is your fault, you know," her ears picked up. His voice was rough, tense. "All of it. The weather, the kats who died, everything. You locked me up in that frozen hell, and look what you've got to show for it."

Feral growled. "It was the right thing to do. If I knew this would have happened, I'd have killed you back then."

"Yeah, like you would have." Rex scoffed. "I should just freeze you both right now and be done with it, but I don't see the Deputy Mayor here. Where's the bitch at? She's late and time's up."

"She's dead."

The Mayor actually sounded… a bit angry instead of placating. He walked toward Rex, fists tight. "Because of selfish kats like you, we lost Callie."

The room was silent for a span… and then Rex suddenly threw his head back, laughing. "Well that's a riot! Here I am trying to get revenge on you all, and someone beat me to one of ya!" His laugh picked up in volume.

Rex gasped, doubled over. Feral had grabbed onto him and rammed his right knee into his solar plexus. "I might die today, but I'm going to spend my last moments tearing you to pieces, Shard."

Ghost's jaw tightened. Yeah. Definitely time to go now. She pounded into the vent with the Glovatrix, it came loose in two shots, fell to the floor. She dropped out of the vent, deployed her shield and lowered her posture.

Feral looked towards her, eyes wide. "You!" He was hauled up by his legs, driven into the floor by Rex. He breathed hard through his nose, a hand around his throat.

Rex laughed. "Rip me to pieces, huh? You sure as hell can try! I dare ya!"

Ghost slinked towards the two struggling kats, tried to get as close as she could without being heard. She managed to get within a good three feet; that was enough. Ghost charged forward shield first, rammed into the orange coat and knocked him off of Feral.

She recovered and rose to one knee, peering over the top edge of the metal shield, eyes narrowing. "Miss me?"

Rex stood, a grimace on his face. "We need to finish our business, SWAT Kat."

She stayed low, advancing forward steadily. "Then why are you still talking?" She called out behind her without turning her head. "Commander Feral, there are six kats still alive behind that desk. Get them and the Mayor out of here, now." She set herself, held still for a moment.

"Not gonna happen, bitch!" Rex fired a bolt of ice from his right hand at her partially exposed head. She lowered her head and the ice broke on the shield as she charged forward to try and crash into him again. Something gave. She pushed out to the right and turned. Rex was on the ground, teeth bared.

Ghost wasted no time. She leapt toward him, pinned him to the ground, clamored on top of him. Squeezed his rib cage with her legs, saw him grind his teeth and wince, eyes forced shut in pain. Good. Did more damage than she thought. She deactivated her shield while he fought against the pain and began ramming into Rex's face with her fists. An eye, the nose, the right side of his jaw. He growled, clawed for her neck and squeezed. Ghost's jaw tightened. Not good! She hammered into his face with the Glovatrix, heard something snap. Rex screamed, blood gushing from his nose. His hand only tightened. Damn it!

"Let _go_ of me!" Her thighs squeezed again, knees pressed into the lower ribs... she heard something else break. Rex howled in pain, finally let go. Ghost gasped for air, rolled off of him. Shit. She tried to get her air back. He wouldn't be moving all that much with a few popped ribs and a broken nose. She had time.

She got up, grabbed him by his neck. "Too much trouble." She hauled him onto a shoulder, headed towards the nearest wall. Ghost unstrapped a breaching charge and slapped it into place. She moved a few feet away and pressed in the trigger located on her Glovatrix. Boom. She stepped through the hole she'd just made and headed towards a room with plenty of windows.

She looked back at him. Still dazed. All right.

"You're all made of snow, right?" She smirked. "Let's see how far the wind carries you, then." She sprinted towards the windows, stopped just short of them, and used the momentum she'd gained to toss him. Glass shattered as she sent Rex flying through the cold mid-morning air.

Ghost pressed in the radio panel on the right side of her helmet, turning away from the window. "T-Bone, Ghost here. He's clear of the building. I just hope he's conscious and pissed enough to go big."

"Roger that, good job. Any hostages?"

She nodded. "Six of them. They're okay; Feral's probably escaped with them and the Mayor by now." She started walking out. "What's your ETA?"

A roar overhead. She looked up and chuckled. "Never mind. Give him hell, out." She touched the panel again and continued walking. She was about to exit the room when her skin tingled, her tail curled and her ears perked. She turned to face the shattered windows, eyes narrowed. "Something's wrong. He should've been fighting back at least a little when I brought him to the window."

Oh no. She sprinted towards the opening, stared down. She pulled her head back as soon as she saw Rex growing in size. Holy crap! He recovered already? "Damn it!" She ran towards the room's exit. Time to get out of here before he tore the place down! She crammed her fingers down on the radio button. "Mayday, mayday, emergency maneuvers! He's going big and he's at full capacity! Get him out of the city, _now_!"

"Roger that, we're on it! Get moving to the nearest exit, pronto!"

"_Way_ ahead of you there!" She turned right around the first corner. Stairwell ahead. She kicked the door open with her left heel, hauled ass downstairs. Lights flickered, the building rocked. Shit, shit, shit! Faster! She stumbled through the door at the bottom of the stairwell. Garage level. Great. She made tracks to the exit, the garage rumbling with the noise upstairs. How big was he now?

She finally sprinted out onto the snow, darted into a nearby alleyway. Ghost doubled over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She looked to her right and gritted her teeth as she saw Rex rip apart the Kat's Eye News building to find her.

"Damn it, now you've done it." She straightened, tapped her radio. "I'm clear of the building. All wings, engage with all the firepower you got. Take him down hard. I'm leaving the combat zone, keep me posted."

She turned the radio off, saw the TurboKat and StealthKat head towards the frozen monolith that was Rex Shard, explosions going off near his head. That wasn't gonna work nearly as well as it should, but it did the job. He growled, swatted outwards at the jets. "And here we go." Her part was done; time to disappear. She jogged towards the end of the alley, turned the corner, and headed for some shelter against the cold.

Definitely time for a hot chocolate when she got back.

* * *

Lioness's eyebrows creased as she pulled the stick back, coaxing the StealthKat up and over the hand that tried to swat her out of the air. Close one. She sliced right, trained her sights on the side of his head. "I know this won't work, but it's better than nothing."

She thumbed the weapon release and watched as a Sidewinder rammed into its target. The guy wasn't hot, sure… but that didn't mean that a heat seeker couldn't be radar-guided as well.

It only seemed to piss him off even more. She made her jet curve underneath his fist and broke engagement. "I think that's enough, guys." She began heading for the outskirts of the city, looked behind her to make sure. Oh hell yeah. He was coming for them. Shit. She throttled up. "Playing bait and switch sucks."

Her radio buzzed. "I know, but we can't do it any other way. We gotta make him think we're running away."

Razor. She smiled. "If you say so, handsome. Just don't let him get you, or I'll claw your eyes out."

The radar warning receiver blared at her and she gritted her teeth. Damn! How fast was this bastard? "I ain't your buddy, go away! Get him off my six!"

"Can't do that, he's on us too! We gotta outrun this freak!"

Well duh. That much was painfully obvious. "I'm climbing; we'll see how high this guy can jump." She pulled back on the stick and the nose shot up, nozzles tilted to aid her ascent. Lioness looked behind her, saw him swing and swipe at her. Her eyes widened as he actually jumped to grab for her. "Oh _hell no_!"

A sudden flash. Rex's face twisted in agony as the arm that tried to grab her was blown off at the shoulder. Lioness huffed in relief. "About damn time, Razor! Was that the new missile?"

"Yeah, and I don't think he likes it much."

She smirked. "That's obvious." He staggered as he fell; she went over the top and angled the nose down at him again. "Let's see how he likes one from me."

The snow around him began gathering to a single point… and her eyes widened. "Um, that's not funny, quit that." She gritted her teeth. Fuck! "Guys, he's getting a whole new arm!" She pulled away, heading for the city limits again. What the hell was it going to take?

She heard T-Bone's frustrated growl over the radio. "This guy just won't stay down, will he? We're gonna have to really give it to him. Maintain evasive patterns until we get clear of any buildings. We need to get as far as MegaKat Desert, and then end this thing."

Lioness glanced at her radar, saw him move toward them again. "He's back into it, haul ass!"

Just a bit more. They had to hold out for a bit longer, get him clear of the city. She squinted, tried to see through all the snow. Damn it. It really was turning into a whiteout now. She pressed in a panel on the left side of her helmet and the visor HUD slid over her eyes. Good. That was a hell of a lot better. They only had a few miles to go before the desert, thank God.

They got clear of the city limits, went a bit farther. Lioness checked her radar; he was still trailing them. Apparently, he wanted to get rid of them just as badly as he wanted to wipe the city off of the map. She smirked. He could try his hardest and it still wouldn't be enough.

"That's enough hide and seek," she heard on her radio. "Re-engage! _Kick his ass_!"

She grinned wildly. "That's just what I wanted to hear." She broke right, throttled up. Headed straight for him. "Time to see how big of a bang these things have for myself." She switched to the Flash Missiles, locked her sights onto Rex's left arm, just at the shoulder. "I got tone…" She hit the weapon release button and saw a red and white missile streak toward its target. "It's away. Breaking off!" She pulled back hard, tried to gain some airtime before he tried to swat her.

Rex's roar made her grin. "Got him."

She saw the TurboKat heading towards him from the top of the loop. Good. Keep hitting him. Half-roll, extend. She looked behind her right shoulder, saw another flash. What'd been torn off now? Probably another arm. She sliced left to take a look, grimaced. "He's doing that thing again. We gotta take him down, now!"

She quickly got a sight picture, her radar beeping. "Unloading!" She fired another one, held target, fired again. They slammed into his chest, electric arcs sparked against him for only brief seconds. Huge craters in the wake of the missiles, but more snow was coming towards him. It was slower, though. Too much to concentrate on at once. "It's working, Razor!"

"Yeah, but you're wasting your ordinance. I'm reading three left on you; we don't have a lot of these to burn!"

Her eyes narrowed. "Then this next shot's gonna have to do it." She was still a ways apart from him; she could finish this right now. She set her sights again, got a lock. "Say good night, Frosty."

"Hold your fire!"

Her thumb hovered over the red weapon release. She growled. "What's the deal? I was about to polish him off!" She was getting closer now. Not good. Arms were halfway done.

She heard T-Bone across the radio. "Don't you want to do this as a team? I know you're pissed at him, but don't try to be a hero. 'Sides, it'll take more than one missile, and we'll do better if we both hit him at once."

She sighed. Damn. She was really getting out of her head, wasn't she? "Copy that. Give me the green light when you got a lock."

Seconds later, she heard razor's voice. "I got tone. On my mark…"

Felina's thumb settled onto the weapon release.

"Three, two, one… deploy!"

Her thumb twitched, a missile went streaking towards Rex's head. She knew he couldn't move away in time. She saw a second missile from the TurboKat right beside it. "Break away?"

"Just wait a minute."

T-Bone. What was he up to?

The missiles slammed into his forehead, completely wrecked his face. She squinted. Was he healing up there? Her eyes widened and she grinned. No. He wasn't! "Sweet!"

"Fire for effect! Razor, dump 'em all!"

Two more missiles streaked towards Rex's head, made contact. He stumbled around, blind. They fired again, another set of contacts. Half of his head vanished. His screams were cut off. "Die, you bastard." She fired once more, the TurboKat followed suit. The rest of his head disappeared in a storm of explosions.

She heard T-Bone over the air. "Okay, now you can break away."

The TurboKat pulled left, Lioness pulled right. She looked down at their handiwork. Rex collapsed to his knees, fell to the ground. She could hear the earth shake as he crashed and looked down at him. "Chew on that, Frosty."

The snow continued to fall as the birds left the scene. Behind them, Rex was melting into nothing more than a puddle. Lioness pulled off her oxygen mask and sighed, head tilted back and eyes shut in exhaustion. The anger drained out of her, left her empty. "Finally. We got him…"

"About damn time, too. Was getting hard to see out there." T-Bone sighed. "I swear if I ever see this much snow again, it'll be too soon."

Lioness laughed, weary from the fight. "We should stay in for a while, then. I'm sure there's some hot chocolate waiting back at base." She put on her mask again. "Let's go home."

* * *

For two more days, there was still heavy snow fall. Mayor Manx called for a massive city-wide cleanup of the roads and sidewalks, one of the few good things he'd done in ten terms. Maybe it was because of Callie being mentioned back at the Kat's Eye news building. It wouldn't last, though. He'd be back to his lazy self in no time.

KatGuard was given a bonus for the recapture of all the food from the grocery store raid, without damaging it. Commander Feral and Captain Puma made an agreement to bolster each other until the Enforcers could get back on their feet again. Of course, this meant that they'd get most of the pay that the normal police were getting, but Ulysses was willing to go that far. The way he saw it, it was better than relying on the SWAT Kats.

Of course, if he knew that the SWAT Kats had an insider in the private military force, he'd decry them quick fast. But he didn't, and it was better if he never found out.

Benny was given a commendation for his efforts in the situation, and though he didn't move up from Captain, he did get a nice pay raise and some time off. The hostages from the Kat's Eye News building were safe and sound, though Ann was mourning the loss of the news room. Still, it wasn't all bad; the executives, hearing of the damage done, gave her paid time off as well.

Without any fanfare, the SWAT Kats faded quietly into the background. No one had seen them fight against Rex this time, and it would probably be attributed to KatGuard for finally ending this. That was fine. They could use a bit less camera time anyway.

Thus, even with a bit of early frost on the ground, life moved on in MegaKat City.

* * *

**Chapter 56: Whiteout (Finale) – **_**Icebreaker**_

My God, that took some doing.

Seriously, the longest chapter I've ever written. I had to claw my way out of this one, fight tooth and nail for every scene. But I got it. I tried a few new writing techniques in this one; figured I'd pull them out and show you guys what I've learned. Tell me what you think.

Anyways, I'm going to do something to celebrate now. I already have the next arc in my head, but we need to do the side stories first. Until then, I'm outta here.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	57. Managing Frustration

"You did _what_ exactly, Sir?"

Puma settled back in his chair. "I made a deal with Commander Feral. You know as well as I do that the Enforcers are in hell right now. They need us to drag them out until they can get back on their own feet." He leaned forward, no longer relaxed. "We're bolstering their ranks for the time being. Not necessarily replacing them, but helping them out. And we're getting paid top dollar for it, of course."

Felina's jaw tightened. Well shit. That just made her day. "That's not my problem, Sir."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then what is?"

She sighed. There wasn't any delicate way to put this. Screw it. "They're sub-par, Sir. We shouldn't have to lower ourselves to their level."

"I know that. But why do you think I took the job in the first place?" He stood from his chair. "I hope to show them how we do things in the private sector. Hopefully someone's going to take a cue sooner or later."

Felina's head bowed slightly, her eyes turned away. No. That wasn't what she meant either. "That's all well and good, but…"

"It's about the Commander, isn't it?"

Her head lifted upwards sharply, eyes wide. How? "T-that's… I…"

He walked over to her, placed his right hand on her left shoulder. "Come off it, Felina. I know why you signed up for this unit; or at least I have a pretty good guess. Your uncle pissed you off, did something you didn't agree with. You left, hopped on the ship that was as far removed from him and his people as possible." One of his eyebrows rose. "Am I doing okay so far?"

Her cheeks glowed red, head lowered again. God, he could see right through her.

"After that, you couldn't let go of what he did, so you stayed on. Sure, all that anger made you a better soldier, but sooner or later you're going to have to deal with it."

Felina looked up at him, eyes tight. "And how do you suggest I do that? He lied about something that was going on for a long, long time and hid it from everyone." Her fists tightened. "He did something to someone that didn't deserve it, and I want to make him sorry for it."

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "You ever talk to him about it?"

"Why should I? A lie is a lie. There's nothing else to it. If he doesn't fix it himself, I won't remind him any time soon." She sighed, rubbed her right temple. Damn it. Just talking about this gave her a migraine. "I'd rather not discuss the subject any more, Sir."

Puma nodded, stepped back a bit. "Okay, fine with me. You get some rest, Felina. The new contract doesn't start until next week, so you got some time to yourself." He saluted. "Good work out there."

She saluted back. "Thank you, Sir." Felina turned towards the door, walked out of the room. Well shit. He was almost as bad as Callie. She headed for the parking garage, unlocked her car. She couldn't wait to get home. She got in, closed the door behind her, and started the engine. Invite Jake? Maybe. She needed to sleep first.

She pulled out of her parking slot and exited the garage.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

Felina stirred, moaned as her ears twitched. Just a bit longer, please? She pulled the covers tighter over her, tried to get back to sleep. Her ears twitched again. Damn it. She opened her eyes, blinked a few times. The room still blurred. "Shit."

She stumbled out of bed, opened her bedroom door, headed down the hall and shuffled toward the front entrance. Whoever was at the door had better have a damn good reason for waking her up. "Hold your horses, whoever you are."

She opened the door and her eyes widened, pupils shrinking slightly. "Jake?" She stared straight into his brown eyes and everything slowed to a crawl. What was he doing here? She hadn't even invited him yet. Her heart raced, trying to pound its way out of her chest. Only thing she'd done was _thought_ about inviting him. Was that it?

"You gonna let me in?"

Felina's cheeks reddened. Damn! "Sure. Come on." She stepped to her right, opened the door a bit wider. Jake entered, the smell of hot food trailing after him. Wow. He'd brought something to eat with him. Her heart rang in her ears. "Hope that's not all for me."

He half-turned to look at her. "Half of it is."

She closed the door, turned to face him. Her eyes immediately locked onto his tail, hands twitched slightly. No. Not now. She clenched her fists, followed him to the kitchen. "So besides bringing me something to snack on, why'd you come here?"

He set the brown paper bag on the counter, turned to face her. "I heard about what happened before the big show from Chance."

She lowered her head, eyes narrowing slightly. "So he told you to check and see if I'm all right." Damn him. Who the hell did Chance think he was, her dad? "Well I'm fine. You go tell him that for me, okay?" She'd give the punk a piece of her fists later.

Her chin was grabbed onto, lifted until she saw Jake's face again. "Who said anything about him sending me? I came over here because I'm worried about you, Felina. Y'know, ask if you wanted to talk about anything?"

She sighed, closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I've just had a crappy few days." Understatement of the year, that. Oh God, she could smell him now. Her eyes opened again, met with his. Too close. "What are you doing?"

His fingers ran along her right cheek. "Making sure you're okay."

She fought the urge to nuzzle his hand, swallowed around the lump in her throat. No. She wasn't okay. "What about lunch?"

Jake chuckled, slid his fingers toward the soft spot behind her right ear. "It'll still be warm when we're done."

She shook her head. No it wouldn't. She'd be too busy jumping him. "Let's just eat, okay? I'll be fine once I get some food in me." Yeah, like him.

He nodded, pulled away. A profound sense of loss almost made her whine, but she fought it down. "You let me know when you wanna talk."

Lunch began at that point, and she admitted that she really did feel a whole lot better. She smiled. He always did think of her, didn't she? She'd return the favor sometime, hopefully today. "This is great, Jake. Makes me wish you did this every day."

He shrugged, took another bite out of his sandwich. "Least I could do for you helping out."

The least he could do? Felina shook her head. That didn't fly straight. "This isn't some ordinary thing, Jake. I'm really grateful for it… for everything." Especially him putting up with her now. She was a fucking mess.

Jake nodded. "It's really no problem, Felina."

She looked down at her food. Was it really no problem? What else did he have to do today that didn't include her? What was he giving up just to be here? She shook her head. "You're lying. There's something you have to do other than hang around here, right?"

"Not really. My day is totally free. Why, you got something you need to do?"

"No." She picked up her sandwich again, took another bite. She'd just been given time off. Of course she didn't have anything else to do. "I'm sorry about the whole thing back there. You know… the whole jumping to conclusions and stuff."

Jake chuckled. "I don't know why you're so angry, but if you wanna talk about it…"

Her eyebrows knotted. What the hell? She looked up at him, glaring. "Why does _everyone_ today think I'm angry?" She couldn't hold back the irritation that was in her voice. What, was she made of glass now?

Jake shrugged. "It's kinda bleeding off of you." He pushed his sandwich away, propped his elbows on the table and stared at her. "You gonna tell me what happened now?"

Damn it. Even sitting down, she was knocked entirely off balance when he looked at her like that. Hell, he wasn't even looking all that hard, just staring at her. Her skin tingled, as if she weren't wearing the shirt and jeans she'd gone to sleep in. Stop it. "Not right now. It's all too fresh. Maybe we could later?"

Jake sighed. "No. Whatever this is, it's gonna keep bugging you until you talk to someone."

She closed her eyes, tried to steady her breathing. Hell, if it was going to stop him from looking at her, fine. "I… found something out at work today. It's not exactly good news, but technically it's not bad either. We have a new contract with the Enforcers; we're to act as a compliment to their forces until they stabilize."

Jake hissed. "Shit."

She nodded. "I do not want to have to deal with… him… right now. I'm just…" She sighed. This was hard enough to talk about. "I'm just not ready. You know?"

"Yeah, I know. Few guys in the Enforcers could deal with him when Chance and I were still on the force. Not too surprising."

She opened her eyes, looked up at him. "I just wish he hadn't lied to me about all that. Hell, even if he hadn't lied, I think I'd still be pissed at him for what happened. All that happened was his fault, not yours. You guys were just doing your jobs."

Jake nodded. "I get it. But what're you gonna do about it? I mean, if there's anything you _can_ do."

Felina shrugged. "No idea. Maybe I'll just have to stick it out, try not to blow up at him if he says anything to set me off." Like that'd work. She just didn't have the patience for him yet. "You think I should hide somewhere until this is over?"

Jake chuckled. "Nah, that'd make it worse. You'd worry your tail off just thinking about it."

She smiled, bowed her head. "Yeah, I would." She took another bite out of her sandwich, looked up at Jake through her lashes. "You know an awful lot about dealing with people. Why?"

Jake scratched the back of his head. "Well I guess I'm just putting myself in their shoes, really. I'd be pissed too if someone I cared about lied about something this important. I wouldn't really be up for even looking at 'em for a while."

Putting herself in someone else's shoes, was it? She tried to put herself in Jake's shoes. After a few moments, she shook her head. "It's hard for me to put myself in someone else's shoes. I can only see things standing in my own. Is that bad?"

Jake shrugged. "Not everyone can do it, and that's okay. I'd rather you be who you are instead of trying to do what I do."

Felina smiled, continued to stare at him with half-lidded eyes. He was just too sweet. "Well, thank you." Okay, no more sandwich. "So, you got any more words of wisdom for me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Not really, but why are you looking at me like that?"

She raised an eyebrow, the smile still on her face. "You woke me up and came in with lunch, in the middle of the day, just to see if I was all right. No one asked you, no one forced you; you just came on your own. That's why." She chuckled. "Besides, I like seeing you squirm."

Jake smirked. "You can't make me squirm."

Her ears twitched. Oh no. He shouldn't have said that. She slowly stood from the table, walking towards him with a sway in her hips. "Is that right?" She saw him direct his eyes a bit lower, smiled. "Well it seems to me that I can." Felina ran a finger beneath Jake's chin, scratched at the sensitive skin.

Jake closed his eyes and purred. "And how do you expect to do that?"

Felina shrugged. "I could always take you right here."

She saw his hips twitch again. That worked. "Does that sound good, Jake? I bet you got it in your head already." Good. Keep on teasing him. He had to want it.

His pupils were almost wide enough to turn his eyes black. "Stop it."

She chuckled. "Stop what? This?" She scratched underneath his neck again. "Or were you talking about this?" She ran her thumb against the right side of his jaw, the rest of the hand following suit. She scratched behind his right ear, smiled at the purr that she pulled from his throat. His tail curled and his head tilted back. Oh, he was so cute like this.

"Damn it, you're driving me nuts."

She licked her lips. Just about there. "I hadn't noticed." She walked toward the bedroom, her tail slid along the underside of his chin as she walked by. "Thanks for lunch."

She felt a tug at the end of her tail, grinned. Yes.

"You're just gonna leave like that?"

She looked behind her right shoulder, saw him stand up. "Like what? I was just going back to my nap." She raised an eyebrow. "That is, unless you wanted to join me."

Jake chuckled. "After what you just pulled, I don't think either of us would get much sleep."

He almost undid her, rubbing her tail like that. It tickled and made her burn at the same time. No. She couldn't lose it. Not now. "Then what were you planning on doing? Not like there's much to do; we both have the day off, so to speak."

He stroked the base of her tail with his hand, just briefly, before it slid towards her right hip and pulled her to his side. "You know, we could always… do that."

Felina smirked. "Do what?" This was fun.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "You know. What we did last time I was here. Remember?"

She placed a finger on her chin, tilted her head up just a bit. "Hmm… can't quite put my finger on it. You wanna describe it for me?"

"You can't be serious."

Felina looked at him, face completely blank of expression. "I am totally serious. I have no idea what you're talking about." She couldn't keep this up for long, the way he was so close to her. His scent infiltrated her senses, mucked them up something fierce. The hand rubbing her right side caused her skin to clam up. She wasn't even half-naked yet and he still made her legs weak. Just hold out a bit longer.

Jake began walking towards the bedroom, trying to take her with him. She balked. Not this time, bud. "Hang on just a minute there. You're gonna explain what you mean first." For some reason, he wouldn't say it. Why?

Jake's cheeks flushed. "Do I really have to? I mean, it's kinda implied."

She shook her head. "I'm not as subtle as you. You're gonna have to explain."

Jake growled, his hair rising slightly. Getting a bit frustrated there, guy? Well, he had no idea how frustrated he always made her. He tried to coax her toward the bedroom again, but she held still. "I'd rather you just say what you wanted and get it over with. I'll decide whether it's good or not."

Jake sighed, lowered his head. A blush tinged his cheeks. "I wanna have sex with you."

She chuckled. He'd only muttered it. "What was that? I didn't quite catch that."

His blush deepened, he glared at her. "You really are driving me completely crazy, you know that? What's with you today?"

She turned to face him, walked up and ran her fingers along one of his ears. "Why are you so afraid of saying it? It's not a dirty word. Your mind just makes it dirty. Besides, we do it often enough. What's wrong?"

He pouted. Jake actually pouted. She'd have laughed if she didn't think it made him look… completely cute. "It's not romantic. Saying it like that takes something away from it."

Felina's eyes softened, going from teasing to understanding. "Jake, we are not in a romance novel. Sometimes you just look at someone, feel that tingle in your spine and just want to take them somewhere to hear them moan and see them blush. I know it sounds kind of cold, but that's how it works sometimes. I absolutely _love_ how you want to make it sweet, and I appreciate it. It's one of the reasons I love you."

She tugged at the ear she was scratching. "But since we've long since confirmed that… Right now I'd love to take you to my bedroom just to hear you moan and see you blush. There are two reasons, one of which I don't have to explain. The one that I _do_ have to explain is that you came over to check on me. I was having a shitty day before you walked in."

Jake smiled. "I figured so. You okay now?"

She grinned. "No. I'm not." She walked towards the bedroom, a hand grabbing onto one of his wrists. She felt him stumble forward a bit before he got his feet back. Felina walked in, closed the door behind them, and locked it. "I'm not gonna tell you why." She turned to face him, eyes half-lidded and darkened a few shades. "I'll _show_ you."

Jake backed away as she stalked toward him, hands raised defensively. "Hey, don't do anything too crazy, okay?"

She licked her lips. "What's the matter? You're usually the one that does this to me. Don't you want to be on the receiving end?" She ran a hand along her belly, pulled the shirt up just a bit to show some skin. "You scared of me, Jake Clawson?" Had she finally caught him?

He shook his head. "What? No way. I'm just…" He bumped into a wall, jumped slightly. "Oh crap."

She chuckled. "You look like a little mouse, Jake. Don't worry, we already had lunch." She got right up next to him, pressed her nose into his neck and took a deep breath. Her heart started to jackhammer in her chest again. Oh God, that was such a good smell. "I just wanna play."

He gulped. "Well I don't really have any…"

Felina nibbled on his right ear, felt him loosen up. She pressed up again him, trapped him against the wall. Heat passed along every inch of her skin as she ran her hands along his sides, kissed his neck. "You don't have any what, plans? I don't have any either. I'm just doing things." Her left hand reached behind, tried to find what she was looking for. Ah, there it was. She stroked the base of his tail, heard him sigh and felt him tremble. "Poor Jake… all those other times, you had a plan the moment you walked into this apartment. You can't operate without a plan, can you?"

She felt his face heat up. "I can… but only when I'm Razor."

She rubbed her breasts against his chest, heard his moan. Her hips pressed against his and she felt his pants tighten. "Well, that's too bad. I've got you now." She pulled away and reached for his shirt, yanked it free from him. Jake gasped. "You have no idea…" She trapped him against the wall again, rubbed her left thigh along his crotch. "…How _frustrated_ I get every time you sneak past me. Not this time. Today, we're doing this my way."

Jake groaned. "Is that so? And how exactly are we gonna do that?"

She grinned and reached behind her, pulled out a pair of flex-cuffs from one of her back pockets and strapped one end around one of Jake's wrists. "By making sure you can't move." She saw his eyes widen. Yes. That look was priceless. She turned him around, pulled his other wrist around and strapped that one too.

Jake closed his eyes, bowed his head. His cheeks were almost fire-engine red. "This is weird, Felina."

She licked along his neck. "I don't care. This is what you get for keeping me from getting what I want." She took off her shirt, undid her bra and turned him around again. "Don't worry too much. I'm not gonna hurt you. Like I said, I just wanna play."

Felina chuckled as Jake just stared at her, never meeting her eyes. He couldn't do anything but just look. He couldn't touch her, he couldn't move her; all he could do was sit there and stare. She trembled, did nothing to hide it. Damn. Just his _stare_ did this to her. She walked over to him, lowered herself to her knees. She nuzzled his crotch, her ears twitched at the sound of his heavy breathing. Her hands stroked along his toned abs, upwards across his chest. His pecs twitched as her hands ran across them. She wanted him so bad it almost hurt.

"This is just mean."

She chuckled, looked up at him. Damn it, those eyes of his were sexy. Her hands continued to rub along his chest, down his sides. "Don't tell me you don't like it."

He shook his head. "I do. It's still mean, though."

An eyebrow raised, the smile persisted. "Tough. Remember, you made me do this. It's your fault." Her hands stopped just above his hips, squeezed.

Jake gasped. "Please, don't do that."

She looked up, raised an eyebrow. "What? All I did was this."

He shivered as she squeezed his sides again. A grin broke out unbidden on his features. "Stop it!"

She grinned. "Oh my God, you're ticklish!" She giggled, ran her fingers up and down along his sides and lower ribs. His laugh made her ears perk up. She loved it when she smiled like that. Her eyes narrowed, pupils dilated. "That's hot, actually."

Jake's eyes widened. "How much could I pay you to stop here?"

She chuckled. "You could pay me all the money in the city. It wouldn't be enough." Oh, this'd be fun. Felina reached for his pants, undid the button and the zipper, pulled them down to just below his knees. She rubbed her hands together. "Hold still." Yeah. As if he had a choice. She ran her fingers along his legs, poking and prodding with her fingers. He snickered when she touched a spot behind his knees.

"Oh, you are in trouble." She ran her fingers along the soft skin, heard his laugh again. She laughed along with him, fingers still poking for other places. She found a spot at his inner thigh, and then found that the whole area was sensitive. She'd have to remember that for later.

Felina took his pants the rest of the way off, discarded them to a corner of the room. Her hands reached their way down his calves, trying to find anywhere else that she could tickle him. She stroked her fingers along his instep, and felt his feet twitch. She laughed. "I thought so!" Jake almost collapsed as she tickled his feet, legs almost giving out.

"Would you quit already?" Jake gasped, tried to get his air back. "I'm dying here!"

She laughed. "You gonna let me do what I want?" She prodded his feet, reached behind one of his knees and tickled there, made him laugh harder.

"I'll do whatever you want, just stop!"

She pouted and slowed her fingers, the tickles turning into caresses. Was he serious? "Are you sure?"

Jake was breathing hard. "Yeah, I am."

Her hands stroked along his thighs, heading for his shorts. "What if I wanted to do this?" She pulled them down to the middle of his thighs. His scent spiked, hit her with all the force of a train. Her tail curled. No more waiting. She reached for him, grabbed on and squeezed, but not hard enough to be painful. Jake groaned again as her fingers stroked along the sensitive, hot skin.

"That's definitely a good idea." His hips shifted.

Hell no. Her hands forced his hips against the wall. "Sit still." She licked her lips, held his hips in place with her left hand while her right wrapped around him again. Her tongue slid along, tasted him. Her cheeks reddened. Good. She'd never had the chance to get a piece of him like this before. She took a deep breath and slid her lips down, tongue helping out.

She could barely hear Jake gasp. "Damn Felina, that's good."

She moaned. His taste drove her completely crazy, messing with her senses. Her left hand slid over the ridge of his hip, rubbed along the outside of his left leg, soft skin underneath her fingers. Her right hand let him go, only to rub along his stomach and chest all over again. Anyone that called him skinny from now on was asking for an ass-kicking from her. She slid down further, halfway, before sliding back up, lips tight.

Jake hissed. "Shit!"

She felt him try to work his arms, heard him growl as he was reminded that he could not. She chuckled, bobbed her head again. Her right hand rubbed the base of his tail, the left stroking along the inside of his thigh. She hummed happily. He would make a nice blanket. She felt his legs shake as she began bobbing faster.

"You really are mean, Felina." He struggled again. "Damn, these things are tough!"

She pulled off of him, grinning. "Then don't fight. I'm the only one that can cut them off anyway." She nuzzled along his length, let his scent overwhelm her. Her tail waved back and forth and she shifted her hips. Whoa. Was that her getting all wet? She shivered. Oh yes it was. Her right hand reached down blindly, found what it was looking for. Her hips twitched. Fuck! That was great. She wrapped her lips around him again and worked her head with a renewed zeal.

Her left hand toyed with the base of his tail, made his hips jerk. Her eyes widened as he went just a bit deeper… then closed halfway. Damn, that was nice. She growled, sucked harder. Slurp, slurp… her cheeks reddened. Was she the one making that noise? Her hips quivered, she growled again. Yes, it was her. Slurp, slurp, slurp some more. She didn't care.

"Felina, you might wanna slow down. I can't take much more of this."

She shook her head, kept on sliding. She couldn't slow down even if she wanted to, much less stop. She wanted it, now. She breathed hard through her nose, kept on going. Her left hand pulled at his tail for no reason, right hand working furiously between her legs. No, she sure as hell couldn't stop now and she wouldn't.

She felt his hips shift again, didn't have the right mind to stop them. She pulled back, just a bit, taking a deep breath. If this wasn't going to do it, nothing would. She slid all the way to his hips, moaning as he filled her. Yes, yes, God yes! Her whole body seemed to tremble all at once. She pulled back halfway, and then bobbed her head to the base again.

Jake hissed. "Would you cut that out?"

Her heart rattled against her chest, straining to be let out, pulse echoing through her ears. Did he just say something? No, never mind. Keep going. Slurp, slurp. Her hips couldn't take any more of this madness from her right hand, but her body just wouldn't stop asking for it. She whimpered and mewled against him, begging for something that she couldn't name.

Jake gasped. Felina's eyes widened as something hot and thick sprayed down her throat. Everything froze in place as she became aware of what happened. He'd really gone and done it.

"Damn it." Jake growled. "Sorry about that."

Her eyes closed as the heat passed through her chest, filled her stomach. Felt so good. She started to bob her head again, working her throat around him, trying to get as much out of him as she could.

He groaned. "Don't tell me you liked that?"

She pulled off halfway, looked up at him. Oh, that blush was so cute! Her eyes half closed, pupils grew in size. Yes, she most certainly did like it. Her lips slid down along him slowly, her eyes on his face for as long as possible.

Jake shivered. "That was… it wasn't so bad."

She pulled off, licked her lips. "You can say that again. You're tasty."

He laughed, shook his head. "I mean this whole thing. I thought you were gonna go all wild on me. If this is what it's gonna be like when you drive, sign me up."

She grinned. "Who said it was over?"

Jake's eyes widened. "Oh, man. Just don't hurt me."

* * *

Felina was snuggled under the covers, a knife on the small table next to the bed along with a pair of severed flex-cuffs. Behind her, Jake was breathing steadily, eyes closed and arms around her waist. Their tails were intertwined, as if they still weren't finished with their business.

Damn. That felt so good. He still hadn't been able to reach for her when she finally started riding him. It made watching his face all the more exciting. The different expressions of shock, surprise, desire, frustration… they fueled her, drove her onward. Her legs quivered as she recalled one look on his face that she couldn't quite describe. It made her want to grind him again.

She shifted her hips backward, heard him grunt in protest. She chuckled. He was still sticky down there. Felina sighed, contentment and satisfaction mingled and mixed. Hopefully next time, she'd be able to do all that without the cuffs. Though that did give her another idea…

She shivered. Oh yeah. That was perfect. She started to dream of next time.

* * *

**Chapter 57: **_**Managing Frustration**_

Well, there you have it. I decided to go a different direction with this scene, as I had all my others. Figured I might as well try and have a bit of fun this time. On that note, I think it turned out well. Of course, the reviews will tell the tale, not me. So review.

I understand perfectly well that this is just another love scene, but bear with me. I'm trying to improve. Anyways, that's it for this one. Tune in next time when we begin to resolve a few issues with the weather and the kats.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	58. Snow Day

"I hate the cold." Chance's tail curled, gloved hands tightening into fists. "Don't you tell me I could handle it as T-Bone. I hated it then too, but I wasn't thinking at that point."

"Well I suppose you'll have to not think about it again." Callie chuckled, wrapped a scarf around his neck. The TV droned on with the quite obvious report that the weather pattern would hold stable for a few days. She shook her head, walked over to the coffee table and turned it off via remote. "No duh..."

Chance shook his head, shivered even though the lounge damn near roasted him. "I hate these freaks that do this kinda crap deliberately. Now I have to go out and fix some more stuff." Stupid Shard. Thought he owned everything. "I'm gonna go get Jake; tell him it's time to get to clearing those streets. I just hope we get some help out there." He zipped up the heavy winter coat and opened the door. A cold wind hit his face with all the force of a sledgehammer. Damn! "I _hate_ the cold!' He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Callie laughed, her expression amused. "You big cry baby. Just don't freeze your ears off out there, okay?" She walked over to the phone and lifted it from the receiver, dialing Felina's number. Five rings later, a recording answered. Callie shrugged. "Guess you guys just want a rude awakening, huh?" She began to leave a message.

"Felina, it's Callie-girl. If you still have Jake over there, a bit of a word of warning: don't be surprised if you hear someone trying to beat your door down. Chance is on his way there. Looks like the vacation is over; they have to start clearing the roads. I hope the Mayor had the decency to make this a big issue instead of just letting it snow, otherwise this is gonna be hell for the guys. I'll come over later, gotta get some fresh air anyway. See you soon. Bye."

Callie hung up and sighed. "Well, that's all I can do." Her ears perked as a smile lit up her features. "I could go for some hot chocolate right now. I'll go get some ready for when they get back."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

Chance walked up to the door to Felina's apartment and raised a fist to knock. Jake was probably still over here from the day before when he'd gone to check on her. Wouldn't be a surprise, really. He knocked twice, waited. No answer. Sleeping? He knocked again, three times. "Hey, you there, buddy? It's Chance!"

He waited again, a heavy coat similar to his tucked under his left arm. Jake better not be doing anything he shouldn't in there. Chance grinned. Jake only came here for one reason as far as he knew. Wouldn't be too far of a guess as to what was taking him so long to answer. They had a job to do, though. He tightened his right hand and pounded on the door with the underside of his fist. They'd hear him or he'd break the door down. "Come on man, we gotta go!"

The door opened after another minute. Felina was just behind it, her black tank top and cargo shorts that ended at mid-thigh showing the obvious state she was in. "Chance, hey." She smiled lazily, ran a hand through her hair to straighten it and blinked a bit to clear the sleep from her eyes. "Come on in, I'll get Jake up."

Chance chuckled. He loved being right. One more thing to tease Jake over. "You better get him ready for the cold; we got a job to do out there." He headed to the couch, took a seat and turned on the TV. "Manx is on. You gotta see this guy ham it up sometimes." Chance shook his head, leaned back against the back of the couch. "Saying something about how the city should pull together in this time of crisis." He scoffed. "What crisis? Sure it was unexpected, but it's just a little snow."

"It was more than a little, bud."

Chance looked to his right, saw Jake heading down the hallway. "Well whatever. It's not really time to panic yet." He stood, tossed the slim kat the coat that he'd brought with him. "All we gotta do is get that snow out of the way, sweep the streets, and we'll be back in business in no time. There's no reason to worry."

Jake caught it with a raised eyebrow. "Bud, we almost had total white-out. You call that _a little snow_? Seriously though, you're right about one thing; the Mayor loves to ham it up." He sat down next to Chance, ran his right hand through his short hair. "He's just getting ready for re-election, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so." Jake smirked. "It's as if he weren't even captured. Glad he can bounce back so well, but…"

Chance shrugged. "Nothin' we can do about it until someone steps up. Anyways, put something warm on. We got cleaning up to do."

"Not without me, you don't."

They turned their heads toward the hallway. Felina approached, wearing her winter gear. "Just got a call from the Captain. We're on clean-up duty as well." She shrugged. "Not like I mind. Anything to take my mind off of recent… developments." She headed for the front door, closed it behind her.

Chance turned toward Jake, an eyebrow rose in confusion. Well. That was… interesting. "You wanna explain?"

Jake shrugged. "Not really." He reached for the remote and turned the news off, stood and stretched his arms high. "Let's get a move on or Feral's gonna bust us one good."

* * *

The mayor, in a momentary show of bravado and civic duty, declared a snow emergency for the city. He called it a bit late though, as the snow already obscured several cars. Still, the citizens did what they could, and the city's snow removal fleet found themselves at work earlier than expected. Sure, the issue of cars still being out on the streets popped up now and then, but they coped beautifully.

Of course, this was mostly thanks to KatGuard, who offered their considerable resources at no cost. Hey, they couldn't do much about the situation but help, and there was no profit to be gained out of a non-military situation for a bunch of mercenaries. Besides, someone else was already being paid for it, so Captain Puma figured they might as well do it for free.

Even the Enforcers, down in manpower and lacking any quality equipment for the job, pitched in. Naturally, Commander Feral did it for the press coverage, though with the decimation of the Kat's Eye News building, it was rare. Inside MegaKat City covered most of it, but since they were second-rate, Feral didn't seem too happy. Still, he preened for the cameras when he could, and made a good showing for his troops.

He had to. The Enforcers were quickly losing credibility.

Feral growled at the thought, dismissed it outright. They'd have their glory back sooner or later, just as long as they kept to the path. He turned away from the huge window that overlooked the city to face Captain Lynx. "I want you to be honest with me on this. Can this be fixed quickly? I don't want to have to do any more fighting in the snow."

Benjamin sported a grimace on his features almost as soon as the question was asked. "I can't lie to you, Sir. It's nowhere near good. Even with all the manpower out on the streets now, it's going to take the next three days to get all this powder off the roads, and that's me being optimistic. Combine that with the damage done to the buildings and the time it'll take to restore power to several parts of the city…"

"Enough." Feral rubbed his temples. Be honest, huh? That'd be the last time he asked anyone to do that. A quick hop off the roof would be better than all this. He turned toward the window again. "Like I need to be reminded of how badly we screwed up. If we'd gotten that info about Shard sooner, things wouldn't be like this now."

"There's a good side to this Sir." Benny smiled, clasped his hands behind his back. "The men can get some time off to see their kittens. Most of the other kats sweeping the city will handle most of the work for us, so there's no real need to do anything."

Feral growled again. This wasn't going his way. "That's not the point, Captain. We need to make a showing, or else we'll be called lazy; ineffectual. Do you know what that will do to our reputation?"

Benny sighed, walked toward the window until he was next to the Commander. "It won't do anything that hasn't already been done. We started out in bad straits, Sir. Sometimes you have to fall all the way down before you can bounce off the bottom, and we ain't done falling yet."

Feral glared at the Captain, who just stared out into the white expanse. He sighed. Damn him, but he had a point. What they were doing meant nothing, since there were others that could do it better and faster. "Remind me never to get into an argument with you. You're too damn logical, Lynx."

The Captain nodded. "It's what you pay me for. I ain't here to curry favors, Commander. I just call it like I see it."

Feral smiled with a bit of a sad cast to his eyes. "I have half a mind to bark at you for doing that, but thanks anyway. Could you tell everyone to assemble in the lobby? I might as well tell them myself they have duty leave for the next two days, at least." KatGuard could probably handle security detail until that was over. Hell, it'd give him some time to really consider his options.

Benny turned to him, snapped a salute. "Yes Sir." With that, he exited the office via the wooden double doors.

Feral stared out at the snow-covered city and suddenly wanted to scream. Everything had gone so wrong… the only ones who could stop them were the SWAT Kats and those mercenaries. God only knows how they managed to take him down. The Enforcers were at Shard's mercy. He'd planned every move that he'd made, up to the last second.

Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if even the Mayor did something about this now. Feral scoffed. Yeah, right. Since when had Manx done anything good for the city that wasn't out of his own profit? His jaw clenched as he thought of how much he hated that goddamn bureaucrat and his red tape. If there were a new mayor, his hands would be untied in short order. But that wasn't in his hands.

The radio at his right hip buzzed and he plucked it from its holster. Feral nodded as Benny's voice informed him that everything was ready. "Good work. I'll be down shortly." He cut the radio and made his way toward the doors. Maybe this would be the first successful thing that he'd done all week…

* * *

A group of jet-black Hummers with snow plows attached to them rolled through the streets of downtown MegaKat City, salt spreaders behind each of them. Their drivers wore black as well, all winter-weather gear. Usually, they carried their weapons with them in these vehicles, but today they skipped them.

After that big bust and the defeat of Shard, who needed 'em? Any time a major shakeup in the food chain happened, the wolves tended to go back to their dens for a while. Besides, they were ill-prepared for the cold. One of the drivers however, wished that they'd at least try and make a decent effort.

"This is grunt work."

The she-kat in the passenger's side rolled her eyes and shook her head. "So why are you doing it? I mean, you could have just opted out. It's not like we're getting paid to do this at all. The Captain kinda just volunteered us, but he did say that anyone who didn't want to do it could-"

The tom growled. "I _know_, damn it. It's just boring as hell, that's all. You'd think that they'd at least have us bring a gun or something with us, but that wasn't in the game plan." He sighed. This was crap. It felt like doing community service or parole time, two things he never, ever wanted to do again. He figured there'd be more excitement in this line of work, more glamour.

He looked to his passenger, raised an eyebrow. "Why exactly did you come with me, anyway?"

The she-kat shrugged, her gaze directed out the window. "Guess I wanted to do something good for the city. I mean, think about it. They pay us to keep them safe. The least we could do is clear the roads for free, right?"

The driver rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, aren't you just the good lil' Girl Scout. Meanwhile, my training's going to waste here." He gestured toward the snow-covered roads and buildings. "Isn't someone else supposed to handle this crap?"

The she-kat nodded. "Yeah, the city does have a de-icing fleet. We're just here to speed things along." She shrugged again, yawned. "It's best not to complain about it and help out. Besides, I'd rather be out doing this than back at base or at home. It'd be boring."

The tom smirked. "Why the yawn, then? Isn't important work supposed to be fun?"

A slow smile spread along the she-kat's face. "Because hearing you complain is making me sleepy, Reggie Bengal."

He scoffed, turned away from her. "Yeah, well your sappy little charity attitude is annoying me. I swear Frida, if you weren't my partner, I'd…" The beep of the radio, mounted on the dashboard, cut off his sentence. A voice buzzed over the communications line. "This is Control to all Snow Patrols, report status, over."

Reggie plucked the radio from its holder and pressed in the talk button. "This is Patrol Six, east side, reporting in." He looked out the window; saw the other Hummers at work. "It's looking good so far. We're making good time."

"Copy that, Six. You still bored over there, Bengal? You could always come back at any time. There're others who would do this for ya."

Benny paused for a moment. He could go home right now if he wanted. Just leave this god-forsaken charity job behind and wait for the next sortie. He looked over at Frida and saw her curious expression. She'd probably have to go with whatever he decided. Probably call him an insensitive prick for not doing the right thing.

He sighed. "Nah, we're out here for the long run. 'Sides, I don't wanna let my guys down." Yeah, that was a good enough reason. "You got anything else you wanna ask me, Control, or can I get back to clearing the streets?"

The voice chuckled. "Negative, Six. Resume your duties. Control out."

Frida grinned and poked his right shoulder. "Changed your mind already?"

Benny grunted, kept his eyes on the road. "I just didn't want you to chew my ear off. Don't mistake it for anything else, okay?" Seriously, did she really think he got a kick out of doing this?

She chuckled and poked him again. "Well it doesn't matter. It's the right thing to do, and I appreciate you staying here. Besides, if you up and turned back, I'd be lonely the rest of the day. You're the only kat that really knows me, you know?"

His face reddened even as he tried to look irritated. "Hey, none of that, okay? Let's get this over with."

Frida's eyes widened. "Oh my God, are you blushing?" The grin magically re-appeared. "You are, aren't you?"

Now the irritated face didn't have to be made up. Damn, she was annoying! "Would you cut it out? Damn, I'm trying to work here!" Seriously, she was being a pain in the ass. If they were on a mission, she wouldn't act like this, would she? That thought only made his mood worse. Shit, this was not gonna be a good day.

She giggled and faced forward. "Okay, I'll leave you alone… for now."

He sighed and shook his head. "You do that." This'd be a long, tiring day…

* * *

Felina drove past Enforcer headquarters on her route, a few vehicles from her team in tow. She found the wide avenue before it clear of cars, which surprised her in some fashion. Where the hell was everyone? How'd they get their cars out of the snow?

She looked out of her window and noticed several separate piles of snow around the vacant spaces where the cars once stood, and tire tracks leading in all directions. Well, damn. They dug themselves out and drove away. Probably back home, no doubt.

She looked toward the building itself and found it completely silent, lifeless. No lights, patrol cars still parked… She raised an eyebrow. Even the doors were locked and chained up. Uncle had closed the place? Why?

The gears in her mind whirled at their usual fast pace. Someone must've talked him into it. He wasn't usually one to lock it up completely, not for anything. He was stubborn that way, wouldn't move unless it were the end of the world. But who could possibly…

Something clicked. "…Benny, was it you?" She smiled and drove on. At least Uncle had done the smart thing instead of balking like he usually did. It was always nice to have a break once in a while, especially when you couldn't do anything about the situation. She'd have to thank Benny later for this. That guy could talk the devil out of Hell and be convincing about it.

She heard a buzz on her radio. Control calling for a status report. She plucked it from the holster and pressed the receive button. "This is Snow Patrol One, status green. We're good to go on our sector, Control."

"Copy that, One. You are to rendezvous with Patrol Three and help them clear Central Downtown. Municipal snow trucks are clearing the northern sections of the city, so let 'em work, over."

Felina nodded. "Wilco. We're en route. Patrol One out." She switched frequencies to her team's channel. "Let's get a move on, kats! We're done here. Central Downtown needs some help, so we're on call. Roll out!"

Within five minutes, the other snow plows and spreaders in her team regrouped on her position. They lifted their plows and headed for their next zone. She wished she were home where it was warm. Sure, she'd taken the call without hesitation, because there'd be nothing else to do. But it amounted to just driving around, clearing the snow from the roads, so it'd be repetitive, boring. It figures. But she wouldn't shirk her responsibility. Besides, it's an important job, and the city needed all the help it could get.

She yawned, scratched the back of her head. Well, maybe a little rest was in order after all. With any luck, she'd be able to get home before the afternoon was over.

* * *

Callie walked out of the workout room, the sheen of sweat on her forehead gleaming against the lights of the lounge. She wiped it off with the white terrycloth towel slung around her shoulders and flopped onto the couch. The stuff Chance bought for her before this whole snow thing started sure came in handy when she was bored. She looked at the black leather bag gloves on her hands, turned them over to inspect the finger loops. A real shame she'd just beat the crap out of these things before the year was out. They were nice.

She unstrapped the gloves and tossed them to her right, where they bounced against the cushions. A hand reached for the remote on the coffee table, but her fingers stopped inches from it. What the hell was on at this hour anyways? Probably some dumb soap opera, or maybe more pointless news about the weather. She retrieved her hand and leaned back on the couch. Not worth it. Besides, she'd have more fun once the guys got back.

The sound of the door made her ears perk; the wintery air cooled her sweat-soaked skin and clothing. What were the odds of that? "Welcome back, guys. Did you have fun playing in the snow?"

Chance took off his snow gloves, tossed them toward a far corner of the room. "It's miserable out there. Roads are iced up bad. We're probably gonna have to go out again tomorrow and cover a few more city blocks with salt just to melt the stuff." He looked toward Callie, one brow raised. "Wow… you look great."

Callie chuckled and rose from the couch. "Is that so? Well now I know why you bought me all this stuff." She shifted her weight to her right foot, placed a hand on the hip that jutted out. Yeah, go ahead and get a good eyeful. "Or is it because I'm all hot and sweaty that you're saying that?"

Chance gave her a kiss on her left cheek as he passed by. "Oh, I noticed that part already. I could use a few rounds myself after being out in the powder all day, but right now I need a nap. Just driving around like that drains the hell outta ya."

She sat back down, took a look around. "Hey, where's Jake? Didn't he come back with you?"

Chance looked out of the kitchen, a mug of hot chocolate in his right hand. "He did… must be down in the base or something, I dunno." He walked toward the couch and sat down next to her. "Thanks for the hot chocolate, by the way. I didn't think I'd be drinking any so early in the year."

Callie shrugged. "I don't think anyone expected any of this. Guess it's just a price that comes with living here. But it's nice not to have to deal with it all the time. No one's gonna want to move through this stuff any time soon. The snow, I mean."

Chance smirked, wrapping an arm around Callie's shoulders and pulling her close. "Yeah, but wait until it clears. It won't be long until it does, either; few days, a week at most. We're gonna have to get ready for 'em during the time-out."

Callie nuzzled against Chance's neck. Was that all he worried about all the time? "Well, not right now." She pulled Chance's scent in through her nose; let it rest inside her for a while before she let out a content sigh. "Right now I just want to not be a SWAT Kat, and I don't want you to be one either. Let's just be two kats enjoying each other's company, okay?"

Chance looked down at her with a smile. "Hey, I can do that for ya."

She looked up at him, her green eyes pleading. "Can you really? Could you just hold me and not talk about what might happen?" She hoped he could. There were enough problems already without anything else looming over their heads.

Chance sighed and ran a hand through Callie's hair. "Why are you asking me this stuff? It's not like it's hard to do. I'm only a SWAT Kat half the time."

She shrugged. "Maybe so… but sometimes I wonder. You're always looking for the next fight these days, right? I can't help but ask myself if the next fight for any of us will be the last one. So just this once, I'd like to not talk about what's up next or how we're gonna deal with it." Callie snuggled closer to him. "Maybe that's just me, though."

Chance kissed her forehead, squeezed her right shoulder. "Then we won't talk about it at all for a few days. I promise."

Well if there was one thing Chance didn't do, it was make promises that he couldn't keep. She nodded and damn near curled up on his lap. He was nice and warm, and she absolutely loved his smell. Maybe she'd put on that jacket of his later. "Okay with me. But if you say one word about it, you're gonna get it, big time."

Chance chuckled and ran a hand along Callie's back. "No serious business for a few days, gotcha."

Callie's breathing gradually slowed until she barely moved. Five minutes later, she slept soundly while clinging to Chance, oblivious to Jake's entrance. He looked toward the two of them and decided it best not to talk much. "I'll be in the base if you need me, bud."

Chance nodded. "Where's Felina?"

"She's back at her place." Jake walked out toward the garage. "You two don't cause too much trouble, now."

Chance rolled his eyes as the door closed. "Yeah, sure… like I'd do that while she's like this." He looked down at her again. "Sleep well, Callie."

* * *

**Chapter 58: **_**Snow Day**_

Okay, done. Let me spit this out right quick and get to the next one.

In reply to **Redrall**'s message to me, where did you think I was, out in the middle of nowhere? No, I ain't goin' nowhere, bud. Not until this one's over, and it's far from done. You just sit right there in your seat and get ready to grab hold. This statement applies to the rest of ya as well, because there's only one filler left before the next arc.

Watch my profile page for details on the next chapter, as well as any other interesting and/or random ideas that formulate in my head. See you next time, fans.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	59. Such a winter's Day

If there were one place that was secure against the snow, it was MegaKat Maximum Security Prison. Located on Alkatraz Island, and recently renovated and fitted with added security measures, it was a virtual stronghold. One major defensive measure that made escape impossible, especially in these arctic conditions, was the vast expanse of water known as MegaKat Bay. Shark-infested and cold in the best of times, only three types of kats dared cross it: the foolhardy, the insane, and the suicidal.

Inside the facility, it was warm and toasty, almost balmy compared to the frigid temperatures outside. Still, the stalwart guards in winter gear patrolled the walls and manned the towers, keeping watch for any intruders… or prisoners making attempts to escape. Not like it'd happen, but they still kept an eye out. It was their job after all.

One cell in particular housed a seemingly average she-kat. Of course, if beauty such as hers were average, the world would admittedly be a better place. Light brown hair cascaded just past her shoulders, tufts of cream colored hair hung near her ears. Even in prison, she'd kept it immaculately neat, and it'd never lost its sheen.

Her figure seemed to make anything look good, even prison blues. All six feet of her demanded attention, from head to tail to toes. She turned heads as she walked down the corridors every day for lunch hour, and that was fine with her. Let them see what they could not have. But if someone touched her, it ended up worse for the offender and whatever limb he used to cop a feel. She'd been sent to solitary confinement twice for these incidences, but before the second time she'd been released from that hole in the wall, word spread quite effectively.

Of course, this went both ways. Men feared her very approach, but the women wasted no time in rallying around her as a bastion of safety. Her tall stature and quiet dignity, even while imprisoned, made her an almost heroic figure. Yet she did nothing to encourage them or embolden them. She appreciated the support they gave, but preferred her solitude all the same.

The guards would not explain why inmates were no longer allowed to venture outside until further notice, but she cared not. Besides, she received explanation enough when, on this particular day, she touched a hand to the barred window. The chill on her fingertips surprised her, but only for a moment. Snow, was it?

Thoughts came unbidden as the cold seeped into her skin. How long? How many months had she been in this concrete and steel cage? How long until she got out? She sighed and caressed the glass with her fingers. For the first time in ages, her chest tightened with a bittersweet loneliness. Her composed features seemed tinged with melancholy.

She pulled away from the window, flopped onto the bed, and closed her eyes. The cold reminded her all over again about home, and the walls around her denied her passage. Turmoil would never see the snowy peaks of her country again. Of course she could have blamed the SWAT Kats; they were the ones that had captured her. But then again, she was no fool. She'd lost the advantage, lost her jets, and eventually lost the skies.

If anyone was to blame, she preferred it to be herself.

And so she lay in her cell, and slept… and dreamed of home.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

**_SWAT Kats: Endgame_**

**_

* * *

_**

The soft snow creaked against Callie's boots as she walked through the streets of downtown, silver hair gleaming in the late afternoon sun. Her head swiveled this way and that, idly observing the window displays. It'd been a long time since she'd been out on the town like this, and she was going to enjoy every second.

Cars rushed back and forth along the frost-lined streets, signs of a fresh coat of powder on their hoods and roofs. She sighed and looked down at the sidewalk. This shouldn't be happening in summer. Seriously.

Callie looked up just in time to almost run into a queen carrying a bundle of bags in her arms. She stopped herself; put an open hand in front of her. The she-kat halted when the hand gently met her right shoulder. "Whoa, be careful there. You wouldn't want to have everything fall over."

The queen chuckled, her fatigue evident on her face. "Tell me about it. I swear people are doing all their Christmas shopping when it isn't even supposed to be winter, you know what I mean?"

Callie nodded, looked toward the bags. "So are those gifts for…?"

"…My kittens? Nah, it's all food. At least I know when Christmas is supposed to be. Besides, they're a bunch of naughty runts lately." She sighed. "I swear they give me a headache sometimes." The queen smiled then. "But other times they can be the cutest little things you ever did see."

Callie shrugged, hands in the pockets of her long white leather coat. "Well I wouldn't know; I don't have any. I can't offer any advice, either. The least I can do is helping you with your bags, if you don't mind."

The queen raised an eyebrow. "You'd do that for a stranger?"

"Well yeah. There's no reason not to. And besides, those look heavy." Callie reached her arms out and took one of the bags. "So is your car close by?"

During their walk, they spoke of her kittens; how many she had, how old each one was, how many boys or girls. They talked about what she did to support them and what she had to sacrifice. Callie of course collected all this information as if it were the last thing she would ever do. By the time they got to her car, she knew enough about her new acquaintance to write a short story. Or at the very least, a few notes.

For the rest of the day, Callie did more of the same; she talked to the kats in the city, got their opinions, their stories. Spoke about the odd weather, work, money, or just something random. Her tactics, for the most part, got people to open up. Sure, they'd be surprised when she finally came out of the dark and told them who she really was, but that wasn't who she was right now.

She remembered every word she heard, or at least tried to. It'd sure as hell help later when she finally made her move. She didn't necessarily feel comfortable doing something so underhanded, but it had to be done. The city desperately needed a new mayor, and if no one else would fill the position, she'd have to, and soon.

So she talked, and listened, and wrote things down when she had to. Because each story she heard was ammunition. That wasn't a good word for it, but it was the only word suitable for what she planned; an attack on a political scale. It'd last a good while and affect the entire city, but she saw no other way. She promised herself that it'd be done without any mudslinging, but she wouldn't put it past that damn Manx to do so himself.

Her cell phone chirped around mid-day. Chance. Probably wanted to know how she was doing. She smiled and answered the call. "Hello, sexy thing. Yeah, I'm fine… just taking a walk downtown. How's the street clearing going?" She chuckled at his response. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Just hang in there, okay? I'm sure no one's gonna have you out in the cold for long… well, unless they like seeing you freeze. Then we have a problem."

She suggested bringing something to eat back and hung up two minutes later. Hell, it was the least she could do after what he was being put through. She continued to walk along the snow-covered streets, wrote down stories in her note pad for later use. By the time she headed back to the garage, she had enough of them to summarize in a speech. Might as well start writing one down now; it'd be one of the first things she'd be doing once the time came to come forward anyway.

The jeep ride back gave her time to consider her next move. There would be a lot of changes made once this whole thing got started, and she'd have to respond to any snags in the plan swiftly. Then again, that was assuming she won. Manx was an expert at garnering voter support, if nothing else. She'd have to pull out all the stops if she wanted to one-up him in that regard, but how? Her eyebrows furrowed as the gears in her head turned. She'd have to have some kind of charisma if she wanted to execute her coup, but that wasn't something you could just pull out of a hat.

She sighed and closed her eyes; laid her head back onto the seat. Better to work behind the scenes than remain in the lime light. A whole lot of stress went into the job of running a city, including creating and upholding an image. Callie already felt the weight of the prospect on her shoulders, and she wasn't even running yet.

But the prospect still loomed before her. Manx had to go. Someone had to do it. And if no one else would, she had to, because she was the most qualified. Or at least, that's what she'd been told. She didn't count being the equivalent of a personal secretary as a desirable trait for a candidate, though.

The cab pulled up to the garage after twenty minutes and she paid the fare, with a tip for the cabbie not asking any questions. Callie made her way inside the lounge and closed the door behind her, bags of hot food in her hands. "I'm back, guys."

Chance looked up from the couch, dressed in a gray tank top and a pair of heavy winter pants. "All right, food's here!" He stood and headed for the bags, then stopped. "Hey… you look kinda tired. Is everything okay?"

No. She wanted to collapse in his arms, bask in his warmth and forget that when she was done wearing the flight suit, she'd have to do something scarier than leaping from tall buildings and sneaking behind enemy lines. She smiled. "I'm fine. It's just been a long, cold day. Eating something's gonna help a lot, though." She gave him a bag and headed for the kitchen to unpack the one that remained with her.

"You sure? I mean, if there's anything I can do…"

Callie shook her head and pulled out the boxes of food. "I'll be okay." Yeah, right after heading for her room and closing her eyes for a bit. Then she'd be okay. She opened up the box of lasagna, took in the aroma. Well, that helped just a bit. "I didn't see Jake when I came in. Where's he at?"

Chance walked toward the kitchen. "He's asleep, down in the base. I'll bring him some of the grub." He placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezed. "You're not okay, are you?"

It wasn't a question. Damn, he was persistent. She sighed and turned to face him. "You want me to be honest? I was out there talking to people about their lives, just little stories here and there. Hearing all that made me realize just how bad things were, and…" She finally gave in to the need to be held and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I don't think I can do this. Run for Mayor, I mean. Someone's gotta do it, I know, but… why me?"

Chance blinked for a moment. "You're not considering backing out, are you?"

Callie shook her head. "I don't know. I mean, I know that something needs to be done, but I don't necessarily know what. Not to mention he's got the capacity to get people behind him. What do I have?"

Chance smiled. "You got everything else."

She sighed, looked up at him. "That's not enough. I need to be something more than just a problem solver. I'm sure most think of me as the Mayor's personal secretary and stuff like that. I wrote things for him, handled situations that he was too scared to take care of."

Chance laughed and ruffled her hair. "And that meant just about everything. Besides, he doesn't have a direction for the city. You do, right?"

Callie nodded. "I do. But can I get other people to believe in it? I mean, I can't necessarily make speeches or anything like that. I mean yeah, I write them for the Mayor and all that, but writing and speaking are two different things."

"So? You can speak pretty well. Didn't you talk down Feral on a daily basis almost?"

She chuckled. "That's different. I was angry then. I can't get angry at the people I'm trying to inspire." She wished someone would give some kind of manual on how to run for office. That way she'd be able to do this without being afraid of the whole thing. "You don't happen to have any suggestions, do you?"

Chance shrugged, ran a hand through her hair. "It's nothing you probably haven't heard before. I'll say it anyway, though. Just be yourself. I dunno if that'll help, but you'll feel a lot better about it. Then again, I haven't had to make a speech, so I wouldn't know if that works."

She nodded. She'd heard it before, all right… but maybe that was for the best. "I'll try." She pulled away from him and reached for her pasta. "Let's go ahead and get the eating over with; I need a nap."

* * *

"Hey. Hey! Wake up, you!"

Turmoil attempted to pull herself out of the mire of unconsciousness that she buried herself into hours ago, flecks of her dreams still clinging to her eyelids. "What is so important that you would wake me up?"

"You got a phone call. Lady says it's important that she talk to you." The guard scoffed. "You want my opinion? If she knows you in any way, she should stay away from you. That, or be in here with ya. Now get up and get going. You only have five minutes once you start talking."

She rolled her eyes. Too bad she couldn't break the pretentious asshole's arm. That'd keep her here for even longer. She stood from the bed, didn't take the time to stretch out. Might as well get this over with. Besides, the walk there would stretch her out well enough. The question came to her on their way to the phones; who would even think to call her? Those that knew of her in this city hated her. Not like she cared. The rest… well, they were more than likely dead or captured; taken to a different facility.

They found the phone room empty, save for a few guards here and there. No calls had come for her, so she had found no reason to make any sort of trip here until now. But where was the one who was supposed to call her? Surely they would have them at least wait in the same room for her.

She sat down in one of the booths and folded her arms in front of her. This had better be worth her time, or else she would break something, regardless of how long it extended her stay in this cozy little hovel of a jail. Of course, she waited all of two minutes before she noticed a door opening on the far right side of the room. The she-kat that walked through the door made her eyes widen in shock. Even without the cap and uniform, the auburn hair and slim build made her unmistakable. Sure that dark brown trench coat did not suit her, and the black slacks and white shirt underneath were not exactly what she had envisioned, but it was her all the same.

"…You're alive."

The she-kat that used to be her lieutenant smiled sadly as she picked up the receiver on her end of the bullet proof glass. "Sure, if you count this as being alive. Had to make my way back home through a bunch of security measures. And when I did…"

Turmoil's joy at having her good friend alive turned to concern. "I have been in here for too long. Never even thought I would hear of home again, and now that I get the news, I almost do not want to hear it." She sighed, trepidation flooding her. Take the news like a soldier. "Tell me the worst of it first."

The lieutenant's smile faded into a forlorn, clouded expression. "There's been a coup."

Turmoil's mouth tightened into a hard line. Shit. That hawkish faction finally got a solid leader, then. So there was no way of going back home now, was there? She chuckled without any trace of amusement. "That leaves me in an ironic position. I've been trying to get out of here all this time and find that I am safer in a cage." She rubbed her forehead with her right hand. "Who is the leader? Were you able to find out?"

The Lieutenant shook her head. "I couldn't move around very well, either. Everyone knows who we are. After all, we're high-ranking officers. We're lucky enough to have actually escaped the takeover."

Turmoil looked behind her right shoulder; saw the guards still watching the exits. They probably forgot she was even in here. She was fortunate that they had decided to speak quietly. The guards might still decide to overhear them at any time though, and she only had five minutes. She turned back toward her lieutenant. "I trust there is more?"

She shook her head. "I would rather not tell you the rest of it. You've already had a hard time in here, I'll assume. I'm not going to make it worse by mentioning anything else."

Turmoil grimaced. No, she would not let her leave just yet. Her voice rose just slightly to get her lieutenant's attention. "No, finish it! If there is more, I want to hear it all. Is something going to happen?"

The lieutenant's expression hardened. Oh yes, that did the trick nicely.

"I heard word that they were planning an attack on our last known coordinates. Of course, since they can't figure that out, they will probably just attempt to level this entire city looking for us. Like I said, I don't know who their leader is, but… I don't think he would care too much about that."

Turmoil deflated. Each word added a stone to the pit of her stomach, and she suddenly felt drained; too tired for words. If they found her, she was dead. If they found her lieutenant first, they would use her to find this prison, then kill them both, along with everyone else inside. This city might as well duck and cover now, before they got here. There would be no warning. No escape.

"Hey lady, five minutes is over!"

Turmoil ground her teeth. She'd heard enough anyway. "Get out of here, lieutenant. Get as far away as you can and dig the deepest hole you can manage. I care nothing for this city so long as you are safe, my friend." Without another word, she hung up and trudged back toward the guard in resignation. Well at the very least, she would go out with some measure of grace.

Turmoil smirked to herself. They would receive more broken bones, gashed faces, and missing tails than they wanted to before they finally killed her. Her only hope was that the lieutenant would still be alive after to fight back. Well either that, or to live a good long life.

* * *

The auburn-haired queen stared at the imposing building as it faded farther and farther away. The prison would probably be reduced to rubble the next time she saw it. She gritted her teeth and turned her gaze toward the ever approaching downtown skyline. She'd be damned if that ever happened. Only one thing to do now and she did not like it at all.

But she was not giving up. They'd both be alive when this was over to go back home and set things straight. She'd just have to swallow her pride and do what needed to be done. She just hoped he'd listen instead of throwing her in the same cage as her leader… or worse, shooting her on sight. After all, he wasn't exactly keen on standard methods of serving justice.

She shook her head, ran her fingers through her hair. Enough worries. She'd cross that bridge when she got to it. For the moment, all she could do was hope they didn't come too early. Otherwise the whole thing would be blown wide open, and MegaKat City would be a stain on the ground.

* * *

**Chapter 59: **_**Such a winter's Day**_

Okay then, I know this one took a long time, but I have been mega-busy. I mean you guys have no idea. Anyways, here is the finished product of my labors over the past month. I have to say, it was difficult trying to get inside Turmoil's head. The writers weren't too keen on developing her character. Then again, the show got cancelled before that could happen, so yeah… I had to make something up.

Thanks for sticking around as long as you guys have. I mean, this wouldn't be here without you! And next time, you will see something incredibly awesome. I promise. Try not to go anywhere, okay?

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	60. Aces High Part 1

"_Fear? You bet your life. But it's always on the way up. Then you get to thinking about a lot of things, but that all leaves you as you reach combat. Then there's a sense of great excitement, a thrill you can't duplicate anywhere."_

-Robert B. Westbrook

Commander Feral reclined in the plush leather chair in his high-rise office with an almost content smile. He thanked the sweltering August sunshine for melting away the unnatural ice and snow that plagued the city for almost a week. Because of that, his kats were back to work. On top of that, KatGuard was on call to supplement his Enforcers whenever an emergency came up. They were expensive as all hell, but better than relying on the SWAT Kats.

He cringed at the thought of the vigilantes. If they never showed up again, it would be too soon. They tarnished his reputation further every time they stopped something before he could. On top of that, they caused the city millions in repairs every time they tried to help. He growled slightly as he considered all the losses he had incurred and all the buildings that had been utterly demolished. The Kat's Eye News station would never be the same… Damn them all.

His phone kindly chose that time to interrupt his silent rant by ringing in its usual fashion. He sighed and lifted the receiver. Back to work then. "Feral."

"Sir, we got a situation down here. Some she-kat saying there's gonna be an attack on the city. Hasn't told us when, and she wants to speak to you directly."

He sighed. Great, one of those. Wasn't the first time someone had reports of an incoming attack. She'd probably be absolutely wrong. He couldn't ignore it though. It would most certainly not look good, since he was under the damn microscope these days. "Tell her I'll be right down."

"That's the thing, sir… she's on her way-"

The doors burst open, shoved aside by a queen wearing a dark brown trench coat over a white silk shirt and black slacks. She stormed in, glowering from beneath her eyebrows, her cast iron face a grim mask of determination. "You are going to listen to me, now. Without the red tape."

The Commander put the phone down and stood, hands folded behind his back. Wonderful. She was damned crazy, too. "And what makes you think I will listen? Matter of fact, why shouldn't I just throw you out of my office right now and have you put in lockup for breaching security?" Hell, for all he knew, she probably killed a kat and stole an ID from him.

She slammed her hands on his desk, eyes boring holes through his skull. "Because there is going to be an attack, and I thought you might want to know in advance the responsible party before it's too late."

Feral stared at her for a few moments. She certainly had guts, to be sure. And if she went to the Mayor about it, it would be a waste. He would find the nearest bomb shelter to crawl under until it was over. The only one competent enough in the Mayor's office was Calico Briggs, and she was…

He sighed. It just couldn't be ignored. "You have five minutes... starting now."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats _Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

She didn't once mention who she was. Or rather, who she used to work for. She did, however, mention her name, her former rank, and even where she was from. Hey, she had to get him to trust her, right? Of course, mentioning that also prompted a short explanation about the situation all the way across the sea. The Lieutenant knew perfectly well that she did not have much time. Hell, she didn't even have time to _explain_. Five minutes spent talking was five minutes lost.

The good news of course was that Feral actually seemed to be listening to her. She'd heard that he had a reputation for doing things his way. That led to the bad news; he might not believe her until it happened, and that would be too late. She didn't ask, though. No need to. Feral stood and looked out the window, silent for several moments. That was sign enough, at least she hoped so.

"I am going to assume that this will happen at any moment… correct?"

The small trace of hope in her features faded. That… did not sound good. "Yes… I didn't exactly overhear when exactly they were going to strike, or with how large a force. Why?" Her features turned down in a frown. "Don't tell me I told you all that for nothing."

Feral shook his head. "That's not it. The problem is that it will take a considerable amount of resources to beat back the force you described. These aren't common criminals we're facing; this is a well-trained, well-funded army. I don't necessarily like admitting it, but we don't exactly have the ideal situation these days."

She grimaced. Damn. This day was just getting better by the minute. "So does that mean you won't help?"

Feral turned his head to look over his right shoulder. "I didn't say that. Just said it'd be harder than usual. I'll put my forces on tactical duty and have all air patrols on alert. We just got some new jets to replace our old F-16s." He smirked, his posture brimming with confidence. "And if those can't do the job we always have other options."

Other options, huh? It sounded like this tom had something in mind already. Given the track record of the Enforcers though, she didn't think it would work. The first time that she and Turmoil arrived here, they had checked up on their history. It wasn't too bright then, and it probably wasn't all that much brighter now.

She turned and headed toward the office doors. "Then I guess I'm done here. I've told you what's going to happen. Up to you what to do with this information. Don't try contacting me; I'll probably be somewhere else by the time they get here. Good luck, Commander."

It wouldn't work. Whatever ace they had up their sleeve would have to be played early, and even then it would have to be quite effective. She still had to talk to them, and she still didn't like it. But what else was she to do? Much as she hated to admit it, the SWAT Kats were her best hope. She just hoped they took the time to listen instead of just telling the authorities the full story about her. If they did that, this whole city would be in ashes.

* * *

"Aw, shit."

Jake rolled out from underneath the car that had just been driven in for a tune-up. "What is it now?"

Chance sighed. This was just their day, wasn't it? "Spark plugs are old as hell on this thing. Any longer and they'll give out." He scratched the back of his head. "How many damn problems does there have to be with this engine?"

The slim tom chuckled and rolled back underneath the car. "Yeah, I know. Some kats just don't like to get rid of their old clunkers. Always carry some sentimental value or something."

Chance shrugged. That wasn't the problem. "Don't get me wrong, this is a nice looking car. Needs a fresh coat of paint, new upholstery, but it's nice. I just don't get why they can't maintain these things properly." He reached for the rag in his back pocket and wiped it across his forehead. "Now me, I'd give this thing a new engine, hook those new spark plugs that just came out into it, give it a new intake…"

"…Yeah, but that's not what we're here to do. They want it as it is, though I can't disagree with you on the upgrades." Jake pointed to a box of spark plugs just on the workbench nearby, without even looking. "If the plugs are the problem though, just use those over there. Might not be the newest, but they're recent enough. Besides, we're trying to make sure _this_ engine works, not give it a whole new one."

Chance sighed again and removed a spark plug, glared at it. Damn thing was worn. Probably all of them were. "I wish I had my own car to work on instead of these junkers." Crap. Not a good word. "I mean, not all of them are junk, but they're not mine." He tossed the plug into the scrap bin and reached for a new one.

Jake rolled out from under the car again. "Someday bud, someday. Let's just do what we gotta do for now."

Chance looked over his right shoulder, toward the lounge door. Damn it, they were missing the game. Almost time for the playoffs, too. He couldn't wait to get away from this thing so they could go back to that. He'd have to ask Felina what the score was later.

His ears perked just a bit as the door opened. The sounds of the game rang in his ears as Callie walked through and closed it behind her. "How's work going, guys?"

He smiled with a sad cast to his face. "I wish it weren't going at all. Engines are nice, but the game is nicer." He thumbed behind him at the car. "This old thing was on its last legs when it came in. We're busy trying to save it."

Callie grimaced. "Sorry to hear that." She peered over at the car. "How bad is it?"

"_Really_ bad," Jake called out from underneath. "Spark plugs, brake pads, oil filter… most of 'em needed to be replaced probably two weeks ago. I'm surprised it's still running!"

Chance chuckled, rubbed the back of his head. "This is gonna take all day. And I wanted to watch this game so bad, too…" He shrugged. "Anyways, I bet you didn't just come back here to check on us. Unless you did, which is nice."

Callie smirked. "We've got it recording now… don't sweat it. You can watch it later. If I were you, I'd concentrate on the ride instead of what down it is. And no, I didn't come here just to see you guys." She folded her arms in front of her. "Felina called earlier. Said something's up at KatGuard. They're on alert status for some reason; she's over there now to ask about it."

Chance raised an eyebrow. Well that's new. "We're not even under attack. Aren't they supposed to be on standby or something, looking out for robberies and stuff like that?"

"No idea. All I know is what she told me." Her head lowered for a moment. "Sure sounds to me like they're getting ready for one, though. Maybe someone gave a tip?"

Chance's expression turned sour. "No one's _that_ lucky, getting a tip about an attack on the city. Around here, they happen without any warning at all." Even if, somehow, someone knew about an attack beforehand, there were only a handful of people capable of stopping it, the four of them included.

Callie shrugged and turned toward the door again. "Well I relayed the message. Up to you guys what you wanna do with it. If we're headed out, let me know. I'll be watching the game… without you guys." She chuckled as the door closed behind her.

Chance sighed as he turned back toward the car. Such a damn tease all the time. "Well come on, Jake. Let's get this done already."

Jake slid out from underneath the car, stood and wiped his hands on his coveralls. "Actually, I'd like to take a look at this alert status. See what's up."

Chance frowned. What, was everyone getting spooked now? "It's not something to worry about, bud. If something happens, we'll pick up the pieces and finish the job, like we always do. I don't wanna get all up in something that might not happen."

"Yeah, but what if it does? I mean, we never get the initiative in these things. If something really is going on, we can't ignore it, right?"

Chance sighed. First the junker, now this. Too many distractions today from what he really wanted to do. "If it does turn out to be nothing, you owe me lunch." Chance headed toward the phone located in the garage and started to call a cab… then paused for a moment. Was that really a good idea?

It wasn't like they had to deploy right away. They could just visit Felina as themselves and worry about anything that came up later. But what if something came up on the way? What if this attack was really gonna happen and it caught them as they headed into town? He grimaced and put the phone back on the hook. They couldn't really ignore it, could they?

"Come on, buddy. Let's suit up and get this over with."

Jake grinned. "Figured you'd say that. So what's for lunch?"

Chance rolled his eyes. "Don't push your luck."

* * *

Felina strode toward the office of her superior, determined to find out why they were on alert status when nothing was blowing up yet. She knocked on the oak door with the brass nameplate on it, waited until she heard the deep baritone voice.

"Come in. And close the door behind you, please."

She opened the door, closed it without looking behind her, and snapped to attention with a salute. "Feral reporting in, Captain. I came as soon as I got the call. What exactly is this all about, Sir?"

Marcus Puma stood at-ease, hands behind his back, facing the portrait of him while he was still in his Enforcer blues. "It appears we are finally on call. It's not entirely for a good reason though; at least, I don't think it's a good reason. Apparently, the Enforcers have received a tip about an impending attack on the city."

Felina's posture slacked a bit. "You're joking, Sir. They got spooked and now they're calling for us?"

He turned to look behind his right shoulder. "I never joke unless I say I'm joking. And you can relax, that looks goddamn uncomfortable."

She lowered her salute and stood as she naturally would, her face twisted into a scowl. "Well that's crap. It's just a tip, right? We don't have to answer to some anonymous clue about an attack. We're here when there actually _is_ a threat, right?"

The Captain sighed and turned completely toward Felina. "Feral insists that we be ready for it. Unfortunately, I agree with him. We can't just let this go. If we can prepare for an attack, we will have a tactical advantage, albeit a slight one. We can mount an aggressive defense, at least." He walked over to her and squeezed her right shoulder. "I know how you feel on this. Believe me, I feel the same. But this time, he's got it right."

Felina sighed, her shoulders slumped. "I just hope nothing bad happens. The Enforcers aren't exactly known for their success rate. From what I can tell, there are a couple of flights left, maybe a whole wing, but…"

He nodded. "…They may not be good enough. That's why we're around." Puma turned toward the desk again. "Speaking of that, I want you in the air if we have to sortie. We'll be fielding a whole squadron of Strike Eagles and you're the best pilot to lead it."

Her posture straightened a bit, eyes a bit wider. "I'm… honored."

Puma shrugged. "Well, let's hope the Commander doesn't do anything stupid… like get in the air himself. If he goes down, the Enforcers are finished. And if they're finished, this city has no basic protection, and we have no contract. Get what I'm saying?"

Felina nodded and saluted again. "I won't let him die while I'm in the air."

He chuckled. "Glad you still know how to read my riddles. I want you here, on standby, twenty-four seven. I've already made the necessary calls to all pilots, given them their standing orders. You are to take one of our two Eagles we have on hand over here and engage as soon as-"

The black phone on his desk shrilled, receiver eager to leap off the hook. Puma gritted his teeth and closed on the desk in three strides, snatched up the phone. "In a meeting, make it quick." His fierce expression died down a bit as he heard the response. "…Check for malfunctions." Another pause, then he growled. "Shit."

Felina stiffened. "…Sir?"

He held up a hand, a sign to wait. "…All right, I want everyone on full combat status. Tell them to cut all radio frequencies. I want all air traffic lanes over downtown shut down and locked up in fifteen minutes. I don't care how, just do it." He slammed the receiver down, ran a hand along the top of his head. "Change of plans, Feral. Sortie, immediately. I'll get those jets off the ground as soon as I can. In the meantime, I want you to support the F-35s… if they're up there yet."

Felina raised an eyebrow. "What exactly happened?"

Puma turned and looked at Felina with a wry smile. "Radar and air control just went dark."

Her confused expression persisted for a moment… then her eyes widened as realization struck. "…Fuck. We're jammed."

The smile shifted into a grimace. "We won't be fast enough for everything they throw at us, but we can take a few planes down before the big shit hits. Now don't just stand there; _wheels up_."

* * *

A shrill alarm sounded off in the cabin of the TurboKat that made T-Bone press his ears against his head. He looked behind him, jaws tight. "Damn, what the hell _is_ that, Razor!"

Razor had a dead serious expression on his face. "Not good, that's what it is. Someone's using ECMs, and they're big. We're lucky we got countermeasures, or we'd be blind." He gritted his teeth. "That attack is here already and there are no jets in the air but ours."

T-Bone snapped his head forward, scanned the horizon, to the left, to the right. No planes. What the hell? "Well are they tryin' to use stealth? I don't see anything!" He looked straight up… and spotted a cloud bank. No… they couldn't be that obvious, could they? "Cloud bank, two o'clock high. I'm goin' for it. Hang on!"

He pulled back on the stick, gunned the throttle. The TurboKat responded almost too easily as the nose pointed toward the suspicious cloud formation. "Scan the thing; see if they're using it for cover."

Razor scanned the cloud with radar… and came up with nothing. He scoffed. "Come on man, that's the oldest trick in the book. They wouldn't be that stupid." Still, he activated the x-ray scope… and got nothing. "No joy so far, man."

T-Bone pulled closer. "Counter-radar can't stop everything."

Razor raised an eyebrow. "You really are serious about this, huh?" He shrugged, tapped the visor panel. "Well there's only one way to flush 'em out, then. Activating thermal imaging..."

He peered through the cloud using his visor… and sure enough, he got a reading of engine signatures and residual heat. What he saw did not make him feel any better. "Holy shit, you were right… it's a carrier."

T-Bone chuckled. The oldest trick in the book. "Why don't we go knock on their door?"

Razor pointed toward the clouds. "Maybe we don't have to!"

Two flights of jets burst from the cloud cover, racing toward the TurboKat. The RWS buzzed an annoying, obvious alarm. "They're weapons hot, haul ass!"

T-Bone's eyes narrowed as he switched off hover and rammed the throttle forward. The TurboKat roared to life, closing fast on the six bandits. The missile approach alarm sounded off, but he could already see them coming. Just a bit closer… almost… there! "Razor, chaff out!" Without another warning, he jinked sharply upward. The Gs tried to make him a part of the seat, forced him to tighten up.

"_Shit_!" Razor had zero time to react, barely got the countermeasures off. He looked behind just in time to see the missiles fly right beneath them into empty air. He also saw the bandits follow them. "Check six, bud! They followed us like clockwork!"

T-Bone smirked. Oh, really? "They can't be any ordinary jets, then. This should be fun." He pulled back on the stick, flipped the bird over, and extended. Plenty of energy to toy with now. The radar alarm whined again. Crap, not cool. He sliced a hard right, hit the air brakes. The missiles buzzed past and he put his nose on a plane. "Do it!"

Razor grinned. "Copy that! Got 'em spiked…" He switched to the Octopus Missiles and prepped one. "…Missile away!"

The missile rammed toward the jet with dead aim, tore the right wing clean off, bit into an engine. Half the plane was on fire as both engines blew. The wing flipped backward toward another plane and smashed into the cockpit, shattering it completely. Anyone in there was not having a good day.

Razor laughed as the other four planes scattered to regroup. "That's a wake-up call right there!"

T-Bone did not respond as he maneuvered to take the offensive. Beamed onto another jet, kept steady, and got on their six. The agile fighter turned out of plane hard, pulling Gs. Damn, not bad. T-Bone pulled up, swung around, rolled over, and he was on top of it. "Razor, guns!"

This time, Razor reacted on cue. "Hope you know how to fly with your eyes closed." He fired a spray of cement from the machine gun and it hit its mark, the glass canopy of the cockpit. As expected, the plane began to go into a dive, its pilot completely blind.

The RWR shrilled again. "We got company on our six! I think we pissed 'em off!"

T-Bone grinned. Perfect. He inverted and pulled a quick split, forced the other three to fly right over him. Level out, hit the thrusters, and boom. He wasn't about to go turn and burn with these guys too much. Let them chase.

The warning alarm blasted again. "Not good bud, one followed! Shake that bastard!"

"I'm working on it!" He couldn't let that jet get a lock. He jinked right, then immediately broke left. Overshot, probably gonna try to reverse. The jet turned right, he countered left. One pass, two… All right, solidly in front. "Get it, Razor!"

He fired another missile without hesitation, nailed the jet dead in the tailpipe. T-Bone immediately turned to avoid the debris that threatened to shred the TurboKat. "Buddy, did you see that model?"

Razor nodded, somewhat impressed. "Yeah, Su-37. These guys are serious if they have Flankers." The radar shrilled again. "No time to admire the scenery, though! _Break_!"

T-Bone pulled another hard right, bleeding energy. Keep them off, shake 'em… The radar shrilled again. Dammit, not cool! He pulled up, grabbed some sky. More energy lost. He had to do it. Sure she was a strong fighter, agile, but the TurboKat could only do so much. RWR shrieked in panic. "Dammit, I can't shake 'em!"

"Then we're gonna have to make 'em pay for chasing us!" Razor's thumb jammed the button for the smokescreen. "Extend, _now_! Do what you gotta!"

T-Bone grimaced and activated the rocket boosters. "Follow this…" He pushed the throttle to full, pressed the red button just on the right side of the lever with his thumb. The boosters came to life, forced them both against the back of their chairs. They weren't even pushing spec yet. If those bandits were still able to tail them, they were really, really tricked out.

Razor nodded, checked the radar. "Scope's clear. Smokescreen nailed 'em…" His eyes widened at what he saw next. "…But that doesn't matter."

T-Bone stared down the incoming squadron of Flankers, ready to tear into them like a pack of wolves. Twenty four jets, all fresh, all heavily armed. Well shit, looks like they'd get a full day in. He grinned. "Let's give 'em a good welcome!"

* * *

"…You're saying what again?"

The tom clad in black tactical gear repeated himself, face twisted in a grim expression. "We've been jammed, Commander Feral. Our scopes are blind at KatGuard. We're lucky that we had a chance to scramble our available fighters, but they aren't going to be enough." He pointed to the east, toward the flight deck. "You know those new fighters out there, just came in? Suggest an immediate sortie."

Feral glared at the mercenary. "We _know_ about the jamming signal. We got stuffed about five minutes ago. No idea of what's going on up there." He looked toward the fire engine red phone on his desk with a sigh. "You said you had birds in the air, correct?"

The merc raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, we do. We've got two flights airborne and en route from Bobcat AFB, but they'll be late. The one we have right now…"

Feral's expression soured. "…One? You're telling me you only have one fighter available?" His fists tightened, trembling from his attempt to control himself. "You have poor air tactics if you think that only one is…"

The tom smirked, confident. "It's not the bird, Commander Feral. It's the pilot at the controls. This is one of our aces. Whatever this kat flies will not lose a dogfight, period."

Feral raised an eyebrow, turned toward the tom. "You wanna give me a name?"

The mercenary shook his head. "No I do not. Suffice it to say though that until our reinforcements arrive, this is the best we can throw at the bandits. Pretty much worth a squadron of your pilots… no offense."

Feral gritted his teeth, glowered from underneath his eyebrows. He whipped around on his right heel, reached his phone in three strides, snatched up the receiver, and began dialing. "You'll have backup _right now_, since I don't trust this ace of yours. If they report nothing in the sky but smoke and ashes, I'll believe you."

The tom nodded and made his way out of the oaken double doors. "You're making the right decision."

He ignored the parting statement of the merc and waited for the flight deck to answer. "This is Feral. I need a priority one sortie of a combat air patrol. Tell the pilots to switch to the following radar frequency… I don't know the coordinates! Just tell them to follow the damn explosions! Now hop to it!"

He slammed down the receiver, his expression a snarl. "All mercenaries can go to hell."

* * *

Felina's nerves twitched as she headed toward the last known coordinates of the jamming signal just before the radar cut out. To take out both Enforcer Headquarters and the KatGuard monitoring network, you'd need a pretty damn big signal. A ship that carried that size of an ECM field must be huge, well armored, heavily armed.

She swept her forward area with her radar as the Strike Eagle approached the target area, scanning the horizon for any threats. Nothing so far, but she could still detect the jamming frequency. Maybe if she headed toward that, there'd be some kind of luck. She beamed toward the source and pushed the throttle to full… when her radio immediately buzzed.

"This is Cougar One-One sending a priority message to any available KatGuard aircraft, please respond."

She switched on the helmet-mounted radio, clipped on the oxygen mask. "This is Feral on a combat air patrol over downtown, responding to the priority call."

"Good to hear you, Feral. Cougar and Jaguar flights have a lock on your radar and are beaming on your position. ETA is thirty minutes."

She gritted her teeth. They'd be late. Should she rendezvous? She shook her head. No, too long. She scanned the horizon again… Her eyes widened. Vapor trails… "Uh Cougar, I just stumbled onto the engagement zone. You guys are gonna have to find me while I'm in a fur ball, over."

She heard a chuckle from the other end. "No worries, boss. Just leave some for us, okay?"

She grinned. "Copy that. Call me when you get here." She cut the transmission and punched the throttle. Okay, time to look for some noisy flies to swat. She headed straight toward the vapor trails, saw them curve to the northeast. Good, still fresh. She turned on her ECM, followed the trail, and checked her radar. Nothing in front…

An alarm shrilled. Someone had a bead on her. She checked the RWR, two bandits approaching from seven o-clock high. So they found her first huh? Well they'd have to catch her. She banked a hard right, dove as she turned. Still coming. They had her painted already, not bad. Felina grimaced as she jinked out of plane again, checked her radar. Still sticking tight. "Okay, fine. You're not amateurs."

She inverted and dove, tried to get some extra speed going. One of the birds went after her a bit too early and lost advantage; the other just plain overshot. Felina forced a grin. "Gotcha!" She leveled out, pitched up, and pursued. She'd deal with the other one if it came after her. Her radar pinged as she beamed onto her target. "Suck on this."

A missile from underneath one of the wings flashed toward the bandit just in front of her. Too close to avoid that one now. She grabbed some altitude, sure that the shot would hit. Her radar informed her that the missile did its job… then informed her with a panicked shrill that it was not over. "Shit!" Faster than she expected!

Closing fast… a little _too_ fast. She broke left, then suddenly pulled into a barrel roll to the right. She saw the bandit pass right underneath her and laughed. "Didn't see that coming did ya?" She was right on top of the damn thing now, and couldn't think of any better way to end it than pulling the trigger for her guns. A spray of 20mm bullets tore the right wing to shreds, sent the jet into a spiral. "That one's done… next!"

Her radar shrilled again as she leveled out. She checked… grimaced. "Just how many of you are there…?" This was gonna be a long day. No way was she gonna down all three of those behind her. "I could use that backup right now…" She sliced hard to the left, chopped the throttle, hit the air brake. Drop flares. Two missiles caught the decoy, blew past. Level out and extend.

Her radar complained. Behind the oxygen mask, Felina gritted her teeth. Not the best way to go, but she didn't really have a choice. Felina inversed and dove then pushed the throttles to full, her nose in the direction of Downtown. No fighting them, so she had to shake them off. If she couldn't lose them in the maze of buildings, she'd be a very dead kitten…

* * *

"Interesting…"

A queen clad in formal military dress sat in the captain's chair of the aircraft carrier. The dark red uniform with gold trim glittered with the service medals pinned to the right side of her chest. Black, mid-calf boots polished to a mirror shine glistened in the ship's lighting; soft leather gloves adorned her hands. A highball glass half full of milk in her right hand, she observed the view screen with her intense blue eyes. "How many of them are there?"

One of the she-kats on the bridge turned to look over her right shoulder. "We've got two of them on our scopes so far. One of them has taken out more than they should be able to, ma'am; seven birds down."

One of her eyebrows rose. "How very impressive… but inconsequential. Tell all flights to maintain pursuit for as long as feasible. We have more jets where that came from. Besides, those two are not the target anyway."

She stood and walked down the steps, light brown tail lazily swaying behind her. Her fingers combed through obsidian hair. "Order the infantry and tanks to begin their search in an hour and tighten security measures onboard. I want her found before I wake up from my nap. Is that understood?"

The bridge crew responded in unison. "Aye, Captain!"

She retreated from the bridge and headed toward her private quarters, her pace methodical. She stripped the gloves from her slender hands, one finger at a time, and stowed them away in the right pocket of her pants. The door to her room slid open with a hiss as she approached, and slid closed again seconds after she entered.

She turned toward the mirror, a grimace painted across her features. Composed as she was on the bridge, she let her fatigue show here. Some of them, including her, had gone days without sleep during the trip to this city. She needed at least some kind of rest before she actually went about systematically demolishing one building after another in her search for the traitor.

She smirked. No, that wasn't the right word at all. Their government called her traitor, or at least, the new stand-ins for the government. She could really be classified as a captured officer, but that wasn't the point. She'd been against the current faction-in-power for a while, considered a threat even before she'd gone out on her personal mission.

The queen looked toward a picture of herself and another she-kat beside her, both a few years younger-looking in the framed photograph. Fingers trembling, she picked up the frame and stared as if to burn through it. This was the way it had to be, really. No matter how much they knew each other or how friendly they used to be, orders were orders. She closed her eyes and put the frame face down. "I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do. I have to kill you, Anya."

She rubbed her forehead with her right hand. Definitely time to get some rest. She made her way to the bed, each step harder than the last. Fatigue could only be staved off for so long. But orders were orders. Even if they did not find her, the new order demanded they occupy the city. What happened after, she didn't want to know.

Either way, they'd made the first strike. Now time to see how the defenders responded, if they could at all. She almost felt sorry for them. But this had to be done.

She hoped that the next hour would bring her at least some rest before everything began to move. With that thought, she lay on her bed and closed her eyes, fading away into unconsciousness as thoughts of her old friend passed through her mind… the queen so ruthless and tenacious that the other cadets called her Turmoil.

* * *

Felina glanced behind her again, jaw tight and teeth clenched behind her helmet and mask. What the hell! She couldn't shake these annoying bastards, and it didn't even seem like they were trying hard! "Where the hell…" She weaved between two buildings, her Strike Eagle barely kissing the northwest corner of a skyscraper. "…Is my damn backup?"

The sound of the proximity alarm buzzed in her ears, made them twitch. "I know, I know, this is fucking crazy! I wish I could turn you off already…" Glass windows shattered behind her as bullets tore through the air, missing her paint job by inches. Definitely not a good day; they weren't afraid of collateral damage.

She grimaced. Definitely not something the Enforcers can handle; maybe not even KatGuard. They're serious. She cut the throttle to half, banked a sharp right. Her HUD spotted two of them outside her turning circle. She grinned. "Take that."

Radar buzzed again. Damn, the third one! No time to shoot, just enough time to run. Didn't want to speed up too much here; she'd be the one smashing windows if she did! She jinked right then pulled a hard left, tried to ignore the fact she bled energy with every defensive move. The radar complained again. Damn, no good. Then something new happened; the other two jets decided to join in via her forward angle of view. Her eyes narrowed as she stared them down. No way out of it. "Okay, fine. Dodge this."

She grabbed for the eject lever on her right hand side and pulled hard. The canopy blasted upward as she rocketed to the sky, didn't dare to look down. Felina grinned as the sound of her sudden, rough exit from the bird rang in her ears. Now she looked down as the fireball she'd made expanded, twisted metal and shrapnel flying all over the place. "There goes one fine jet. Least I took 'em out…"

Felina popped her chute, tapped the radio panel on the right side of her helmet. "This is Feral, contacting Control; I need an immediate pickup at the following coordinates. Five minutes ago."

Well great, now she had no ride. And the two flights of Strike Eagles weren't due until… Hell, she didn't know. She sighed, took her helmet off. "Fuck…what now." Oh she already knew the answer to that one. Just didn't think she had to use it this early. These guys pulled no punches. They weren't criminals, but an organized force bent on blowing stuff up. She shook her head. No choice but to use it, then. Probably didn't have much time, either. No telling how many more of these there were. She unfastened her harness three feet from the ground and let herself drop from the seat, rolling on her left shoulder to absorb the impact from the fall.

She looked around at the wreckage of all three jets, strewn about the street, her mouth a hard line. Okay, time for plan B. She hoped everyone could hold their own until then…

* * *

**Chapter 60: Aces High (Part 1) – _Air Raid!_**

OMG. OMFG.

Seriously guys, this took longer than I thought. I'm sorry the ending's shorter than it could be, but I had to finish it, and I just now woke up to do it. On that note, I'm sick. Our cats, cute as they are, have cursed me to sneeze and sniffle all night. Don't worry; I'll be okay with a bit of time. That said, we have breached Chapter 60! I severely need to thank you guys for sticking with me, even through the long wait.

Okay, time to write some more. I hope.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	61. Aces High Part 2

"We interrupt this program for a breaking Kat's Eye News bulletin…."

Callie grimaced. Well this mucked things up for Chance's game. She shrugged. Not like there was anything she could do about it. She leaned back on the couch and took another sip from her glass of milk, eyes half-lidded. They widened in alarm after the news station turned to the cameras.

"This is Ann Gora reporting live from a disaster area in Downtown MegaKat City. Behind me is the wreckage of three fighter jets of unknown origin, brought down by KatGuard mercenaries. The city is once again under attack, but there has been no statement made by the force responsible for this blatant and unprovoked aggression…."

She didn't hear the rest of it. Callie sprung from the couch and beat feet toward the door as soon as she heard the word attack, almost dropping her glass in the process. She reached for the knob when it turned all by itself, almost had to leap backwards as it swung open.

Felina, eyes narrowed, stood in the doorway with her black flight suit on, the KatGuard insignia on her right shoulder. "Let's get moving, Callie. Duty calls." She turned on her heel and made her way toward the garage.

Callie nodded, followed the brunette. "Don't have to ask me twice. How bad is it?" She almost didn't want to know.

Felina shook her head. "We're in for a long day. Hope you had your beauty rest." She opened the hatch at the back of the garage, slid down the ladder. "Clear!"

Callie grabbed onto the ladder and slid down, her shoes hitting the concrete hard enough to make her feet ache a little. She jogged toward her locker and began to gear up, looked toward Felina as she pulled her flight suit out. "I trust you're the one that took those jets out. You get a look at how many more there were?"

Felina shook her head. "Dunno, hard to tell from all the vapor trails up there. I'd say a squadron, maybe two." She tied off her mask and snatched her helmet from the locker, slammed it shut. "I'm headed back up in the StealthKat, see how they handle that. I need you to get out on the streets and look for trouble, because it'll probably be coming soon."

Callie nodded. Easy enough, right? "I'm on it. Where's Chance and Jake?"

Felina shrugged. "I didn't catch any radio chatter from 'em. They're probably up there, fighting whoever the hell this is off." She headed for the elevator. "Don't worry about them, they can handle themselves. Besides, that backup I requested should be up there by now, and if they aren't, the Enforcers will be."

Callie joined her before the elevator doors closed, the mask already over her eyes. "That's what I'm worried about." Why did everything have to be so complicated?

The elevator reached the bottom in less than fifty seconds and Felina sprinted toward the F-22. Callie followed her for a few moments, then turned to her right and straddled a Cyclotron, armed to the teeth. She started her engines, looked toward Felina as she leapt onto the right wing, then into the cockpit. "You better stay safe up there! I don't wanna have to attend your funeral before this is over!"

The canopy closed and within forty-five seconds, the StealthKat taxied to the runway. Callie put on her helmet just in time to hear Felina's response in her radio. "Same goes for you, y'know. You still need to sit in that cushy chair in City Hall… So watch your six."

Callie would have responded, but the StealthKat's engines went loud, and Felina left the hangar within seconds. She shook her head and revved the Cyclotron's engine. "You act like it's a given…" She pushed in the button for the boosters on the left handle and before long, exited the base as well.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

"You ever get the feeling that we did this before, buddy?"

Razor's hands tightened on the weapons controls as he fired yet another Octopus Missile, the last remaining. "Yeah, this does reek of déjà vu… you thinking of a certain queen we know and loathe?" The radar shrilled. "Damn, don't these guys know when to quit?"

T-Bone gritted his teeth, jinked right, and pulled a hard left. The alarm cut off as the missile passed behind them. "I dunno, but this isn't any regular air force. These kats are a step up!" He looked behind him, jaw still tight. "We got anything left, Razor?" He sure as hell hoped so.

The slim tom did a quick scan of the weapons systems. "Not much; down to standard missiles, Turboblades, Drop Tops and Baby Boomers."

T-Bone cursed. Not good at all. "Okay, gotta make do, then." So they had two or three on them at a time, ready to sandwich them, but plenty of energy left to burn. He looked toward the carrier. Did they really have to use their own ordinance? "Run a scan on that carrier. See what kinda anti-air they got."

"What do you mean what kind? Damn thing's probably bristling with missiles and guns!" He ran the scan anyway. "Yeah, we got RAM launchers and Goalkeepers onboard, heavy stuff. Why?"

The big kat grimaced. "I'm gonna do something stupid." He pushed the throttle to full, shot straight at the carrier. Yeah, stupid is right. If this didn't work, they'd still have bandits on their six, at best. He didn't want to think of the worst.

Razor agreed with him. "What the hell, are you gonna try and lure those fighters into the anti-air field? We'll get shot faster than they will!" He clipped on his oxygen mask, eyes narrowed. "Besides, how do you know they'll fire on us?"

"I don't! Now shut up and keep an eye on those radar arrays!" They were danger close within seconds. Come on, get a lock already… take the bait.

The RWR shrilled. "Holy crap, whatever your plan is, it's working! We're being painted, all over the place!" Razor checked his scope. "Damn, they're breaking off… all except three of them."

T-Bone nodded. "Well then, they'll just have to be the first three to get shot down by their own carrier. Hang on!" The missile alarm made his ears twitch and flick. Yeah, definitely a crazy idea! He pulled away to deal with the missiles, even though the auto cannon fire still posed a major threat. Keep those guns active. Can't keep it up forever, gotta make it count…

"They followed us in! Holy shit, these guys are nuts!" Razor kept eyes focused on the radar, all sorts of alarms going off. "Tracking… Yes, one down! Crazy as this is, it's working!" He hit the switch for the chaff, noticed the missiles pass just behind. Another bandit blip winked out. "Two down! Last one doesn't wanna play anymore…"

Okay, that's enough. "I'm breaking off! That should have taught them something!" The big tom disengaged the guns, grabbed some extra altitude. The alarms went dead. He looked behind him, a crazy grin spread across his features. "Remind me never to do that again, buddy."

Razor smirked. "I'll remind you when we're back on the ground, away from all the bandits. Get your eyes forward for now and watch for the one we missed; could be anywhere."

"Don't worry about that, I see plenty of 'em right there!" Too many! Gotta get loose… The missile alarm shrilled as the Flankers before them deployed their weapons. T-Bone gritted his teeth. "Razor…"

The slim tom shook his head. "Can't get 'em all, we're gonna eat this one!"

"Dammit!" All that for nothing! He reached for the eject lever on the right side of the cockpit… when the missiles headed for them went off prematurely. The big tom's eyes widened. "What the…"

His question fell short as three F-15s blasted across their 12 o'clock. His helmet radio buzzed. "This is Cougar One-One hailing the TurboKat, respond immediately, over."

He'd never heard that call sign before. Who the hell were these guys? He tapped his radio panel. "This is TurboKat to Cougar One-One, thanks for the assist. Are you with the Enforcers?" Hey, had to ask. They might be some special unit or something.

"Negative, but we are with you if you're fighting these jets off. Cougar and Jaguar flights are on station, ready to assist. Where's Feral?"

T-Bone knew of only two with that last name, saw neither of their jets. But they weren't Enforcers, so that ruled out one of them. "No idea, was she up here?" He shook his head after a moment to think. "'Course she was up here, she called you guys in. We don't see her on our scopes, but we're sure she's fine." Nothing could take Felina down that easily.

"Copy that, we'll team with you guys for the time being. Draw some of their fire so you can have a clear shot."

Razor looked at the radar. "They're doing that right now. No one's bothering so much as to look at us." His ears perked as chatter from the Enforcer emergency band picked up. "We got more on the way, a squadron of those new Enforcer jets. Looks like the cavalry's here, T-Bone."

He rolled his eyes. "They're late, as usual." No surprise there. Still glad they had someone else up there besides just the two of them and two flights of F-15s. T-Bone pushed the throttle to full and got his nose on one of the Flankers chasing Jaguar flight. "Let's mop up."

"Copy that, I got tone." Razor toggled to a standard missile. "Scratch one bandit!" The weapon did its job before the jet could evade, and the resulting explosion caused the other pilots to scatter. "Break contact, they're moving to get a vector on us!"

T-Bone grinned. "Not the smartest move."

Razor checked the radar. "Damn, they were closer than I thought." The Enforcer squadron closed on the runners and made short work of them, knocking them clear out of the air. "Those new jets are pretty efficient. Not that they're the TurboKat…"

The big tom chuckled. "Don't go respecting our competition now, Razor. That'll give 'em the wrong idea." He closed on another enemy pilot. "How many of those we got left?"

Razor checked the load outs, grimaced. "Two. Why?"

T-Bone grinned. "Use 'em both at once." Once they ran out, they'd be temporarily out of the fight. They might as well take as many out as they could before then. Besides, they wouldn't expect two coming at once. Least he hoped not.

"Copy that, trying for a lock…" Razor pressed in the visor panel on the left side of his helmet, and the HUD in his helmet activated. Razor grinned and looked to his left. The radar beeped. He looked to his right, it beeped again. "Got tone on two targets. Weapons hot!" Razor thumbed the switch to fire said missiles, and the two weapons streaked toward their targets. Jets tried to break, missiles corrected for distance… boom. "Gotta love fire and forget. Bandits down!"

T-Bone didn't answer. Three Baby Boomers, Drop Tops, and Turboblades remaining… Not much. They'd have to use what they had left, all of it. Fewer fighters in the air meant more chances for the Enforcers. Of course, KatGuard was up here as well… His train of thought derailed as the radar alarm screamed bloody murder. "Shit, what the hell now?"

Razor gritted his teeth. "Crap, we got a fresh squadron incoming on our two o'clock! We are in no position to be up here, T-Bone!"

The pilot turned the TurboKat toward the new threats. "We don't have a choice, Razor! I am _not_ leaving until _all_ options are spent, copy?" Yeah, famous last words. Too many of them with too few weapons... They needed a good plan, yesterday. Only one he could think of was to keep fighting. But how many did that carrier have left…? And how many squadrons did the Enforcers have, let alone KatGuard?

T-Bone shook his head. "Change of plans! We're bugging out to re-arm!" They had a regular air force with them, probably. Someone needed to get inside that carrier and take the damn thing by storm. Wasn't gonna be them, though. From what he'd caught so far, they weren't taking prisoners. He pulled up, flipped over, and punched the throttle.

Razor sighed with relief. "Best damn plan I've heard all day! I don't think the guys still out there can handle this, though…"

The big tom looked behind him. "If you mean the Enforcers, I dunno. But KatGuard ain't done yet. You saw how many jets they had at Bobcat Island. They're probably mobilizing even as this fight's going down." At least, he hoped so. If they were slow or caught off guard, this'd be the end of it. Speaking of KatGuard… He needed to know Felina's location, now.

He turned to the private frequency they used to communicate without being overheard and started sending out the call. "This is T-Bone to any SWAT Kats in action, requesting a head check. Who's up, who's not, over?" He hoped someone was out there. It'd be a damn shame if he and Razor were the only two…

"Ghost responding to head check, I'm on the ground. Air raid in progress is suspected to be a distraction, so I'm checking the streets for any ground forces, over."

He sighed, relieved. "Good call, Ghost. Keep at it."

Almost immediately after, he got the response he wanted. "Lioness responding to head check. StealthKat is en route to the fight in the sky, ETA five minutes. Requesting status on the TurboKat, over."

He grimaced. Wasn't gonna be all that good of a tale to tell. "Weapons are almost on empty, Lioness. We're bugging out to re-arm; need you to do what you can in the meantime. What you got on you?" He hoped she could help the kats still up there.

"I'm armed to the teeth here. Carrying four HARMs, two Sidewinders and six Slammers here. Long-range sensors are online. Anything I hit won't even realize they've been painted."

T-Bone grinned. "That shit's gonna mess with your stealth, but that doesn't matter. Good work." This would turn around in a hurry if she did it right… And she could probably drop the rails after she fired, too. "Can you punch a hole in that carrier's air defense zone before you hit the combat area? They're probably getting shredded by those missiles, over."

"I'll see what I can do. I've only got so many shots, but hopefully I can take out more than one platform at a time. You two get refitted; I have a job to do. Lioness out."

He sighed and looked behind him. "Well, that's all we can do for now, I guess."

Razor shrugged. "I just hope we can get back into the fight fast enough. Even with her payload, she's not gonna be enough. No telling how many squadrons they have left and there's still the carrier to worry about. Damn thing's probably got hull plating thick enough to stop any missile threats cold."

T-Bone grimaced. "Only way to take the damn thing out is from the inside." Just like last time. Only way in at this point though was by force. No sense in getting deliberately captured, and they sure as hell weren't taking prisoners. "We can't worry about that now, though. Ghost said something about there being a possible ground force."

Razor nodded. "Yeah, but with any luck, she'll take most of 'em out before we even leave the hangar."

The big tom shook his head and pushed the throttle to full. He didn't think it was going to be so easy. Still, why doubt his team now? They'd pulled through in worse than this. Not much worse, but still worse. He let himself relax, at least for a moment, as the TurboKat headed back towards home. Whatever it took, nothing would get past them, especially not this.

That's what he told himself, anyway.

* * *

The hair at the back of Ghost's neck stood on end. Nothing about this attack made any sense. They come in, immediately jam the radar, and start their attack without any demands what so ever? No. There had to be a goal, some objective or order to follow. They just weren't broadcasting it.

She shook her head. Not the time to lose focus. She had to find the second phase of this attack before it started, if it hadn't already. Ghost pressed in the visor panel and, as the HUD went live, she searched for possible targets even as she guided the bike through traffic. The scanner showed absolute zero for the first thirty minutes. She kept driving, weaving between cars. Right at the next intersection, push through traffic again, turn left. Scanner showed nothing, no red contacts. Ghost shook her head. They've gotta be somewhere.

Red light at the next intersection. Ghost's jaw tightened. Damn, no time to stop! She gunned the engine. Fine her or whatever, but she had to…

Her ears rang with the sound of an explosion from her left. Shit! She turned hard, damn near lay the bike flat… avoiding the high-explosive shell whizzing overhead. Three inches higher and there'd be a real mess to clean up. Her eyes widened as she peered toward the direction of the shot and found herself facing more than one cannon. "Why did it have to be tanks?"

The tank that fired the shot swiveled its gun toward her. Ghost's eyes narrowed into angry slits. "Okay, fine. You wanna play?" She revved the engine, flipped the switch for the rockets and missiles. "Let's get this over with."

The cannon fired just as Ghost launched forward and to the left, missed by mere inches. She shot past the tank, aimed toward the one just behind it, and locked on using the aim sights in her visor. Once the sights turned red she pressed in the button for the rockets. Two of them shot toward the tank she'd locked onto and rammed into its right side as she blew on through, chewed through its armor with the resulting explosion.

She banked right, circled around the block to try and hit the other one. The HUD warned her of another tank about to fire from directly in front as she took a second right turn. Well crap! She fired a missile, turned right. The sound of an explosion behind her confirmed the hit. How many more? Her HUD marked the red outline of a tank through a nearby building, the one from before. No time to engage.

She blew through the intersection before the tank could get another shot off, turned right at the next light to the sound of annoyed honks. Not her fault a war suddenly broke out! Another right and she ended up behind the armor. "Good night." Another pair of rockets launched from the bike, slammed into the rear quarter of the tank, went boom just as she hit the boosters. She took a moment to peer behind her after she passed. "Hope that's the last of those…"

Her ears twitched as the sound of rotors buzzed over head. Enforcer choppers. So they finally got the message. She looked ahead… and gasped as one of the cars ahead of her exploded, tossed ten feet into the air by a stray missile shot. Ghost ducked underneath the wrecked vehicle as the bike passed underneath. That wasn't funny.

She looked up, only to find that the shot wasn't so random. "You have gotta be _kidding_ me!" The HUD identified her new friend as a Black Shark gunship. It turned on a dime, the thirty millimeter gun pointed straight at her. "Shit, this is not my day!" Bullets rained on her as she swerved left, hammering the pavement as they missed her rear wheel.

She didn't dare look behind her. No, the sound of the helicopter overhead drove her onward, straight into the rush hour traffic. The gunship shredded the pavement, tore through drivers just to get at her. Ghost gritted her teeth as the sound of panicked screams filled her ears.

Intersection up ahead. No time to stop. "Get out of my _way_, dammit!" She cut a hard left, _just_ missed an oncoming car, almost skidded onto the sidewalk, hauled ass. Glass shattered as the gunship continued its pursuit, firing almost too close to home. "Someone better wake the hell up and get this thing off me!"

An explosion, above and to her right. The rotors sounded odd. She drove on for fifty feet, swung the bike around, hit the brakes hard. Ghost sighed, relieved, as the Black Shark smashed into the pavement with a burst of heat and flame. She looked up, scanned the rooftops. There, to the right. She used the HUD to zoom in, spotted two Enforcers, one with a Stinger missile launcher. Sure took their damn time, didn't they?

How many of those did they have left? They damn well better have more than just that one; they'd need 'em all. This was just the beginning. Probably more tanks somewhere, God knew what else. She had to find them all. Ghost revved the bike, blew past the wreckage, and started her patrol all over again. That gunship distracted her pretty well. How many troops on the ground now?

No time to wonder. Only time to find them and stop them.

* * *

"Holy shit, how many of them are there?"

"This is Raven Two-One requesting an immediate SEAD on enemy carrier from any available strike aircraft, we are-"

"Dammit, we got more bandits launching from the fight deck and internal bay! There are tons of these fuckers…"

Lioness cut the radio chatter. T-Bone nailed it pretty close to home; no one could get within a mile of the damn thing because of those missiles and guns. She could track them all from where she was now, a good hundred miles away from the carrier. She slowed down, prepped the missiles, and got a lock on one of the starboard missile sites. Lucky for her they tended to pair guns with missiles on these things. Probably take a few out with one shot.

Question was did she launch 'em all at once, or one at a time? On the one hand, she'd waste all her shots in one go. Get her stealth back, though. On the other hand if the attack failed, she'd be screwed and have to use missiles she'd rather not use. Either way, she had to decide in a hurry.

The brunette shook her head. Screw it. She picked up the pace, got herself ready for a nice, solid lock at seventy miles. The already small window just about closed on her as she hit the switch, and the HARMs blasted toward their targets. Okay, time to go! She blew the racks, banked a hard left almost at the same time. No time to look, just haul ass.

The missiles, already set on the radar signals, adjusted just enough to get a good bead. Too late for those guns to even start tracking. They rammed into the missile sites, blew them to hell… and as predicted, the resulting explosion caught the Goalkeepers. Lioness didn't bother with a good look behind her, but she did turn on the radio chatter again.

"What the hell was that!?"

"All flights, be advised; we have an unknown element in the air, just blew a gaping hole in the starboard side defenses, no response to radio hails…"

"Holy shit, someone got through! Go! Take those jets out before they can get moving! All wings divert course to the breach!"

Lioness smirked. That's how it should be. The smirk turned into a grimace as the RWR complained at her. "Okay, that got their attention. Let's see if they can chase me." She turned on the heat, just enough to get some range. The two Flankers behind the StealthKat kept pursuit. She nodded. No need to make this too easy, after all.

She broke right, tried to force one of her new friends to overshoot. No dice. She risked a quick glance behind. "Got engines like mine, huh? Not bad." Time to really cut loose. Lioness pushed the throttle to full and the burners lit. Her pursuers gave chase, didn't expect her to pull a sharp vertical seconds after she broke the sound barrier. The StealthKat just about vanished from their forward angle of view as it climbed, pulled over the top, and came right back down just behind them.

They broke in separate directions; Lioness followed to the left. No use pulling that one, she could follow just as easily. Keep an eye on the other one, maintain awareness. She lined up right on the bandit's six, locked a Sidewinder. "Run from this." The heat-seeker fired from the right side door and she immediately broke pursuit to deal with the other. No time to sit and look!

She pulled up, leveled out, looked around for the second fighter. Where? A warning alarm made her ears buzz and she jinked right, shot to the left. Ah, behind her. Great, missile lock! She sliced left, hit the chaff. The missile passed by but the fighter stayed on. "You are _really_ starting to piss me off."

Already at Mach 2, can't go any faster. Time to do something crazy. Lioness pulled up just enough and hit the air brake. The Stealth Kat flipped over, nose pointed straight at her pursuer. "See you later, asshole." She grimaced as she squeezed the trigger, and a spray of gun fire buzzed toward the jet. It only lasted for a second as the shots punched clean through the glass cockpit. No real surprise that the plane started to plummet after that.

She rolled the StealthKat back to normal and notched the throttle back up again. No external stores, one Sidewinder gone, 380 rounds left. On top of all that, her baby still had all six Slammers. She grinned. No more defensive flying. She flew well out of the range of the fight, swept for any stray bandits. She ended up right behind two of them, too busy chasing an Enforcer F-35.

No radar warnings. No one saw her. Perfect.

She switched to missiles, attempted to get a lock. As the rest of the fighters, these were evasive, but now she got a good look at them. "That explains everything. Engines are almost the same as mine…" She heard the happy tone of locked weapons. "…But it doesn't matter if I'm behind them." She pressed in the red thumb switch and one of the doors snapped open. Two AIM 120-C missiles dropped, fired, closed like sharks to the smell of blood. Lioness pulled away, not even worried about solid hits.

The radio chatter proved effective at gauging her success, though.

"Someone hop to identifying this pilot! Whoever it is just took out two bandits on my six; I wanna give the bastard a drink when we land!"

"I'd like to, but the bogey isn't responding to hails or IFF. We'll keep trying, over."

They didn't need to know. All she had to do was punch a hole in those defenses, knock out as many fighters as possible, and break contact. The Commander, he'd more than likely be pissed that they didn't treat her as a target as well, but if he knew who she really was, he'd think twice. She shook her head. No. There's a good reason he doesn't know.

She spotted three more ahead, trying to get a vector on a flight of KatGuard F-15s. She almost wanted to send out a call, but thought better as a hail of bullets pinged off of the left side of the StealthKat, made her cringe. Too damn close. "I really, really hate you guys." She broke pursuit, tried to shake off the Flankers behind her. Okay, no dice on escaping. The radar buzzed at her as the bandits locked missiles. "I do _not_ have time for this…"

The radar shut off almost as soon as it came on. Wow. She checked her radar, found one contact on the approach. Her radio buzzed.

"Okay, that repays some of what you did. You gonna tell us who you are now?"

She smiled. So they're paying attention after all. She decided to answer. Why not? She owed whoever this guy was. "Me? I'm just a concerned citizen. That's all I'm saying until you identify yourself."

"I'm with the Enforcers, 7th Combat Wing. Now spill, who are you, and how the hell did you get this kinda hardware?"

She checked her radar again for a moment. Shit, more of them. Nothing on IFF. "Hey, fight now, talk later. You got two bandits on your five o'clock."

"I see 'em, breaking-"

"No! No, wait…" She racked her brain. Enemy fighters probably had energy to spare. They'd rip him apart on his own... This one had to be two on two. "Okay, you listen close to me if you wanna live. Get on my right side and do exactly as I say."

She looked to her right, found the F-35 there in a few moments. "All right, we're doing a defensive split. You're high, I'm low. Soon as I see 'em, I'll get those two off of you. Got it?"

The pilot nodded. "I sure as hell hope you know what you're doing. On your go."

Lioness smirked. Those things the Enforcers flew were good, but one engine equaled less energy. They'd go for it. "Speed up, wait for my mark." She notched the throttle, checked her right flank. Still there, good. She checked the radar. They still wanted to play. Okay, fine. Let's play then. "Steady…"

They approached within eighty miles. Just close enough for missile range. Perfect. "Okay, here we go. Three… two… one… GO!" Lioness sliced left, rolled over, looked skyward. There he goes. She smirked as the two Flankers took the bait. "Come on, bring it on down here. Don't get caught…" She pitched up as the F-35 rolled over and pitched down.

"Any day now, they've got _way_ too much headway!"

Lioness pushed the throttle, put her nose on the two of them. No time left! She locked, got a good tone… "Oh shit, _break_! Flare out!"

The pilot sliced right, popped several flares. The missile barely caught the distractions, but the jets just kept on hounding him. "Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast!"

"I'm working on it!" Okay, let's try that again. She put her nose on the targets, tried to get a good tone… There we go. "Get clear of 'em!" Two more missiles dumped from the underside of the StealthKat. No way to run at this range. The two Flankers turned into airborne piles of wreckage; she pulled up to avoid the debris.

"Hell of a plan, that."

She chuckled. "It worked, didn't it?"

The pilot came up on her left side as she leveled out. "Hey, don't get me wrong, that was a pretty good split. I just don't particularly like being the bait in that move. Not like I'm complaining much, though; it did the trick." He looked toward her. "You never did answer my question. Who are you?"

Lioness shrugged. "I thought it'd be obvious by now." She looked back at him, gave him a salute. "I'm a SWAT Kat." She checked her missiles, frowned. "I can't play for much longer though. You watch your six." She banked right and scanned for her next target. No TurboKat? Those two better pick up the pace…

* * *

Fires burned in the wreckage of vehicles strewn about along the roads. Kats fled into buildings in an attempt to avoid the armored vehicles as they steamrolled over anything in their path. Attack helicopters hovered overhead, covering the approach of the convoy.

The situation could not be contained. At least, that's what Ghost thought as she looked at the scene from behind the corner of a building. She'd done all she could, but it wouldn't be long before they cut off the whole city, started using siege tactics. Only way at this point was a total evacuation.

She shook her head. No chance of that. Manx was probably holed up in some bunker.

She turned to her left, walked toward the Cyclotron. Right now, she had to get out of here. Regroup with the others, get the TurboKat airborne. Not easy. She straddled the bike, turned on the engines, and checked the radar. A green blip flashed on the screen, fifty miles northeast. Someone set up a distress beacon.

Call the base? She shook her head. No time. She had to get behind that convoy somehow. Ghost turned the bike around, drove toward the supposed rear of the armored column. Hopefully, no one watched the rear. She turned left at the end of the road, stopped for a moment. Looks clear. She looked up, saw another Black Shark zip overhead. Someone better deal with those bastards soon.

She edged her way forward, tried to keep her speed down. She checked left, watched the armored vehicles roll forward, oblivious. She waited a whole minute before she revved her engines to full and shot toward the other side of the intersection. Wouldn't be long toward she closed in on that signal. Bad news was that others probably saw it on their scopes as well. Ghost picked up the pace.

She checked overhead every five minutes, only to see another attack helicopter buzz over her head. No Enforcer choppers to counter them. Feral must be really stretched. Ghost traced the signal to a building twelve stories high, stopped the bike at the east side. Front door was probably locked tight. She looked up, checked for windows. There, five feet above her.

She took a few steps back, set herself, and took a run at the wall. Just before she reached it, she planted her right foot onto the wall, kicked upward, and grabbed onto the window after two more steps. Okay, so far so good. She started to climb the twelve story building at a good clip, using the windowsills for hand and footholds.

Her HUD displayed the signal source just above her. She'd expected that. Someone probably decided to get up high to where they could easily be seen, get out a call for help. Well it worked. Wouldn't be long before someone else saw it too, though. She had to get whoever it was off the roof.

She grabbed onto the ledge, pulled up onto the roof. A lone she-kat in a dark brown trench coat stood with her back faced toward Ghost, auburn hair tossed about by the wind. The beacon, flashing green, sat just a few feet behind her. As expected. "Hey, you the one that sent out that call for help?"

The she-kat turned to face her. "Well that depends. Are you a SWAT Kat?"

Ghost raised an eyebrow. Okay. That wasn't expected at all. "Yeah, I am. Why?"

The she-kat sighed. "You people are hard to find. Guess there's a reason behind that, though."

Ghost blinked for a moment, somewhat confused. This lady couldn't be serious. If she was, then that meant… Her eyes narrowed as she reached the logical conclusion. "The beacon was a ruse. You wanted one of us to come up here." Her hands tightened into fists. If this was a joke, she wasn't laughing.

The queen raised her hands defensively. "Understandably, you're angry. You don't like being misled. I'd be angry too, were I in your position. But I did it for a reason."

Ghost's expression tightened, lips drawn to a hard line. "And what reason would that be." Better be damn good.

The stranger in the trench coat looked up toward the sky, eyes fixed toward the exact position of the carrier. "Because I know who is behind this attack and why they're doing it."

* * *

**Chapter 61: Aces High (Part 2) – **_**Scramble!**_

Phew. Seriously, damn. This had to be the most challenging chapter I've ever had to write. It took me a good while to get the ending down in my head, but that air combat scene went pretty well in my book. Of course, there is real life to consider, as I have to get paid sooner or later. Guy's gotta eat. And pay for the games he plays. And other things that I won't mention here.

With that said, this chapter is in the books. I woke up at about nine in the evening to hand this to you guys, so enjoy it like there's no tomorrow. I worked hard on it.

I promise, I'll try not to have so long of a hiatus next time. Hopefully things will go smoothly enough to permit me to put these out faster, like I used to.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.


	62. Aces High Part 3

Ghost couldn't speak for all of five seconds. Her fists loosened as she took in the recent information. What were the chances of them finding the mole that'd tried to prepare the defenses? If of course, this was the same she-kat. Commander Feral probably didn't believe any of it at first. Sure as hell did now, though; they were about to come knocking his front door down.

A roar overhead interrupted her musings, made her look up. Those jets weren't theirs. She grimaced. No time to debate this, not out here where they could be shot. "Do you have any way to verify this?"

She shrugged. "Well that depends. Do you have any reason to believe me?"

Ghost looked at her for a moment, wondered what the hell she meant by that. "Those jets that broke through are off to probably blow something up right now. That or they're on recon. I'll listen to whatever you have to say at this point, once we're at a place with a hell of a lot more cover."

She turned toward the street, opened the panel on her Glovatrix, and tapped in a few buttons. The Cyclotron revved up just below. Good boy, find your way back home. She closed it and tapped in the radio panel on her helmet with her right hand. "Base, this is Ghost, do you copy?"

A few seconds passed before she heard a buzz. "Base copies, this is Razor responding. What's the situation out there?"

Ghost let out a tired sigh. Wasn't gonna be a good report. "Just spotted three enemy fighters downtown, looks like our defenses are compromised for the time being. Enemy vehicles all over the place, I couldn't stop 'em all. But there is some good news…" She looked behind her right shoulder. "I'm responding to a distress call here, and you won't believe this… but I found our informant."

A few seconds passed before she heard a response. "Well get her over here, ASAP!"

She turned to look down at the street. "Just one problem, I sent my ride back to the hangar. We need a pickup. You guys got anything available for one?"

"Sure, but you're gonna have to make it so she doesn't see where she's going. Don't want our location to be compromised."

She nodded again. "Yeah, I got it. Give me an ETA."

The conversation ended mere moments later. They would have to wait ten minutes at the very least. Ghost sighed as she cut transmission. She saw two ways to make it so this she-kat didn't see where she'd be going. Both would probably end in her on the ground, lights out. She checked for the first method and found that the Glovatrix did have ammunition for knockout darts. According to Razor, the small ballistic syringes carried enough tranquilizing agent to knock out a big guy like Commander Feral or Captain Puma for a good part of the day.

She unloaded the magazine with the blow-stuff-up rounds in them. "You're coming with me, mystery girl. We have ten minutes before our ride gets here." She put the magazine away, retrieved one filled with less-lethal rounds from a pouch on her left thigh.

"Let me guess. I'm not going to know where I'm going, am I."

Click. Magazine loaded. "You're pretty perceptive. Sorry to have to do this." Ghost turned around, and with a squeeze of her right hand a round triggered from the Glovatrix, hit dead center on the she-kat's chest. The redhead collapsed to the rooftop within two seconds, fast asleep.

Ghost smiled. Good thing she didn't have to do it the second way. That would've been messy…

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

"So this is her, huh?"

Ghost nodded as she and Razor took a much closer look at the she-kat that claimed to be the informant, now lying in a bed in one of the spare rooms. "Should be, anyways. We'll find out as soon as she wakes up."

They'd long since removed the redhead's brown leather trench coat, only to find that she'd been dressed like a kat on business instead of anyone that important. Black slacks, a white, long-sleeved blouse, black heels with a glossy finish. No signs of any military background, yet she'd informed Commander Feral of this attack before it happened…

Ghost grimaced. Some good that did them. Without their aid, the unknown enemy fighters swept the initial defenders under the rug, as if they were of no concern. From what she'd heard, they deployed only half their forces without concern of how many got shot down. Or maybe they didn't think any would be downed at all. Whatever the reasoning, it worked; three enemy planes and almost a full ground force got through, and they were either scouting the area or preparing to knock down some property. She didn't know yet.

While the thought lingered she turned toward Razor, the grimace still present on her face. "You guys need to haul ass. We've got jets making fly-bys over the downtown area, and they're not ours. Is the TurboKat ready yet?"

Razor grinned, gave her a thumbs-up. "Fueled up and set to launch. Lioness is on her way back to re-arm as well." He shrugged. "Timing's bad, but we can't help that. Just gotta hope they're putting everything they've got into taking that carrier out. From what I hear though, we got a ton of trouble that needs to be dealt with."

Ghost shook her head. How much worse was this going to get? No, doesn't matter. They had to do _something_. She turned back toward the still-unknown queen. "I'll get as much as I can out of her, hopefully without a mess. You guys get out there and kick some ass. I'll report in with you when I'm done." Not for a while.

Razor nodded and jogged toward the hangar. "Don't stop until you get everything!"

She sighed. This'd require coffee. Lots of it. She headed toward the ladder and got herself busy with making two cups, one for her and the other for their new guest. Maybe that'll be enough to keep them both awake long enough for her to get this out where it needed to be…

* * *

"All ground forces, report."

"Third Squadron reports half their number destroyed, regrouping with Squadron Five."

"Search pattern initiated over the city. Reconnaissance flight is searching for targets of opportunity."

The black-haired she-kat sipped on her glass of milk, observing the battle that played across the broad screen before her. Her right leg crossed over her left in almost delicate fashion as she watched with an almost dull, lazy cast to her features.

Below, the bridge buzzed with activity. Radio calls flew back and forth between flights as they attempted to fend off the defenders. The sizable hole in their anti-air defenses lingered, a scar on her otherwise pristine carrier, and a few annoying flies managed to squeeze through and cause havoc on the flight deck before they were finally downed.

She was not one to take her opponents lightly. The F-35s impressed her somewhat, avoiding the radars until they were right on top of them, but in a dogfight, their single engines were simply not enough. The Strike Eagles caused an entirely different scenario. Just as powerful as theirs, almost as maneuverable... and even with so many downed, they seemed to keep coming.

And then there's that one fighter. That one that blew the gaping hole in their air defenses in the first place. Her eyes narrowed as her mind replayed the images she'd seen.

It was a beautiful, horrid thing. Swift, efficient, lethal, with stealth and avoidance systems that hid it until the weapons signatures came from almost nowhere. Not to mention the maneuvers it performed, but those were all piloting. Whoever sat behind the controls of that engine of death knew what they were doing… because it single-handedly took out an entire squadron without any assistance from the other defenders. The only end to the miniature rout came when the unknown bandit ran out of ways to destroy their jets.

Apparently it was just enough, because the defenders rallied.

She shrugged. No matter. The distraction worked as it should. She didn't mind sacrificing as many of her fighters as possible as long as the ground forces and attack helicopters that supported them made it through. "What's the status of the reconnaissance planes?"

One of the bridge officers looked over her right shoulder. "They've found the location of the enemy headquarters. Making another pass now to confirm."

The Captain nodded. She could just bomb the place to hell once she had the exact coordinates… but it wouldn't make any difference. If she ordered it, the vehicle teams and tanks would reduce it to rubble anyway. Best to leave it be until it became a problem. Speaking of that… "Report on all vehicle convoys."

Another officer responded. "Team six reports three tanks killed, air patrol reports one helicopter down. It's unknown at this time who initiated the attacks."

She grimaced. Resistance. How many? How well equipped? How mobile? They had to be at least a decent sized force to take down three tanks and a Black Shark. That, or it was an incident just like the mysterious fighter she'd seen earlier, just one aggressor with superlative talent. She could not leave this to chance.

She ran a hand through her hair, stood. Those that saw her stand turned toward her. "I want these kats found and identified. They are capable of hindering our progress greatly. But do not forget our mission, to find and eliminate Turmoil. After that, we have free reign to do as we wish with the city, even to the point of destroying it." She would probably have to do that anyway to make sure each building they checked did not have to be checked again.

The bridge crew saluted and immediately began sending out orders to send out separate search teams. Wherever they were, they would not hide for long.

The Captain sat back down, a hand running along the soft fur of her tail. She purred as the rhythms of her mind slowed to a crawl. No need to rush. Everything is going as projected. She will be found sooner or later. A doubt surfaced; would she really? These new factors, these unknowns, they'd jeopardize things.

She dismissed it as soon as it arose. No. Whoever they were, they would not hinder the mission for long. This would be over and this city would be theirs. Perhaps even other cities, once her forces gained a foothold. The urge to smile rose, and then faded. Emotion had no place in battle, save for being harnessed and utilized. But the content, it lingered.

Good. Let it be. She opened her eyes and watched the screen before her. "Relay the following order to all ground forces. Commence the search. Destroy everything that does not contain our objective."

On the streets, the vehicles stopped where they were and after a few brief moments, the rear doors on all APCs opened. Soldiers poured out of the armored transports, twelve for each, armed to the teeth and fitted with military grade gear. Black, white, and grey camouflage covered just about everything they wore, save for their guns.

They began to break their way into buildings, and seconds later civilians fled screaming, almost tripped over each other to escape. It would take some time for each search of a building to be complete, but once it was… the order was clear. Eliminate the location, cross it off the list of potential areas.

Even as the search teams entered, demolition teams set plastic explosives at key points, just enough to send a towering structure tumbling to the ground… and if they weren't enough, they had tanks. A few clean cannon shells would do the job.

Above, the attack choppers began their search, sniffed for blood. They would find the pilots of the black jets and the ones who'd blown apart the tanks. They would make them pay dearly, and then go back to covering the ground forces. Thus, everything proceeded according to a script already laid out.

Well, almost everything…

* * *

"You can't be serious."

The redhead nodded, her mouth a hard line, eyes intense. "I can assure you that everything you've just heard is no joke. They're going to tear this city in half looking for what they want. It's going to be systematic, methodical, but it's going to be bloody. Most likely, it's started already."

Ghost grimaced. Well shit. They weren't going to be able to take this one on their own, no matter how much firepower they used. It'd take a highly trained army to counter… well, another highly trained army. Sure the four of them were good at what they did, but they were also outnumbered at this point. "And do you have any idea of what they want?"

The queen nodded. "You have to bear with me when I tell you what they're here for. Don't go doing anything rash."

Ghost raised an eyebrow. What's she getting at? "Just say it."

"She's my… former… commanding officer. She's serving jail time right now. You should know her by now… but I never told Commander Feral her name. I had a feeling he'd flip out if he knew their real objective, do something regrettable, like handing her over. Not only would she be dead, but this city would be history."

Ghost shook her head. "You don't know that. We don't know how they-"

"_Of course I know_!" Her face twisted into a snarl. "I know _exactly_ who is in charge of this force, I know how she _acts_. If there's someone else behind our government now, she'll follow orders to the letter, no matter who it is. I expect their mission after they kill her is to take this city by whatever means necessary!"

Ghost raised her hands as if to block the verbal assault. "All right, calm down. I get it." As if the situation needed to be stretched any further. But at least they had an obtainable goal now. Good. She took a sip from her coffee cup, and put it down on the stand next to her chair. "You haven't even told me her name yet. Why is it so important?"

The she-kat ran a hand through her hair, tried to slow her breathing. "It's important because it's someone at least somewhat familiar to one of you. I know he's probably out there fighting right now, but if he were here, he'd know her."

Ghost's eyebrows furrowed. Why was she taking the trouble of hiding the name of whoever this was? What, did this she-kat think that just the name would set het her off? No. Something's wrong. The hair stood on the back of her neck, her skin tingled between her shoulder blades. Wait. Didn't T-Bone say something about this?

Her eyes widened as a name flashed in her mind. So that's what this is about. "Turmoil."

The queen sitting on the bed nodded. "That's the name."

Ghost's eyes narrowed. She had to hear this, and it'd better be good. "Start from the beginning. But make it short, we don't have much time." There were a lot of questions that needed to be answered before anything else. She wouldn't ask. She'd just listen.

The redhead sighed and stared intently at Ghost. "What I'm about to tell you, no one in my country knows but the highest authorities, and even they keep it under wraps. I have no idea whether they're alive or not at this point, so I am assuming they kept it to their graves. Not even the Enforcers know about this, so I am placing a great deal of trust in you."

Ghost nodded, but did not respond. Just hurry up already!

She ran a hand through her hair. "Her real name isn't Turmoil, but Anya. Used to be best friends with the queen attacking your city. They both graduated from the same military academy, top of their class. This was all a few years ago, when war was everywhere and good officers were sparse." She shook her head. "But you asked for the short version. While it does not explain everything, suffice it to say that before coming here, our economy was on the verge of failing…"

Ghost raised a hand, halting her words. Failing economy. Probably bank failures, lack of currency to pass around. Her eyes narrowed, brows furrowed in focus. "You didn't ask for any help?"

The copper-haired queen scoffed. "No one offered. No one even bothered to ask how we were doing, all because we were tied up in war with bordering nations who wanted our technology."

Ghost nodded, closed her eyes. So no outside help, cut off, constantly embattled. Resources probably draining fast. Everything ends, life returns to normal… except for the economy. "You don't have to say anything else. I don't agree with your methods or sympathize with you guys at all. But I understand why you did it." She saw it clear as day… one city after the next, blackmailed out of their gold reserves, to help the effort back home. They just ran into bad luck, coming to MegaKat City.

"You don't have to sympathize. We're the ones that got caught, we don't expect anything. Those that managed to escape would not want sympathy either, they feel their defeat enough."

Ghost chuckled. "So it's a matter of pride…"

A buzz on her radio. She tapped in the panel on the right side. "Talk to me."

"I'm back. You got your hands full down there?"

Lioness. Which means the TurboKat is airborne, good. "You gotta hear this. Get over here immediately. I'm the second room to your left. What's it looking like out there?" She stood, started to pace the room.

"Not good. Fight's heading closer to downtown, got a few jets and attack helicopters buzzing over head now. If they ever decide to get at Enforcer headquarters, there's nothing in their way at the moment but us and KatGuard."

Ghost grimaced. Definitely not easy. "We need to start coordinating with Captain Puma ASAP. See if we can't back them up. Any Enforcer aircraft left up there?" God, she hoped so.

"Those pilots are holding their own. Not too sure how long that'll last, though. Situation should improve, now that T-Bone and Razor are back up there. We gotta cut this radio chatter; I'm almost to the rooms."

Ghost nodded. "No point in it. Knock when you get here." She turned her radio off and turned toward the queen still on the bed. "I need you to repeat what you just told me to the she-kat that's about to open this door. She might not be as calm about it as I was, but I'll try and keep her from hurting you."

Hell, Lioness damn well better not try. They needed this queen alive, like it or not.

* * *

"Holy crap…"

T-Bone grimaced. "You can say that again, Razor. Look at 'em…"

Tanks and APCs rolled through the streets below, tan in color. Definitely not theirs. No telling where the Enforcers were, besides up in the air, floundering. Hopefully there were still some actual mechanized infantry left in the ranks. They'd need all their remaining tanks to take this on. Radar picked up attack helicopters in the area. Probably close air support for the tanks below. Those would have to go first.

T-Bone looked behind him. "Got a lock on anything?"

Razor nodded. "Two bandits, Black Sharks. Don't even ask me to fire, it's already done." He thumbed the switch for their normal missiles. "Rise and shine, sweethearts."

The missiles engaged their targets before they had a chance to move away, slammed straight into the rotors. The Black Sharks crashed into the street below in a pair of fireballs… And the RWR went crazy. T-Bone grimaced, ears twitching at the annoying whine. "Yeah, that woke 'em up good! Where are they?"

"Eight o' clock, trying to get on our six!"

T-Bone's grimace turned into a grin. "Perfect." His right thumb flicked the switch for the smokescreen as he punched the throttle. Nailed full on by the cold smoke, their pursuers had no real way to go but up to clear their field of vision. Of course, this suited the TurboKat just fine as T-Bone pulled up and flipped the plane over with a touch of the air brake. "Razor, hit the Turboblades!"

"Roger that, weapons hot!"

Four razor-sharp steel blades shot forth from the wings with enough speed to tear through whatever they happened to come into contact with. T-Bone gritted his teeth as the weapons did their work, cutting through the engines of the first two helos. They blew apart as the fuel lines were sliced clean through. The two behind fared much worse as the blades kept on going, right into the cockpits.

Hell, they'd have done the same to them. Just with different means. "Let's move. We got a mess to clean up." He rolled back over and punched the throttle. The radar buzzed again. "And here comes more of it! What we got, Razor?"

"Uh… you're not gonna like this!"

Shots pinged off the right side of the TurboKat. "I _already_ don't like it!" T-Bone pitched the nose down, dove right into the jungle of buildings. "Talk to me Razor. How many and where?"

"Three, right on our six! It's those Flankers again, and they don't look happy about what we did to their buddies earlier!"

"They won't have to live with it for much longer…" The big tom's eyes narrowed as he darted underneath a freeway bridge and cut to the left. He missed the building he passed by an inch. Shit, this was stupid. Not like they had a choice. To the left, another building almost clipped. How close now? Did they back off yet? "Razor…?"

"They're sticking to us hard; we can't shake 'em!" The radar screamed. "Oh shit, weapons signatures! They're gonna fire missiles at us right in the _city_!"

T-Bone growled. "What's it gonna take…?" He pulled up, picked up speed, tried to get enough altitude to leave the buildings behind. The radar went quiet for a bit. "Hey buddy, you got any little tricks for these guys, or am I gonna have to play missile bait all day?"

"Don't ask me, you're the pilot. We gotta get these jets away from the city before they try and fire at us again."

The pilot sighed. "So we can't just make 'em eat our exhaust…" This meant of course, more missile bait. No doubt they called for reinforcements by now, too. He looked behind him. "You get something ready for 'em, I got an idea." T-Bone pushed the throttle, pretended to make a break for it. They wouldn't be able to keep up after long, no real choice but to break off and continue looking for whatever. That or they'd be stubborn and keep trying to follow. He prayed for the second as he looked behind him again. "Hey, are they still on us?"

Razor nodded. "Yeah… Look, whatever your plan is, you better do it quick. I don't wanna be missile bait forever."

T-Bone nodded. "I got ya. Hang on!" His thumb pressed in a certain red button, and the TurboKat leapt forward, an eager kitten chasing an invisible toy. The jets behind them were forced to go full throttle, then hit the afterburners just to keep up.

"Still behind us, but I'm detecting a huge heat upshot. They're on the burners."

The pilot grinned. "Let's see how long they can keep that up." He sliced right, tried to force the Flankers to tail chase. Sooner or later, they'd reach bingo fuel… And that would mean a return to base. Unless they were ordered to chase until they couldn't chase anymore. He hoped for the second one. Crap, missile alarm! He cut left, popped flares. He continued the wild chase, picked up speed and altitude. Knew they'd get closer every time he traded air for energy.

The Flankers behind him, three of them, decided to execute a split. One maintained the tail chase while the others cut to the left and right in an attempt to outflank the TurboKat. Of course the bad news in that plan was…

"Heads up, T-Bone; we got two breaking off the attack, probably trying to flank us!"

The big tom nodded. "That's perfect. Lemme know when they get close enough."

"Don't tell me you're planning to…"

T-Bone grinned, his eyes shining wildly. "Yeah, I am. Just keep an eye on 'em!" If this worked, he might nail all three in one go. If it didn't… Well, he was still working on that one, but he'd think of something. His right foot hovered over one of the two pedals beneath him. "How close?"

"I'm giving it a count. Five… four… three… two… one!"

T-Bone put the pedal to the metal and punched the throttle to full. The TurboKat's central engine and the two intakes flipped downward, and the jet shot straight up. The three jets met in the middle, blown to scrap by the collision. He laughed as the sound of the explosion made his ears ring. "That's one way to get rid of 'em!"

Razor nodded. "Yeah, but now we gotta deal with those tanks before they wreck the whole city."

T-Bone turned the jet back toward the city. "Copy that, Razor. Let's just hope they don't have anti-air down there; I don't want to have to deal with that too." A buzz on the radio. T-Bone pressed in the panel on the right side of his helmet. "Give me some good news."

"I got plenty. Everything all right up there?"

He smiled at Ghost's voice. "We're going tank hunting. Looks like there's no more enemy air support for the time being. Dunno why that is, but I'm not gonna ask. We could use some help up here, is Lioness done re-arming yet?"

"Not yet. She'll be set to go soon, though. But she was here long enough to hear what I heard just a few minutes ago."

T-Bone's hands tightened on the controls. Finally! "What you got?"

"Plenty. Force size, objective, armaments, just about the whole thing. This she-kat was really helpful, considering. She could have asked for anything she wanted, but didn't. We don't usually get this lucky, T-Bone."

He frowned. "You think something's up?"

"No, she's clean. Honest, too. She really wants to stop this. But there's one thing you might not like…"

T-Bone grimaced. Damn. It sounded so good, too. "Give it to me."

"Their target is currently in jail. Someone we… or more specifically, you… caught before. We need to get to her before they do." She sighed. "Feral's gonna be pissed. Unless we can get someone else to do this for us, or let them hit Alkatraz first, we'll be marked for life."

T-Bone growled. "Well that's just the cherry on top of the cake, ain't it?" Why the hell did this always have to happen? "You got any other ideas?"

A very long pause took place, almost five seconds of silence. "…You won't like what I have to offer. I have two scenarios that are our best bets." He couldn't get a word in edgewise as she rushed headlong. "First one's the worst case scenario. We go in ourselves, fight the guards, grab the target, and hopefully leave before the cavalry arrives. Like I said, we'll be public enemy number one if we do that. He'll have us killed on sight from that point on."

T-Bone shrugged. "Then that just fires up the intensity for us. Not a problem, we can handle it."

"So, you can live with us being hunted with whatever remaining resources the Enforcers have? Giving Mayor Manx a damn good excuse to declare us enemies of the city?"

He nodded, his face hard. "This city won't last without us. You know that. I'm willing to do anything it takes to keep the criminals from taking over, even being branded as one myself. Question is, are you?"

The pause was shorter this time. "I read you. But let me tell you the second, _much_ better, plan first."

T-Bone nodded again. "Hit me with it."

"We give them what they want." Before he could speak again, she cut him off. "Hear me out. They're looking for someone in jail. We offer the place up as bait. The thing is we don't just give it to them for free. The guards will be there, sure…"

T-Bone's eyes widened. "…But so will KatGuard."

"Exactly. We give the location of the target to everyone except the Enforcers; since they'll be too busy fighting to really do anything about it. They start fighting, commotion ensues, and then we arrive just as the action is at its hottest. It'll be a fine distraction for us to get this she-kat out."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow. "How sure are you of this?"

"Not at all. But this is a better plan than the one you were about to agree with, right?"

He sighed. "I read you. I need Lioness up here to reinforce us, double time. Then we'll do something about this prisoner. She got a name?"

"Anya. Of course, you don't know that name, so I'll give you her other one. You won't like it, though… It's Turmoil."

T-Bone's eyes widened. Oh hell. Figures, that this'd come back to bite him in the ass. He smirked wryly. "Of all the kats, we had to have _her_ rescued from jail. Guess I deserve everything I'm about to get." He shook his head. No time to focus on the past. Besides, they were approaching downtown again, fast. "Tell Lioness to double-time it. The TurboKat's good, but we won't be able to do this solo forever."

"Copy that. I'll be out as well for support."

"No, you won't." He grimaced. She damn sure wouldn't like this. "We need someone to stay there and make sure our informant doesn't get anywhere she shouldn't. Soon as the situation here stabilizes, we'll get back there and set up the prison fight."

"Oh no, you are not pulling that on me. I'm coming whether you like it or not. She'll be fine here."

The radio cut before he could respond. "Shit." He turned to look behind him. "Did you get all that?"

Razor nodded. "Yeah, I did. You want me to be honest, I agree with her."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow. "On what, her plan, or her leaving base?"

"Both."

He sighed, clipped his mask on. "I'm not even going to ask why; we got a job to do. I just hope she knows what she's doing. We don't need another thing on top of all this other crap."

* * *

Ghost cut off the transmission with a sigh. Sorry, T-Bone. She couldn't just sit here while her city was being torn to shreds. She blinked at her own words. _Her_ city? Now here she was, talking as if she was mayor or something. A job she sure didn't want to do.

She turned toward the informant. Damn, she couldn't keep on calling her that. "I forgot to ask your name."

The auburn-haired queen shrugged. "Couldn't be helped, it's a trivial thing. But if you really need to know, my name is Elle."

Ghost nodded. "Good name." She pointed her Glovatrix toward her. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to stay here. I've got a war to fight."

Elle smirked. "Let me guess. You still don't trust me. You think I'll go copying your secrets."

Ghost nodded. "It's a shame you weren't on our side to begin with. You're smart, both of you." She squeezed, and another sleep dart fired from a barrel. It took far less time than earlier, due to the knockout round landing in Tanya's neck. Good thing she fell backwards onto the bed instead of anywhere else.

She handcuffed her, set her up comfortably on the bed, and closed the door behind her, locking it before she left. Ghost strode toward a Cyclotron just as Lioness finished her preparations. "You all set?"

Lioness looked behind her right shoulder. "Oh, you're done. Yeah, I'm ready to go. How's everything going with the boys?"

Ghost sighed. "They need their ace again. This time it's those tanks on the streets." She shook her head. "My question is where the Enforcers are. Don't tell me they don't have any more mobile artillery." Didn't Feral have any more tricks up his sleeves? He was supposed to be good at fighting wars like this.

Lioness turned to face Ghost, hands on her hips. "I'm sure they've got something. And if they don't, it's up to us. Besides, we shouldn't be worried too much about them, they can handle themselves."

The silver-haired queen's eyes narrowed. "Can they?"

Lioness sighed. "Look, I know you don't trust them. They haven't exactly had a good track record. But this is a normal army, however elite they are. They might have gotten the jump on them, but the Enforcers will get back at 'em."

Ghost turned toward the vehicle bay. "I hope so. I don't want to see anyone else die." She straddled a bike as Lioness leapt into the cockpit in one go. Ghost pressed in her radio panel as the StealthKat's engines fired up. "Good hunting. I'll be with you shortly."

"Copy that. Lioness, prepped for sortie."

The engines flared, and the StealthKat roared from the hangar in seconds. Ghost pressed in the panel on the left side of her helmet, and the visor slid down over her eyes, displaying the HUD as usual. Weapon readouts on the Cyclotron showed green, and Ghost nodded. "Time for round two…"

* * *

Commander Feral stared outside, his phone still ringing off the hook. He'd answer when he damn well wanted to. Right now, he glared at the carrier in the distance. He'd run into this situation once before, and couldn't do anything about it. He swore to himself it wouldn't be the case this time.

Yet all day, since this battle started, he'd gotten nothing but bad news.

If it wasn't enough that his brand new jets, fresh off the line, were being outmaneuvered by the enemy's far more agile aircraft and denied by their anti-air defenses, reports began to stream in about tanks and APCs rolling along the streets, and attack helicopters tearing apart mid-day traffic with thirty millimeter cannons.

Whoever they were and whatever they wanted, this was where it stopped.

The shrill ring of the phone made his ears twitch. Damn it all… He walked over and snatched up the receiver. "Make it short. I'm busy."

"You'd better be! I have tanks crushing cars and armed kats flooding buildings! My city is being _attacked_, Feral, if you haven't noticed! _Do_ something!"

He almost groaned. Mayor Manx. Only he had the nerve to talk about doing something when he was the one that should be out there fighting. "If you're still able to call me, I'm going to assume you're not in your office." He damn well should be.

"Of course not! Why would I be in City Hall when there's a war going on?"

The Commander rolled his eyes. "Right, my mistake for assuming you would actually have the guts to hang around and help." He shook his head. This wasn't the time for this crap. "We're doing everything we can Mayor, and then some. But to be realistic, they outnumber and outgun us. I was just about to give the order to throw everything we have at them."

"Well you'd better! If any building is destroyed by the end of this, I'll tan your hide, and then have you removed from your position!"

The phone went silent. Feral slammed the receiver, almost broke the whole phone. "I've had my fill of that self-serving bastard!" He fumed as he glared toward the carrier again, pointed toward it. "This is all your fault. By the end of this, I will see you blown to scrap!" He picked up the phone again. "This is Feral. Get me a count of our remaining tanks and APCs."

He nodded as he heard the number. Not as bad as he'd thought, at least ten tanks and fifteen APCs. "I want all of them out on the streets, now. Yes, _all_ of them! And get the rest of the tank brigade, and any combat-capable Enforcers, into those vehicles; we are stopping this advance, _now_!"

He hung up and strode toward the office doors, snatched up his helmet as he passed by. He damn sure would not cower in his office while his kats fought and died. He just hoped that his remaining fighters and those mercenaries could hold out; delay that carrier for just a little longer. If it reached downtown airspace before this was over, they would be completely overwhelmed.

He didn't like those mercenaries. But now he had no other option to rely on them. Why did things have to be so difficult for him? He shook his head. No complaints. Stick it out, and when it's over, kick them and the SWAT Kats to the curb. This was _his _territory, not theirs. "I'll show them who's in charge here."

His kats saluted as he stormed through with a glower that seemed fixed even on the elevator ride down to the vehicle depot. The sound of engines greeted him as he headed toward a tank. "This one is mine; step away, soldier."

The tank driver saluted as the Commander climbed onto the tank along with the gunner and the machine gunner. Before he got in, he stood proud atop the vehicle and called out, his voice booming. "This is where it stops!"

Anyone who wasn't in their tanks turned toward him.

"I don't want them to gain another _square inch_ of the streets! If even one of those tanks pass our line, I will personally court martial every single one of you. If they think they can walk all over the Enforcers, they have another thing coming. We will hold our city to the very end, do you hear me?"

The kats snapped off a sharp salute. "_Hooah_!"

Feral nodded. "Get in your tanks and do your job!"

As they began to roll out, the commander clamored into the tank and took the controls. "I'll settle this myself if I have to. You just watch, Mayor."

* * *

**Chapter 62: Aces High (Part 3) – **_**High-Risk Maneuvers**_

You know, I liked this vacation, I really did. But now it's just getting to the point where it's extended by a ridiculous amount of time away from a high-speed connection. I've had to spend most of my time here at my grandparents' house with their slow DSL. Grrr.

Well never mind, I has goodies! And when I say I has goodies, I mean it… here's your chapter, almost wrapped neatly in a bow and ready for action. Now I know you guys have been waiting for a good while now, but you will have to wait s'more for the rest of the updates to come flying in. Of course, I will be writing, and writing, and writing until I can't write anymore.

And even then, I'll try to write.

Just don't expect updates too often due to circumstances beyond my immediate control. Thank you for your patience.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	63. Aces High Part 4

The remains of yet another helicopter lay strewn on the pavement below as the Enforcer squad made their way across the rooftops, their faces worn and eyes hard. Visor displays were dead thanks to the ECMs, but they still had the targeting systems on the Stingers and Javelins. Six uniformed officers with body armor searched for targets on the roof of a hotel, while another six looked for targets on another vantage point nearby.

One of the officers in the first group tapped his sergeant on the shoulder. "Target sighted, six hundred meters east. We got a noisemaker set up and ready."

The sergeant turned toward the officer and nodded. "Give me your binoculars. I need to see this."

After he'd gotten what he asked for, he peered through the goggles toward the indicated destination. Sure enough, a Black Shark helicopter hovered, probably covering the advance of armor. Not for long, though. "Sending targeting information now…" He pressed in a button on the top of the binoculars for a few seconds until he heard a beep, lowered them for a brief moment. "Fire!"

The officer with the Stinger launched his payload, and the sergeant raised his goggles again as the missile shot toward its intended destination. A grin spread across his features as the missile hit dead center, tearing the helo in half with a vengeance. "You nailed 'em!"

The Enforcers cheered as they watched the debris fall. The sound of another missile rang in their ears as the other six officers fired on another helicopter. Far as they could tell, they were the only squad left that maintained an active presence. They'd gone from high ground to high ground, avoiding the vehicles, taking out their air support where they could. Even the sergeant admitted they'd gotten lucky so far, though. Of course if he actually said that, morale would take a hit, but it was the truth all the same.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, they heard the sound they'd been dreading. The six of them turned as a Black Shark came into view, bristling with missiles and a thirty millimeter cannon that was all too happy to see them. He heard the other team through his radio as they shouted about another enemy helicopter at their location.

So much for luck. "Fire another one! Don't let up!"

The officers wasted no time as another pair of missiles shot from the launchers, straight for the cockpits. They hit their marks… and the helicopters fell the wrong way. Their way. "_Shit_! Move, move!" The blades tore into the buildings as the Black Sharks smashed into them. The officers leapt from their high perches just before a fireball went off behind them, popped their parachutes halfway down.

As they landed and discarded their packs, the sergeant sighed. There goes their height advantage. He began to plan his next move when the sound of a tank round in the distance got his attention. He made the signal to form ranks. "Stay close and keep your eyes peeled. Dunno if that's one of ours... but we're going to find out. Check your ammo; we're moving in two minutes."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

Commander Feral manned the machine gun turret atop a blue and white tank, with six more behind him. Better to do this part himself than to stay safe inside the armor. Besides, it wouldn't be long before they encountered the enemy, and he wanted to actually see it when they took every last one of them out.

The four tanks with anti-air missiles on top scanned the skies as well as the ground, just in case those annoying choppers showed up. Of course when it came to fighters, they'd hammer anything on the ground anyway, and from the last reports, a few had broken through.

Feral's helmet radio buzzed as he heard the two words he'd been waiting for; enemy sighted. His tank sped forward as the coordinates came in, and the others followed suit. The tank gun swiveled around to the left as they approached, and he gave the order for the other tanks behind him to halt. After giving the same order to the four missile tanks across from his column, he directed his tank forward, right into an incoming convoy. Good, a whole line of them. Before they could get a shot off, his tank fired first, an explosive shell ramming into the turret of the first tank in the line. As it exploded, his tank moved forward again, just as the others tried to line themselves up for another shot.

The tank behind his drove forward, aimed, fired at the second tank as it came around the wreckage of the first. Another one down, no telling how many left. From that point, the convoy began to break apart as Feral's tank took a left a few blocks away. "All tanks, concentrate your fire on that convoy before they spread too far! Take out their air support!"

Five Black Sharks moved to stop the oncoming assault, but missiles fired from the ground shot two of them down. The others veered away to avoid getting painted, which gave room for the rest of the Enforcers to get moving on their orders. Feral's tank drove on, turned to the left again, and fired at an APC that was trying to escape. It continued onward past the wreckage and Feral spotted another tank from the corner of his right eye. He turned his turret to fire at the gunner on top; took her clean out with a brief burst of gunfire.

The incoming armor didn't last long as they blew it to hell and back, and the fight continued onward with no signs of slowing down. Feral looked up and grimaced as he saw an attack helo approach their position. Okay, they missed a few. Just great. "Turn right, now!"

The tank driver complied just as an anti-tank missile streaked past, slammed into a car just behind them, and tore it to pieces with the explosion. "Any nearby units, I am engaged and taking fire! Need immediate support, five seconds ago!" The hair on the back of his neck raised as the sound of the chopper behind and just above them buzzed in his ears. Where was his backup, damn it?

An explosion from above startled him. He turned his head to look at the chopper, now in flames and going down. "Stop! Stop the tank!" The ride came to a halt and Feral looked around for any sign of… There! Smoke trail from that alley! He pulled out a loudspeaker. "Show yourselves, immediately!"

Six uniformed Enforcers exited the alley, one of them with a Stinger missile launcher, another with a Javelin. Feral sighed, his shoulders relaxed. "Thank God. Is there anyone else with you?"

They headed for the tank, and a kat that was supposedly the leader answered. "We got six more, hunting for tanks. Hell of a lot of trouble trying to get back to headquarters, sir. These guys are everywhere. We managed to thin their numbers where we could, take a few air units out. There's one more thing, might be good news."

Feral raised an eyebrow. This was good enough for him, but there was more? "Tell me."

The sergeant grinned. "We saved a SWAT Kat's hide."

Feral smirked. Well it looked like they owed the Enforcers one now. "Good work. Much as I hate to admit it, we need them alive right now. How's your equipment?"

The tom sighed, shook his head. "Had to use our parachutes after a close call, those are gone. Anything that's got a satellite uplink is screwed because of the ECMs, but we still have targeting capability as far as personal weapons. Almost out of ammo, though."

The Commander nodded. "We'll take care of that right now. I'll get an APC over here to re-supply you. You're covering me from this point forward."

The sergeant saluted. "Understood, sir. We got your back."

* * *

Razor grimaced as he listened to the radio chatter. Definitely not the way to get into a fight. "It doesn't look good, T-Bone. They're getting hammered despite that big hole that's in the anti-air field. I read about twenty Enforcer F-35s remaining and two wings of KatGuard Strike Eagles. They have more incoming, but they can only throw so much at this problem."

T-Bone nodded. "Yeah, we gotta motor if we want to turn this around. How's the ground fight?"

The WSO paused for a moment to switch frequencies and listen in to that. "It's actually better down there than it is up here! The Enforcers mounted a counter-attack just a few minutes ago! Sounds like they're hard at work taking out tanks and APCs."

T-Bone chuckled. "I knew they were good for something. I just wish I could stick it to Feral again, but we can't really do that if he's okay."

Razor shrugged. It wasn't as if they couldn't handle themselves usually. Just most of the time, they got into things that were too big for them. "All I'm concerned about is keeping as many of 'em alive as possible." His radar beeped at him. "We're entering ECM range; I'm switching on the countermeasures."

The pilot looked behind him with a grin. "Got any presents ready for our guests?"

Razor grinned back. "You know it. Can you get us close enough to target those missile batteries? We gotta free up some more space for those fighters." That was the big thing after all – destroying as many fly swatters as possible so that they could wreck planes without them leaving the carrier. At that point, whoever was behind this attack would run low on personnel and planes, and would lose the advantage.

Unless there was something he was missing.

Razor shook his head. They'd deal with it when it came. He activated the broad-frequency channel. "Attention all remaining friendly wings, this is the TurboKat. Figured you could use a little hand, so we're gonna clear out some space for you. Keep these fighters off our backs for a bit, copy?"

"Copy that, TurboKat. Cougar Flight Six has you covered."

"Cougar Flight Three copies, just take out those missiles and guns!"

Razor smiled and cut the frequency. "We got our cover, T-Bone. Punch it!"

The TurboKat shot forward, engines at full, speeding toward the carrier. Enemy fighters immediately took notice and started to open fire on T-Bone and Razor, when several of them found themselves victims of mid-range missiles from KatGuard. The other jets broke off to counter, and soon the TurboKat found itself within range of the anti-air artillery.

Razor opened up the channel again. "We're beginning our run; keep 'em busy for a while longer, over!" He switched to his standard missiles, nothing fancy for neutralizing anti-air, and hit the helmet panel for his visor. He targeted all the missile batteries he could get a fix on, which amounted to five. "I've reached my lock limit, missiles are prepped. Get me close enough that I can see the look on their faces."

T-Bone grimaced. "That's a bit too close there, bud. You sure?"

Razor nodded. "Positive!" He had to be that close because it'd be a sure hit. One miss would be bad overall. Besides, he really did want to see the looks on their faces. "There, that's close enough. Going hot!" He released the missiles, looked behind him as the TurboKat pulled away. The chain of explosions made him grin as those five missiles alone cleared the entire side. "Bingo, bingo, and bingo! That should ruin their day!" He switched the frequency on again. "All wings, send any you can spare to the carrier! You're clear to engage targets on the deck!"

His radar chose that time to whine about incoming fighters. "We pissed 'em off good, they're coming out in force."

T-Bone grinned. "Fine by me! I'm spoiling for a fight! You got anything left?"

Razor nodded. "You even have to ask? Just point the nose at something that isn't ours, and I'll do the rest. Let's just hope they're out of ideas after this and just decide to go away." It was never that easy, though. There had to be something… Then as he looked at the radar, he found out what exactly that something was as the enemy fighters began to break off their attack. "Hey, they're returning to the carrier."

T-Bone smirked. "That'll teach them not to mess with us, then."

Razor shook his head. "No, it's too easy." His fears were confirmed when he, and the other planes, received a transmission.

"Attention all defenders. You have fought me off with an impressive, single-minded persistence, and I do appreciate the challenge you have provided. But sadly, it was futile. You see, I have rigged explosives in several buildings of your city. And if you continue your attack on my carrier or my ground forces, you will force me to detonate them remotely, turning most of your property into rubble."

The slim tom's jaw tightened. "Way too easy."

* * *

The smirk on her face and the tilt of her head said everything about her attitude.

The radar showed all attacking flights breaking off as her remaining fighters retreated into the safety of the carrier. She nodded and spoke into her microphone again. "Now that I have your attention, I will make this very simple for you. I believe you have a captured criminal in your midst calling herself Turmoil. I want her, and I want her within the next three hours. And if I do not get what I want, I will destroy your city, brick by brick, until I find her. I trust I do not have to demonstrate my capability to do this."

She chuckled. "You do not have to answer. Simply bring her to me, and I will leave your city intact. Mostly destroyed, but intact none the less. And to make it fair and balanced, I will mark the locations of the explosives with signal beacons. Mind you, if you try to disarm them, they will detonate. Should you deliver Turmoil to me within the time limit, these beacons will deactivate and you can do as you wish with the bombs."

She checked the watch on her slim right wrist, and after a few seconds… "Remember, three hours, starting now. Clock's ticking."

She cut the transmission and sat back down in her chair. "Monitor this frequency. I want to know who says what and when they say it. I expect some form of answer. Surely, they don't want to suffer any more than they have. Give me eyes on all transport aircraft. If they are going to send her, they will do so that way." That was, if they would send her at all. She honestly didn't care how she got Turmoil; her orders were to kill her.

She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She figured it wouldn't be too long before one of two things happened. Either she would accomplish her mission and go home, or she would decimate this city until she found Anya, then accomplish her mission and go home. Unless the orders changed, that was her goal. Nothing else mattered. Not this city, not its people, and not her best friend.

There was one thing she would miss however. Those pilots in the red and black fighters, the ones that seemed bent on thwarting her. They were adept and clever, able to defeat many at once without much effort. If these were the SWAT Kats she'd heard of, she would have to hold off on killing them too soon. She wanted to play with them for a little while longer, until her amusement was sated.

Then, she would have no compunctions about killing them swiftly and mercilessly. After all, that was how she dealt with anyone that got in her way. Threats after all, had to be silenced as efficiently as possible in war. Still, she hadn't had this good of a fight in some time. She almost hoped the orders would change so she could spend more time figuring them out.

She smiled. "This is a very interesting city."

* * *

Lioness growled, her eyes tense and mouth twisted into a snarl. She wanted to fly over there anyway and kick the shit out of that carrier, along with everyone inside. She tried to calm herself as she turned the StealthKat around and headed back to base. Just relax. Just because she wanted Turmoil didn't mean they had to give her up the easy way.

The brunette smirked. That's right; she was playing right into their hands. Sure, the bombs were a very, very compelling factor, but nothing too bad yet. Besides, they had someone who knew how to disarm them. Well… at least, she hoped they did. That mole did have good information, but she probably didn't have any expertise in explosives.

Wouldn't hurt to ask, though. Too bad Ghost was out of the base.

She opened up a channel to her fellow female SWAT Kat. "You hear what I just heard?"

Ghost replied almost immediately. "I did. This makes things complicated. We're going to have to find a way to disarm those without her knowing we're doing it. For now though, we stick with the plan. Give her what she wants; clue someone else in on it. We need Turmoil alive for this to work."

Lioness grimaced. Wait a minute… "What if she decides to blow the bombs if we attack her retrieval force?"

"She won't. She doesn't even expect much resistance besides the guards; probably gonna tell them to open fire on them anyway. If she does that, her bomb thing is null and void. If she's anything like Turmoil, she likes to play chess. This is only going to be another part of the game for her."

Okay, that made sense. She just hoped this would end well. Lioness put the jet on auto pilot and leaned back in her seat with a sigh. "Won't be pretty when she finds out she's gone. You got a plan for that, too?"

"We'll just tell her Turmoil broke herself out during the confusion. She won't like it, but it'll open up negotiations for a time extension. At least, I hope so. Worse comes to worst, she'll get pissed and blow the charges anyway, then go all out on us. We'll just have to accept that and throw everything we've got at her."

Lioness's eyes narrowed. "Oh, come on. You'd risk a ton of lives for this one bitch?"

"We're not exactly in a position to debate this. Besides, this is a professional army, not a bunch of terrorists. If they were, they'd have already blown the buildings with kats still inside. Trust me; we'd have heard that one on the news by now."

The brunette relaxed slightly. "You really have thought this out. Fine, I trust you on this. But if anything happens, I'll kick your ass and feed you to the Enforcers. I won't like doing it, but I will."

The other end went silent for a few seconds before Ghost responded. "I'm willing to put myself on the line for this. And if that means going to jail or worse for a botch, that's fine. But I'm not about to just sit here and do nothing."

Lioness closed her eyes and smiled. This was why that she-kat will make a good mayor. "Well if you're willing to go through with this, I'm in. Just remember, if this fails, your ass is mine."

Ghost chuckled from the other end. "If this fails, you won't have to take me in. I'll do it myself."

* * *

Marcus Puma hunched forward in his leather chair, elbows on the dark oak table, brow furrowed and eyes heavy. He'd been hearing reports of his kats dying for hours now, with no sign of reprieve. The SWAT Kats helped a great deal with keeping casualties to a minimum, but he was nearing the end of his rope.

And then, the announcement came. This devil of a she-kat played them all like mandolins. The ECMs, the building raids, the distraction of the dogfight and the ground attack… She placed every piece just-so, and then made her move. He'd respect her a lot more if she worked for the city. Now, he hated her something fierce. His remaining forces could do nothing while those explosives were armed, and he expected that this situation tied Feral's hands as well.

A knock on his door pulled him out of his dark train of thought. "Enter."

A kat clad in black tactical gear jogged into the office, panting slightly. "Boss, we just got this communication from an unknown source. I think you need to see this for yourself, decide whether it's viable or not."

Marcus raised an eyebrow and took the sheet of paper from the mercenary. His eyes widened as he read it, and once he went through it a second time he put it on the desk and folded his hands underneath his chin. Okay, this was new. Whoever the hell this was, they'd given him a neat little window of opportunity. But he had to be subtle about it. No one else, not even the Enforcers, could know about this.

He looked up at the mercenary with a smile. "I'm prepping three squads for action, including you. Break out your best gear and head over to Alkatraz Island, double time. We're going to make them regret ever coming to this town."

The tom saluted and jogged out of the office. Marcus looked down again, a bemused smile on his face. The note stated exactly where Turmoil was, with three words in all caps.

Get there first.

* * *

"We have a transmission incoming, ma'am! It's not radio contact; we're getting it via transcript."

The she-kat stood, reached for the letter. After reading it through, she sat and placed a hand on her chin. Not the way she'd expected them to respond. Someone should have at least sent her a defiant remark, a declaration that they would not give in to the demands of criminals, or terrorists, or whatever. But this was not only an invitation; it seemed like a challenge.

She smiled. They actually wanted to play with her. All right then, she'd play.

She looked up at the one who'd sent her the message. "I want a retrieval team armed and ready for deployment, immediately. We're about to clean up the mess that our errant comrade left behind for us. I want anyone who resists us in that place killed. But do not eliminate the target; I want her alive so I can do it myself."

She looked at the note again with a chuckle. Someone definitely had a good time writing this. Sure, it wasn't much, but it was enough to get her very, very excited. The note told her the exact location of the one she-kat they'd come for, but had an added stipulation in exactly four words.

Come and get her.

She grinned. Fine, they would come and get her. At least this would provide some amusement before the end of the mission. Granted, if things went wrong, she always had the explosives. But she needed to see what these kats could do. If nothing else, the fight wouldn't be so boring. She hated conflicts that were too easy; the satisfaction of defeating a competent opponent always brought her back to the battlefield.

Only question was, were these kats competent enough? This would be a fine way to find out.

"This is a very interesting city indeed."

* * *

The prison guards stood wide-eyed as they saw three Black Hawk helicopters descend on the prison, bearing the KatGuard shield. Ropes fell from the choppers and armed kats slid down, spreading out into defensive positions. Some shouldered their rifles, but a buzz in their ears from their helmet radios told them to hold their fire.

Entirely confused, they lowered their weapons just enough to ask what was going on. After they heard the situation, their faces almost turned white with shock. That army that attacked the mainland was coming for them to take a certain prisoner from their walls. They would have to stop them before they got to the cell. Some guards cursed as they headed to the armory; others jumped at the chance for some action besides the usual prison riots.

The choppers headed away as the kats headed into Alkatraz, hunkered down for the eventual assault. Those bars wouldn't stop bullets, sadly. Not as if they cared, these were criminals. Most were condemned to life behind these walls; a few were waiting for the chair. They weren't here for them; they were here for just one she-kat. No telling why, but they'd follow their orders. Besides, they'd get some payback for everyone who died in the air. Who didn't want that?

They didn't have to wait long. Thirty minutes after they prepared themselves, they heard reports of transport choppers coming their way, unknown origin. Yeah, there they were. It was about to get messy as hell, but no one would be going down without a fight. Win or lose, everyone would be talking about how KatGuard fought back. Maybe that'd give people in this city some hope.

They sure needed it right now.

* * *

**Chapter 63: Aces High (Part 4) – **_**Play the Game**_

Phew. Okay.

I'm not going to mince words; this was a difficult chapter to conjure up. And with only so many words I can type for each chapter, it's tough to decide what to keep and toss out. And according to the structure of the chapters, we're already on Part 4…

Well screw it. Whatever happens! But take note, this fic will end at seventy chapters. The resolution will come, and it will come before the end of next month. It's about time I dealt the finishing blow to whoever orchestrated this war and move on, don't you think?

But first, I would like to actually thank my dad for keeping me here as long as he did. Truth be told, if I weren't here for this long I wouldn't have gotten bored enough to write again! And write I have, in spades. I'm ready to kick it up another notch, turn the volume _past_ eleven, make it so loud your ears will want to peel off of your head and run for cover.

Hey, don't worry. All will be revealed in time. For the moment, enjoy this latest foray into the world of the SWAT Kats.

_Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya._


	64. Aces High Finale

The sun was setting on a battleground.

From the walls of Alkatraz Island, shoulder-mounted rockets fired at the incoming helicopters, forcing them to swerve out of their path. A few of them met their mark, took out two attack helicopters. The call for reloads spread across the line, but in the time it took to get another rocket out and fire, the cannons from the three remaining Black Sharks tore through the guards like so much Swiss cheese.

Watchtower guards sounded the alarm just before anti-tank missiles blew them to pieces. More guards flooded the outside areas, Stinger missiles at the ready. They fired without a moment's hesitation, tried to get lucky again, but without avail. Cannon fire rained down on the Enforcers, shredding most of the defenders, covering the insertion of the ground forces. Well-armed she-kats slid down the ropes into the courtyard, unhooked, and proceeded to gun down any who still fought after the cannons were finished.

The guards scrambled for cover as the army bore down on them, tried to organize a counter-attack. But the enemy headed in at a breakneck pace, and all the Enforcers could do was defend against the ones that tried to keep them from pursuing.

Inside, the she-kats forced their way past the security checkpoints, headed through the corridors, trying to find their objective. They shot any guards that they came across; made sure they were good and dead before continuing onward. Prisoners screamed at them to let them go free, made promises to them that they would join their army. They simply moved past. Only one prisoner mattered.

But they wouldn't get there just yet.

One squad headed for the stairwell leading to the second level of the prison, when a flashbang skittered out from around the corner near the doorway. In the single second it took for the distraction to go off, time seemed to slow down. Twelve kats clad in black armor and tactical gear flooded the hallway. Four of them immediately lined up and opened fire with their rifles; six soldiers fell in a brief span of three seconds.

The rest retreated behind the corner they'd come from, their momentum broken.

The battle of Alkatraz Island was underway.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

Ghost peered at the prison through her visor, zoomed in on the approaching choppers. She watched as rockets blew two Black Sharks to pieces while the rest evaded, and then opened fire in response. Her guts twisted as the attack helicopters took out two watchtowers. "I'm sorry about this, you guys. Just hold on."

"You're feeling sorry _now_ of all times?"

She zoomed out and looked back at Lioness, gave her a glare. "Of _course_ I'm feeling sorry! I practically sent all those guards there to their deaths!" Her fists clenched until they hurt. "The worst part is that I had to, that this is the only way for us to win." She hoped so. A lot of things could happen after this.

Lioness nodded. "You should remember that feeling. Let it drive you." She sat down in one of the seats in the HoverKat, folded her arms in front of her. "Besides, if we can pull this off, it won't be in vain. I just hope she cooperates with us."

"She'd damn well better, or I'll kick her ass."

Ghost turned her head toward T-Bone, sitting at the controls with a stony expression. "You can't. We need her brains if nothing else. Leave convincing her up to me." If she could. One incident could mess everything up.

He shrugged. "Hey, just sayin' that if you can't, I'll be happy to do it my way. Not like I have any feelings for her anymore."

She sat down with a sigh. "Let's get this over with. I'm tired of it already."

The hood slid forward, closed with a hiss. The fans whirred into motion and the HoverKat glided forward across the choppy water, toward the eastern wall of the prison. A ten foot high barbed wire fence stood in their way, but it was no obstacle to them. Lioness and Ghost got out when they pulled up to the rocky shore, made their way toward the fence.

They turned on their Delta Packs, flew up and over the fence. Ghost zoomed in on a barred window. Through the wall, she saw a figure outlined in green. "That's the cell, all right. We need to get moving before anyone gets that far." She pushed in the visor panel on her helmet, making it slide upward into its notch. "I hope she appreciates this."

Lioness smirked. "What criminal wouldn't appreciate getting busted out?"

They floated over toward the window, set up four charges in the pattern of a square, flew to either side of the shape they'd made. "Clear!" Lioness activated the bombs with her Glovatrix, punched a hole into the brick wall. Ghost flew in and landed, checked outside the cell for any guards or enemies.

"Well, I'll admit you're the last one I expected to get me out of here."

Ghost glanced to her left at the she-kat lying on her side. So this is Turmoil. No time for questions. She motioned for her to stand and come with her, preferring not to speak just yet.

The queen raised an eyebrow. "What, no formal introduction? You're quite rude." She stood, dusted herself off. "I won't hold it against you this time, though." Turmoil walked over and held on tight, took one last look at the prison. "It's clear, go."

Ghost turned on the jets again and headed out of Alkatraz, Lioness just behind her. They landed just outside the chain link fence and scrambled into the HoverKat.

Turmoil looked surprised to see who was driving. Pleasantly surprised. "I never thought you would be behind this." She smirked. "I knew you still had a thing for me."

He didn't even look at her as she tried to lean closer. "Don't thank me for this, and don't think I did this for you, either. You want an explanation, fine. You ask the one that carried you out here."

"Is that so?" She looked toward the silver-haired SWAT Kat as she moved to sit in the last empty seat. "You're going to have to tell me all about how you planned this. It was a brilliant move. At another time and place, you'd have made a fine addition to my forces."

Ghost rolled her eyes. Was she always like this? She hoped not. She tapped T-Bone on his left shoulder, heard the hiss of the roof as it closed on them. They pulled away from the prison and she turned to look at their new passenger. "Do you want to go home?"

Turmoil went silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "Like nothing you could imagine."

Ghost faced forward again. "Then listen carefully. I'm only going to say all this once."

* * *

Razor sat in his workshop, head in his hands.

Damn. This'd gotten too big too fast. They needed a way out of this, now, or everything might as well fall to pieces before their eyes. Ghost had a plan, sure, but there were no guarantees of it working. Maybe the Enforcers or KatGuard would have an idea, because he sure didn't. All he could do was wait.

The radio in his helmet buzzed, made his ears perk. He raised his head, pressed in the response panel. "This is Razor, channel is secure. Go ahead." A grin spread on his face as T-Bone answered him with some good news. "No shit? Damn, that was easier than I thought! I didn't expect you guys to finish so soon!" He paused, listened to the next few words. "So there really _is_ a way to take those bombs offline? I'm all ears!"

He stood, made his way toward the hangar as they told him how. Blocks of C4 were at key structure points, but they were all useless if someone took out the signal relay that would set them off. If anyone botched deactivating those, they would all transmit _without_ the use of the detonator. Game over.

He groaned. How many kats would it take to cover that many buildings? Razor shook his head. More than Commander Feral probably had. Plus, the only easy part was hiding their insertion; the carrier had wireless access to every camera in every building that her troops rigged to blow. All he had to do was put the cameras on a recurring loop and they'd be invisible. He could even do all the target buildings at once if he could get close enough.

He stopped when T-Bone mentioned something else, turned on his heel and headed toward the guest rooms. "I'll do that. Sure could use the help. What're you guys doing about the carrier? Someone's gotta get inside and take it down." Just like last time. Razor approached the door that held their temporary guest, stopped in front of it. "Uh, are you sure about that? Sounds like a suicide run to me."

Razor smirked at T-Bone's reply. "Yeah, you got that right. I'll contact you when we're in position, over." He cut the radio and fished in his pouches for the key to the door. Once he found it, he unlocked it and stepped in. Okay, she's awake. Good. "Sorry about the accommodations. I'm here to get you out of here."

The she-kat smiled brilliantly. "So you got her?"

Razor nodded. "We got her. She's gonna help us out of this mess. Turn over, please …" He unlocked the handcuffs and pulled her to her feet. "You're enlisted, by the way. We got a ton of explosives to disarm, and not much time to do it. They told me you know how to disable 'em."

She shrugged. "Depends on what kind of bombs they are. Some just can't be disarmed."

Razor explained the situation, and after he finished, she shrugged. "Solvable."

The lithe, masked tom nodded. "Just two things wrong with all this. We're short on manpower, and I'll be busy hacking the cameras, so I can't help with the disposal."

She raised an eyebrow. "So what do you need me for?"

Razor turned toward the hangar again and got moving. "I need you to tell the EOD squads how to disable those relays."

"But you just said—"

Razor grinned. "Yeah, I did. Didn't say I don't know how to make the best of 'em." Now if only he could convince Commander Feral to let them borrow his bomb squad for a bit. That'd be the difficult part; the big guy liked being in charge. But he was useless right now, thanks to that threat freezing his tanks. Probably didn't have any ideas.

"This is all very impressive. Our army could have used technology like this. Perhaps you could …"

Razor shook his head. "Not on your life. This tech is ours, and the blueprints aren't for sale. But thanks for the compliment; always good to hear we do a good job taking care of our stuff." He turned to look over his right shoulder. "By the way, this place doesn't exist."

She smirked. "What place are you talking about?"

Razor straddled a Cyclotron. "Good girl. Let's go!"

* * *

The captain's eyes narrowed. This was not the scenario at all.

She had to send reinforcements to the prison just to keep up with the well-trained, well-armed, and very stubborn kats in black. It seemed the only way to get past them was when they ran out of ammunition. Apparently, they were efficient shooters, because that hadn't happened yet. Whoever planned this—sent her that deliberate challenge—had _expected_ her to attack, knowing full well that these were no ordinary kats.

She looked to her right at the quarter-sized red button on the armrest, a green button above it. Three hours had long since passed without word of Turmoil's presence. The challenge note told her the exact cell block where her quarry waited for her, and so far, no one had even made strides to reach it. This had to end sooner rather than later. She'd spent too much of her precious time and resources on this.

"Captain, we have a breakthrough! One of the squads made it to the cell!"

Finally. One can only take so much. "Patch me through."

She reached into the right pocket of her pants, pulled on an ear piece and slid it into her right ear. This had better be good. The ear piece beeped a signal that she was on the air with the squad. "Control to assault teams, situation report. What luck?"

"We're on the third level of the prison. Had to take an alternate route past those kats in black. They're hammering us hard; requesting assistance ASAP."

That didn't sound like anything new. "Negative, no reinforcements are available." A lie. She had plenty to go around, but she didn't want to waste her time. "Shoot at them until they run out of bullets, or you do. I want the target found and—"

"What the hell? It's…"

She leaned forward. "Report!"

There was nothing on the other end for several moments. "The cell is empty! She's gone!"

Gone, or not there in the first place? The captain gritted her teeth. "Clarify. Make it good."

"Gone as in _gone_, ma'am. There's a huge hole in the back wall, debris everywhere…"

Her left fist pounded on the arm rest. Damn it! That was _not_ how it was supposed to go! "Get me a video feed! I want to see what the hell this is about!" She turned to her right, glared at one of the techies. "Put it on screen!"

The video feed from a soldier's helmet patched through, and she sat silent as the camera swept from side to side. The stars outside winked at her, teased her. Pieces of brick from the back wall lay along the floor from the site of the explosion. Shit! "Someone helped her escape." Her eye caught something on the lower of the two bunk beds. "Zoom in there, to the right."

The camera zoomed in, light shining on a chess board. She studied the pieces, trying to find some clue. With how the black ones were placed, it would almost seem as if …Her eyes widened. No! "She knew we were coming." How long? Seconds, hours, days? Who told her? The answer to that question came almost after she asked. The queen smacked herself on the forehead. "I should have found that little red-headed bitch and killed her."

That had to be it. Her lieutenant, Elle ...She was somewhere in the city, had informed her of the impending attack, helped her escape. While it _was_ true Turmoil used to be there, all this served as a distraction to get her out. Had she planned this from the moment she heard the news?

She shook her head. Didn't matter anymore. The scenario has changed. She stood, straightened her clothing. "All personnel, pull back. I'm sending an extraction helicopter to you now. We will not waste any more time on this assault." Turmoil was out there now, and she had to find her, before she struck again. She looked back at the chess board, eyes narrowed.

Those pieces, those moves …She traced them all backward until the pieces sat in starting positions, lined up neatly.

That was the last game they ever played.

* * *

"Aren't you going to take me somewhere safe? I am your asset, after all."

T-Bone grimaced, arms folded in front of his chest. "Look around you. There's nowhere safe, thanks to your buddies. If you hadn't come and tried to hijack our airspace, this wouldn't have happened."

Turmoil pouted. "You know, you were a lot nicer to me when you were trying to capture me." She smiled and stepped closer. "Then again, I like how you are now, too. Makes it a lot more challenging for me, and I do like a challenge." She stopped less than a foot in front of him. "I also like how you kiss."

"I'm kissing someone else these days. Glad for it, too."

She shook her head. "You really shouldn't be so harsh. I mean, we are working together for once, after all. There shouldn't be any division in the ranks; it's strategically unsound. I'm sure you have regrets about our time together, doing what you had to do." She reached for his right ear. "But we can get past this. All we need to do is—"

The big tom snarled. "Don't touch me."

She pulled her arm back with a grin. "What's the matter? Afraid I'll pull that ear off?"

T-Bone looked away with a sigh. "Look …I appreciate you helping out. I do. But I've moved on. You're still a criminal; I'm still the one that caught you. I'd do it again, if it meant keeping this city peaceful and safe." He glared at her again. "We're keeping this businesslike, got it? I have enough on my hands already without having to deal with you coming on to me."

Turmoil nodded. "Acceptable. All right, I'll keep my hands off." At least, for now.

"If you two are done, we've got a fight to finish."

Turmoil turned toward the brunette at the corner of the skyscraper, stuck her tongue out at her. Did they really have to be so uptight? This would be easy. She specialized in the art of war, and with her on their side, nothing was impossible.

She shifted her gaze toward the silver-haired she-kat, watching for contacts around the corner. So she'd orchestrated a battle just to get her. Surely, she knew the risks of that, the sacrifices made because of her plan. If she did, she hid it well behind her iron-calm façade. They called her Ghost. Turmoil nodded to herself; fitting name. She rarely spoke, but when she did, it meant something. Her steps were nearly soundless when she wanted to keep it quiet. A good soldier, this one. Possibly a good officer.

T-Bone spoke from behind her. "If you betray us in any way, or hurt her, I will kill you."

She turned toward him again, her expression blank. He really had changed. Fine then. Besides, he was right; she had every reason to betray the SWAT Kats, and this city. The army attacking them was a formidable one. Sizable, well-equipped, good in a fight. If she made her way into that carrier and took out the leader herself, she would have a force with which to take the city herself. It would be via less violent means, but she would do it none the less.

But she also had every reason not to.

"Agreed. All I need is to go home. Rest assured; I'm taking this army with me. You'll never have to worry about me again."

T-Bone nodded. "Hell of a lot better than just knocking you off. Glad we could come to an agreement." His ears perked at something and he tapped a panel on the right side of his helmet. "Yeah, go ahead." His eyes widened. "Really? Sweet, way to go Razor! You think you can get 'em in position fast enough?"

The brunette hissed at him. "Quiet down! They'll hear you talking like that!"

T-Bone sighed and lowered his voice. "We need you to tell us if there are any kats in there, just in case shit hits the fan, copy?" A pause as he listened to the response. "Good. We only got one shot at this, so make sure no one fucks up, over and out." He disabled his radio and looked toward her. "You might as well get comfy in those blues. You'll be in 'em for a while. Razor's got the bomb squad split up, one for each building."

Turmoil raised an eyebrow. "How many buildings are there?"

"Fourteen. Most of 'em are above twenty-five stories." He grimaced. "She blows those and they'll take just about anything else down with them in their path, like some oversized domino rally. We got lucky, though; all twenty members of the EOD unit are still alive. There's still a problem in the fact that we have to take 'em all out at the same time. If even one person is off, we'll tip her off."

Turmoil shrugged. "No one's perfect."

T-Bone rolled his eyes. "Don't I know it? But at least we got a shot, however small it is."

Ghost turned and gave a thumbs-up. T-Bone nodded. "It's clear. Let's get moving. We need to get you on that carrier before she gets wise."

Turmoil nodded, headed for the hovercraft. The fastest way they would be able to get her onboard was via an Enforcer escort. There were other ways, but they were far more difficult. This was one of them: they would try to sneak their way on, make it look like she'd been captured. The hard part was being convincing enough to pass as allies; that, and T-Bone wasn't a she-kat. He'd have to improvise.

Then again, he was good at that.

* * *

"Have you located her yet?"

The captain stood at-ease before the view screen, chin lifted just slightly. The kat on the other end did not deal with failure very well …But she couldn't lie to him. It wouldn't be a good report. "She's done well in evading our search. I'm almost ready to detonate the explosives in the buildings we've marked, provided we don't find her in good time."

"Detonate them now."

She raised an eyebrow. "We haven't finished our search of the city yet. There's no way to tell for sure if we'll kill her or not." She wanted the honor of doing that with her own hands, not some chain explosion. "I can find her. I've never failed a mission I was sent on."

The tom chuckled. "I did not say you were failing. The chaos you've caused is sufficient. Detonate them at once."

She sat, looked over to the panel on her right side arm rest. Well, so much for playing the game a bit longer. She pressed in the green button, and klaxons went off around the ship. The relay signals were armed and ready to fire. She smiled as she switched the feed to a view of the entire city. She was sure he'd want to see the fireworks. "Farewell, my worthy adversary."

She pressed in the red button.

Nothing happened.

She raised an eyebrow and pressed it in again. No response. Her eyes narrowed. "Ensign, give me the camera feeds." The monitor switched to a view of each separate building. The signal relays were untouched. She growled and stood up. "Find out what's going on down there, now!"

The kat on-screen remained silent, impassive.

The radio feed buzzed with static for a few minutes before a response came through. "Ma'am …the signal relays are disabled."

Her eyes widened. "How many?"

"All of them."

She snarled, tail curling and ears twitching. What the hell! She froze their movements, denied them their airspace, threatened any further attacks with being crushed by their own buildings, and this _still_ happened?

"We're under attack! Hostile armor just opened fire!"

"Close Air Support is offline; they've taken down all our helos!"

The captain ran a finely-manicured hand through her hair, features a mask of fury. "_Damn this city to hell!_" Someone down there was being too arrogant for their own good. Now they'd pay with their lives.

The tom nodded. "Good. That's exactly what I needed to hear from you. There is another way to destroy this city that you may not know about; one that few can access. Nothing can escape its power. The only problem is its location."

She sighed. Good, a way to salvage this. "Where is it?"

The tom pointed upward.

The captain stared at the screen, expression blank. "I don't quite understand."

He shrugged. "Perhaps I was too vague. How about this, then; your next target is MASA."

* * *

Commander Feral watched from his office as the carrier retreated; heard the news of his Enforcers taking the offensive. Once again, he had to hand this victory to the SWAT Kats. Razor's plan was extremely tenuous and relied on perfect synchronicity. If anyone messed up by even a hairline, it would fall to pieces.

That she-kat was an immense help. She'd told them all, step by step, how to disable the signal relay devices. Of course, they had three very finicky fail safes: a tilt switch, which went off at the slightest vibration or pitch; a wire sensor, which went off if any wires connected to the firing action were messed with; and a pull fuse, which went off if they even tried to lift the damn things.

They had to disable them in a specific order in order to render the plastic explosives safe, and they had to do them all at the same time, or else the explosion that triggered from one building would tip the enemy off. He forced himself to sit in his office, his hands gripping the arm rests of his chair hard. He'd have to replace the leather on those.

But now it was over. Maybe now he'd get the mayor off of his back and finish this once and for all.

His phone chose that moment to ring. Feral groaned and lifted the receiver. He'd trash that thing and get a cell phone if it was the last thing he ever did… "Feral."

"We're under attack! We have beaucoup hostiles from the east and are taking heavy cannon fire!"

The Commander's ears twitched. "Where? How many?"

"They're attacking the launch pad at MASA! We need backup, right goddamn—AHHHHH!"

Feral's teeth ground against each other as the phone call cut off there, the dial tone sounding more like a heart monitor flat lining. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. He dropped the receiver and walked toward the double doors, snatching his trench coat from the rack next to the exit before he left.

It looked like he'd have to end this himself.

* * *

**Chapter 64: Aces High (Finale) – **_**Jailhouse Rocked**_

If that doesn't get you turning another page, I don't know what will. Even I'm on the edge of my seat here, and I'm writing this thing! Sorry I didn't include much action, but I had an idea in my head for this whole thing, and I needed it to play out this way. Don't worry. It's all part of the strategy.

I would like to take this time to thank the great folks that keep tabs on this fic. This crazy, half-cocked idea of mine has turned into a grand, sweeping epic thanks to you guys. YOU MAKE THIS POSSIBLE. So leave reviews, tell other fans, tell people who haven't even heard of SK before! Those who have just started to read this story, just getting into this series at large, I welcome you. Welcome to the SWAT Kat Nation. We're glad to have you.

With that said…

**The final countdown has begun.** All the chips are down; all the cards are on the table. This is the pinnacle, the crescendo from the orchestra, the top of the roller coaster, the moment of truth. The next battles will determine everything, reveal everything, and most of all, _change_ everything.

Forever.

I think it's thus fitting to go back to where we started, back to what sparked this idea in the first place. Back to the essence of this _humongous_ journey we've been on. I dedicate the final story arc to every fan of SWAT Kats who wanted a resolution, and yet never wanted it to stop…

Prepare for _**Endgame**_.


	65. Endgame Part 1

_You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas._

-Stanley Kubrick

A she-kat with a pair of polished, knee-high leather boots stepped over the bodies of dead Enforcers, bullet holes clean through their helmets and armor. Her expression was blank, almost bored, as she walked through pools of blood, her dark red military garb matching the spatter on the walls and ceiling of the hallway. A freshly-loaded handgun sat in a holster strapped to her right thigh, and an AKS-74U hung in front of her, slung over her right shoulder.

A pair of she-kats wearing the same colors including black helmets and vests walked beside her, their rifles at the ready. One pointed the muzzle of her weapon forward, covering the path ahead; the other faced backward, covering behind. The three of them headed to a pair of bullet-resistant glass double doors that slid open as they approached.

Everyone besides the soldiers seemed to look toward the doors as the captain walked in, surveying the room. Kats wearing white lab coats, suits of all kinds of colors, even the usual shirt, tie, and slacks combination stood with their hands behind their heads. Some she-kats trembled, unable to hide their fear. Others sobbed uncontrollably.

"My name is Vera." She strode forward, her tail lazily swinging behind her. "Your guards are dead, your alarms are cut, and I have this building surrounded. But I'm sure we can work this out if you cooperate with me for the next few hours." She stopped at the front of the room, turned to face the kats held at gun point. "Do not try anything brave. My troops are very good shots."

She smiled as she withdrew a six-inch long combat knife from her left hip. "Now, please be seated. Let's get ready for lift off."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

"God, what a fucking mess."

The remains of tanks and APCs were strewn about as the HoverKat cruised along the streets of downtown. It looked like the last battle of the last war, and it wasn't over yet. They still had to do something about that carrier. There was just one problem with that, and that was the carrier was no longer downtown. It'd moved.

T-Bone was busy trying to find it.

Of course, this meant that their plans had changed. Fine, theirs would too. Depending on what their opponents just did, they would adjust. It was what the SWAT Kats always did. They adapted; improvised. He drove right past the shell of an Enforcer tank, smoke still rising from the destroyed armor. He might not like Feral, but he hated it when perfectly good kats with families back home died like this. That was, if that tank crew was dead; they might have gotten out in time.

He hoped.

"You look lost."

He looked over to his right, at Ghost. "Maybe I am." T-Bone sighed. "All this shit's gone completely out of control. These guys are even worse than the last army that tried to run us over, and they were a hell of a lot less aggressive."

"I'm still here, you know," came from behind him.

T-Bone smirked. "Yeah, I tried not to notice." Turmoil. Ghost figured the same she-kat that tried to extort the city's gold reserves by stealing their airspace would be able to help them take it back. She'd even started a small-scale war just to get her. He sure hoped she was right, or else this whole thing was for nothing.

The radio buzzed and T-Bone pressed in the receive button on the control panel. "Go ahead, Razor."

"I got good news and bad news."

T-Bone shrugged. Anything they could get, they'd take. "Hit me. Good news first."

"Good news is I found the carrier. I'm putting it on your HUD now. They're not using ECMs, so fighters have a good shot at disabling their anti-air without us. Also, I've got a report on the fight in the city; we're doing pretty well for ourselves. You're clear to head for the location marked on your radar without too much trouble."

T-Bone grinned. "Sweet! Where exactly are they?"

"Well that's the bad news. The carrier and all remaining aircraft, plus a few APCs and tanks that managed to escape the initial counter-attack, are located at MASA. From last reports, they attacked Mission Control. All radio contact went silent ten minutes ago. No telling what's going on now."

The big tom grimaced. "Fuck." That didn't sound anywhere near good. They probably had the building locked down tight by now. There was only one reason they wanted Mission Control, but he didn't see why they wanted to leave orbit. Unless there was something up there they were ordered to capture. "Lioness, there anything important up in low earth orbit?"

She shrugged. "The GPS satellite the Enforcers use for their heads-up displays and reconnaissance activities, for one. KatGuard shares it with them. Probably a few TV satellites as well, but those aren't important. But whoever controls the GPS will have access to all our tactical data. They'll know our moves before we make them."

T-Bone groaned. How wonderful. "Can't let 'em have that."

"No. That's not what they're after."

Everyone turned toward Ghost. T-Bone had to look back toward the road after he smashed into a wrecked car, pushing it aside without effort. Damn! Probably had to check the paint job when they got back to the hangar. "Then what the hell's more important than that?"

Ghost's eyes narrowed. "There's an orbital defense station that's been completed recently; belongs to Pumadyne. About sixty kats are on board, twenty of them technicians that know how to operate the weaponry. The rest is a platoon of thirty Enforcers placed there for security."

T-Bone went silent for a few seconds. "Shit."

Ghost nodded. "That's not all. I looked up the blueprints on this thing as soon as I saw it in the news. Get this: it's got surface-strike capability, thanks to a weapons-grade laser. Damn thing is accurate to within a _quarter of an inch_." She looked over at him, eyebrows curved upward with worry. "It's capable of firing on any point it needs to."

His eyes widened. Just what they needed. "They get their hands on that, our game is over." He hit the boosters, headed full tilt for the launch pad. "We might be too late for the control room, but we can still stop that thing from taking off! Razor—"

"Already on my way to the hangar, just make sure you don't die on your way to the launch pad!"

T-Bone growled. This just made their day.

* * *

"All aircraft report."

"Flight Six standing by."

"Flight Three standing by."

"Flight Seven standing by."

Commander Feral nodded. Right, that takes care of that. "Prepare to engage all bandits at will, but your primary target is the enemy anti-air batteries. Once those are gone, you are free to engage any targets of opportunity. I want that carrier neutralized ASAP, understood?"

He got confirmations all around and checked his switches one last time. Four flights including his own, six F-35 aircraft for each flight. More than enough to do what he needed to do. He'd heard from earlier radio chatter that the SWAT Kats had punched a sizable hole in their already weakened anti-air grid. Good. They'd hit their weak side then. Ideally, he'd take it all out at once, but this situation wasn't exactly idea. They could very well have hostages in the control room and could execute them at any time.

Then again, if they were going for a shuttle launch, they couldn't afford that. They'd have to deal with his jets directly this time. He smirked. Just the way he liked it. The carrier loomed before him, its silhouette still imposing even with the destroyed guns and missiles. His eyes narrowed. Now or never. "All wings, we are entering the combat zone! Weapons hot!"

The carrier's internal bay coughed up Flankers as if on cue. "Bandits at twelve o'clock. Pick your targets well, kats…" He locked onto one of them, his radar informing him that others had followed suit with their own targets. "Weapons free! _Light 'em up_!"

Their weapon bays opened and missiles streaked toward the incoming fighters. Many of them simply vectored out of the way, but six planes weren't so lucky. The missiles corrected their course just enough to slam into the underside of their targets, the warheads blowing them to scrap. Even so, more fighters seemed to replace them. "Scramble and chase those jets! Flight Three, you have bombing duty; take out those missile batteries!"

"Copy that, setting up for SEAD run. Give us some cover fire."

Four F-35s went vertical as the rest of the squadron broke formation, chasing their individual targets. Feral gritted his teeth as he set himself on one of the Flankers, tried to keep his nose on-target. These things were nimble bastards. He couldn't get a proper lock on—

His radar whined at him. Crap! How'd one get behind him? He turned out of plane, popped his flares, jinked left to try and shake his chaser. Feral rolled inverse and looked behind him. Shit, still there! He turned over again and pulled up, burning energy. "This is Feral! I'm spiked, can't shake my bandit! I need assistance ASAP!"

"This is one-three, copy that boss. Help's on the way."

He pulled right, trading more energy for altitude. Definitely not the way he wanted this to go. The Flanker chased him; sirens from his radar warned him of a weapon lock. Feral leveled out, pulled a 135 degree roll and nosed down, ripe for a spray of gunfire. Someone better get him out of this soon…

The radar screeched at him again seconds later. "Kats alive, shut up already!"

It went silent almost as soon as he said it. Feral looked behind him at the trashed fighter. He pulled back on the stick until he was level again, looked to his left as another F-35 pulled up next to him, the pilot giving him a thumbs-up. Feral sighed and gave his wingman a salute. Thank God. Any longer and he'd have been kitty litter. They had to end this soon though, or else it would happen anyway. "All flights report."

"Flight Six copies, we're good. Providing cover for Flight Three."

"This is seven-one, I'm being chased! Someone get this thing off of me before it takes me—"

The radio cut there. Feral gritted his teeth. Shit! "Tighten up, kats! We can't let any more of them get the best of us! Form up on me, Flight One!"

The other three jets in his flight responded, lined up next to him in less than two minutes. "Waiting for you orders, sir. Tell us where to shoot."

Feral glared at the carrier, the source of so much trouble. Can't use your jammers now, can you? He looked down at the tanks. Might as well get a bit of revenge on them, too. Besides, they were guarding the shuttle. He looked back at the carrier again. "Flight Three, what luck?"

"Tons of it, boss. They don't seem to be responding with any more fighters. We're set for our bombing run, stand by."

Commander Feral watched as his jets headed toward the target in question. The anti-air network came alive as they approached, airframes spewing missiles and auto cannons spraying bullets.

"Holy shit, they're everywhere! Pull off, pull off! Abort the run!"

Feral's jaw tightened, teeth grinding against each other. A sheer desperation move; they were just throwing bullets at them. But why—his alarm beeped at him. He checked and found what he didn't want to see. "Engine signatures detected, they're deploying choppers from the flight deck!" This was their move. They were going to try and hijack the damn thing _now_. "I want those helicopters shot down!"

He punched the throttle, his wingmen following suit. The anti-air field responded, trying to deter him from interfering. Feral and his flight tried desperately to make their way through the massive wave of tracer fire. His alarms went off as bullets tore through his right wing. Crap!

"Feral's hit, they shot him! He's headed for the flight deck!"

He barely heard the alarmed radio chatter as he careened toward the carrier. They got him good; he had no turn, couldn't pull up. "Damn you." He pulled the emergency lever to the right of his seat, eyes shutting tight as the canopy blew and he jettisoned from the doomed F-35. The chute popped a few seconds after and he looked down at the mess he'd made. Well at least one of those fighters were out of action. He also watched as two helicopters filled with soldiers took off. Shit. Feral activated his helmet radio. "Is anyone still alive up there?"

"This is One-two, Flight One is still holding on. We got lucky with that one, managed to pull off before we got drilled. Flights Three and Four are trying to come around for another go at that bombing run. We're gonna hit 'em with everything we got here. Flight Seven still has three planes up; they'll go for anything that's a threat on the ground."

Feral nodded. "Solid copy, Flight One. I'm shook up, but I'm still breathing." He grimaced as soldiers gathered underneath his landing spot. "You might want to start your run now …make it count. Over and out." He cut off his radio, unclipped his mask and took his helmet off. Great. He said he wanted to get in there, and now he had his wish.

* * *

Razor tried to keep control of the stick as he hauled ass toward the MASA facilities, trying to get to his buddies down on the ground. He damn sure hope they got there first; otherwise he'd be in a serious jam. Razor knew he should've stuck with that flight simulator at Enforcer headquarters. It sure came back to bite him in the ass now, that was for sure!

He snarled as he heard the radio chatter. Well damn, there goes that distraction. The jets would have to be enough of a distraction for him to actually get to the others now. He followed the HoverKat on his radar, swung the TurboKat into the straightest vector he could manage, and hit the auto pilot. Then he turned on his radio. "T-Bone, do you guys copy down there? I'm approaching your current position."

"Loud and clear, buddy. Listen, it's a slugfest up there, so don't be too crazy getting over here. We're about a mile away from the tanks now, gonna try to take a few of 'em out with the rocket pods before you arrive. Let me know when you're overhead so I can jump in the cockpit."

Razor grinned. "Roger that. I can't fly this thing for shit anyway."

He saw the carrier firing at several Enforcer pilots as he approached the launch pad, the sight of the anti-air working overtime bothering him. If that thing spotted the TurboKat, he might as well be taking a dirt nap. He looked down at the tanks and APCs, thought of sending them a nice little greeting. Before a second thought could emerge, an anti-tank rocket blew a tank turret right off the top of the armor.

Razor smirked. "Your aim's improving, T-Bone." That is, if he fired that one at all. The other tanks turned their cannons in the direction of the attack, only for two more rockets to streak toward them, destroying them wholesale. The rest of the tanks decided they'd rather not stick around to get a firing solution and scattered.

"Yeah, he's not shooting those." Razor chuckled and set the TurboKat into hover mode before hopping into the navigators' seat, pushing it backward, and dropping through a hole just below it that led to the weapons bay. "Well, guess it's time for me to jump in on this."

He straddled a Cyclotron, the metal sheath sliding over his head as he fired up the engines and weapons. Then he flicked a switch on the controls that opened up the weapon bay, and the bike fell from the sky. Razor counted to three before giving the engines a good rev, spinning up the turbofans. The boosters lit, the cover slid back into the bike, and the bike made a clean landing.

All right, time to clean house.

He chased after a tank that headed too close to the HoverKat, popped open the missile launcher behind him. The HUD in his visor gave him a good lock as he turned his head toward it, and he fired with his right thumb, pressing in a red button next to the throttle. A split-second later, the tank was scrap. "Keep moving, T-Bone! I got you covered!" Razor made his way around the back of the hovercraft, spotted another tank that had a clear shot. He fired again, the missile nudging the cannon barrel.

That was enough to render the weapon useless.

He switched to rockets, fired again, took the tank clean out of the picture. Good, two down. He scanned to either side, his visor painting any remaining enemy vehicles in red. Four tanks, five APCs. He looked up; saw two transport helicopters headed for the shuttle. So they were making their move.

An alarm in his helmet warned him of a tank getting a good firing solution. No time for them yet! He turned toward the tank, aimed for the barrel again… and fired a rocket right down the pipe. The tank hit the shell, the shell blew apart while still loaded, and BOOM. No more tank.

Three left—the HoverKat fired again and two rockets rammed into yet another enemy vehicle. Okay, two left. They could handle themselves; time to take out any escape route for the bad guys. "I'm going for the APCs!"

"Copy that, we'll take the rest of that armor out!"

Razor turned toward the vehicles in front of Mission Control. He didn't have too many rockets left, but at least he could do something about the situation. One less APC meant one less squad running away. He locked onto three of them with a grin. Multi-tracking was so much better than just targeting one at a time. He stopped the bike, used a dial on the control panel between the handlebars to change the tilt of the launchers.

"Here comes the pitch…" He pressed in the fire switch, and three rockets fired in sequence, each one arcing upwards before changing their angle to plow straight on top of the vehicles. They blew apart into scrap in a split second as Razor pumped a fist into the air. "Bingo! Right into the glove!"

He had to duck after that as a bullet nearly took his ears off. "Okay, so you're not baseball fans." Razor flicked a switch on the control panel and the cover slid closed again as he rolled on. His visor display still showed him the outside world. "Fine, let's play something else." He came around the fifth APC, headed straight for the six she-kats shooting at him. "How about football?"

He gunned the engines and bolted straight toward them, bullets pinging off of the cover. They soon realized he wasn't joking and leapt out of the way. Razor grinned. "Gotcha!" He turned hard, back wheel squealing, and flicked the switch for the cover. It snapped backward and he aimed his Glovatrix at them without hesitation, firing one net shot for each group. "Shoot me now, assholes."

They didn't. Razor smirked. The net tangled their weapons along with them; if they fired, they risked fratricide. He smirked. "You don't mind if I go in, do you?"

"Don't risk it, Razor; they've got hostages in there."

Razor's ears twitched. Dammit. It's never that easy, is it. "Copy that, Lioness. I'm putting a beacon here for the Enforcers." He headed toward the captured soldiers. "I'm sure you guys won't do anything stupid, will you? Now then…" He reached for their radios, cut them off one by one. Can't have them calling for backup. He caught their glares, rolled his eyes at them. "Don't look at me like that, you damn well deserve what you're about to get."

He turned toward his bike after dropping a signal transmitter. Unless he missed his guess, the city was pretty much in the clear. Any remaining transports were probably on their way; they'd pick this up. "T-Bone, what luck?"

"Tons, Razor. We cleared the armor. The Enforcers are still keeping that carrier busy, but it doesn't look like they're deploying any other fighters."

Razor straddled the bike. "That means they're out of fighters, or they're not willing to spend any more. Whatever they're thinking, time for someone to get in there and blow that thing to Hell and back. Anyone wanna volunteer?"

"Lioness and Ghost already have a plan for that one. We're gonna hand Turmoil over."

Razor's eyes widened. "What? That's what we _didn't_ want to do!"

T-Bone chuckled. "Yeah, well they're in for a surprise once they get in. In the meantime, we gotta—"

The boom of the first-stage boosters igniting halted the conversation cold. "Shit! They're taking off!"

Razor revved the engines, pulled a hard 180, and hauled ass toward the HoverKat. "They actually managed to _hijack a shuttle_? Who the hell did they _send_ in there?" He was back with them in less than a minute. "You guys better think of something quick, otherwise we're up shit creek without a paddle!"

"We've already got a plan," Lioness said as the hood slid open. "You two just get up there and stop that thing from reaching the orbital station! If they fire that laser at us—"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" T-Bone leapt out of the driver's seat and headed toward the TurboKat. "Razor, we gotta shoot it down!"

The slim tom rolled his eyes as he opened the cover of his Glovatrix. How the hell did you shoot down a shuttle? But he was right. They had to do it. He dialed in the remote command for the TurboKat to head toward his position. Once it arrived, he tapped in the code to lower the wench underneath the pilot's seat.

After T-Bone stepped into the hook, Razor raised the wench, and in a few seconds, the TurboKat got a move-on. Razor soon made his way back into the jet, clamored into the navigator chair, and strapped in. The boosters had already separated from the launcher by now. "We're not gonna make it, T-Bone!"

"We'll make it." He put the TurboKat out of hover and punched the throttle, nosing up at the vapor trail the shuttle left in its wake. T-Bone pressed in a button on the throttle with his pinky finger as he pressed in a red button on the control panel. The TurboKat's boosters popped out and the internal turbines spun like crazy. The TurboKat shot into the blue, making good headway.

Razor shook his head. "It's gonna be tough…" He activated the heat shield for the cockpit. "I'm going for the external tank. Not an easy shot, but it's all I can do." He hit the switch for the upper missile launchers, locking onto the enormous rust-colored tank. "Get me a little closer; I wanna make sure this shot sticks!"

T-Bone growled. "I'm trying all I can! We can't go any faster than this, you gotta fire _now_!"

"Shit!" Razor pressed down the fire switch on his control stick, watched as two missiles streaked toward their target. Come on… make it!

The missiles burned out, exploding several feet before hitting their target. "We're too far away!"

T-Bone's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, and we're about to hit the ceiling."

Razor grimaced. Great. "Well, we can't do a space walk up there; not with what we got right now. They probably don't have any internal docking bays, either. This is as far as we go, bud." And they were so close, too!

T-Bone pulled the nose over, heading back down to earth. "You said what we got right now. Are you saying you have something that'll help us survive up there?"

Razor grinned. "Come on, you know me! I got something for everything, especially since I figured we'd be going up again sooner or later." Contact with kats from another planet was definitely a way of reinforcing the benefits of being prepared. "We gotta go back to base to get it, though."

"Then let's go! But we don't have much time before they do something, so make it quick." He turned the radio on. "Lioness, Ghost, we're bugging out. No way to stop that thing now; the only thing we can do is re-arm and try to make an assault."

"Copy that," Lioness replied. "We'll get to work on that plan to hijack the carrier." There was a pause for a few seconds, then something else. "You two come back to us. I don't want to have to kick your asses in the next life."

T-Bone nodded. "Solid copy on that. We're not going up there just to get iced. Over and out."

Razor wasn't so sure of that. If anything bad happened, they would be two very well-done kats in the cold of space. He was sure of their plans, however crazy they were. But this one was a bit much for anyone, maybe even for them. "Hey, Chance."

The big tom looked behind him, a puzzled look on his face. "Dude, you know the rule. You do not use the real names on a mission. Someone could overhear."

Razor nodded. "I know. I have all the radio frequencies turned off. We're quiet."

T-Bone sighed. "Okay. Whatever it is must be important, so let's hear it."

Jake's hands tightened into fists. "If… If anything happens to me and you make it out of this in one piece, tell Felina I love her." He kept going before his partner could get a word in. "Just hear me out. We're going up there, _way_ up there, and there's no guarantee of us coming back this time. I know you said we're not going up there just to get waxed, and I hear you. But just in case…"

T-Bone faced forward again and nodded. "Solid copy on that. I've already told Callie; shouldn't be too much trouble to pass on the message to Felina."

Jake nodded. "Also… same situation… I want you to tell Feral who we really are."

Chance's eyes widened, jaw slack with utter disbelief. "Now you've gone _nuts_. Callie, Felina, everyone connected to us… they could end up locked up in Alkatraz for life!"

Jake sighed. "I know. I'm sure they know too. But I'm _tired_ of lying. Feral might have screwed us over, and he might be a real idiot most of the time, but he's trying to do the right thing. I know the system's broken and I know we're trying to fix it our own way. But I think after this, we're done. Dark Kat's gone, most of the big threats got taken out—"

Chance growled. "_No_. Feral is the reason we're in this. I'm not done with him yet."

Jake shrugged. "Maybe you have a point. But think about Callie. She's our way out, this whole city's way out of this. Once she's in, Feral's as good as _gone_. I don't know who's going to replace him, maybe Felina or Benny. But if one of us bites it up there, then we've gone far enough."

Chance went silent for a few seconds. "All right, deal. But here's what happens if _I_ win." He grinned. "You owe me a mega-sub sandwich, once a week, for a month. And all the Scaredy Kat I can watch."

Razor raised an eyebrow. "What, that's it? I expected something bigger!"

"And you never talk about this again."

Razor grinned. "Man, you suck at making bets!" Hell with it. Sure, the possibility was there, but they knew how to cheat death. Would it hurt to try one more time?

* * *

"Give me your report."

Vera smirked as she watched the technicians and scientists work under duress, fingers of her right hand stroking through her tail. "We have Mission Control locked down. The launch went off without a hitch, despite a few minor setbacks. I have a squad of Marines on board, ready to take the orbital station. They have orders to kill anyone with a weapon."

"Good. And the carrier?"

She nodded. "Intact. Air defenses are still holding, though they're at reduced capacity. The earlier strikes took a toll on us. But there is good news." The smirk turned into a grin, as if she'd just snacked on a very elusive bird. "We've captured the Commander of the city's air forces."

A dark, sinister chuckle came from the other end. "I did not expect that. Excellent work. You are to return to the carrier at once, make sure he doesn't go anywhere. I'd like to have a talk with him myself. Have your Marines capture the station before I arrive."

She raised an eyebrow. "Say again? I didn't catch that last one."

"I said I'm going up there myself."

The smirk returned. "Understood, sir."

* * *

**Chapter 65: Endgame (Part 1)—**_**Opening Gambit**_

From this point, you are about to witness the most spectacular battle of all SWAT Kats history. You won't see this on the cartoon; you won't see it on any movie screen. You'll only see it from the Slayer, on . If this final story arc does not blow your mind, leave you one-hundred percent satisfied, you let me know. I will _retire_ from writing these.

Am I that crazy? No. I'm just that confident.

Stay tuned, Nation! You're about to get taken on the ride of your lives! Because this is Endgame, and there's no turning back.


	66. Endgame Part 2

"Don't I at least get a gun?"

Lioness grimaced, turned to glare at the she-kat behind her. "Keep it down, damn it! We don't need you exposing our position! And it's not my plan. It's hers." She looked over her right shoulder, toward Ghost. "You got complaints, you talk to her. Otherwise, shut up and get ready to act like we caught you good."

Turmoil pouted. "No gun, no knife, just these shackles. Wonderful." She turned to look at the silver-haired SWAT Kat as she scanned the guards in black armor and helmets patrolling the platform. "There's no need to scout them," she said under her breath. "I know that combat uniform. They're wearing black instead of dark-red… which means we are in trouble if this goes badly."

Lioness looked toward their 'captive' again. "What do you mean?"

Turmoil grimaced. "These she-kats and the ones up in space right now… They're Marines."

Lioness went silent for a few seconds. "That… doesn't sound good."

"It isn't." She looked toward the sky where the vapor trail from the shuttle launch still lingered. "Those Enforcers on the station may as well be the walking dead. The station will be theirs within half an hour; two hours at the most, if we're lucky."

Lioness' eyes narrowed. "And how would you know that?"

Turmoil shook her head, her expression turning sad. "I used to be one."

The brunette would have opened her mouth to respond, but a tap on her right shoulder made her jump slightly. She turned to glare at Ghost. "Quit doing that! You need to _talk_ once in a while, let me know when you're coming!"

Ghost gave Lioness the thumbs-up, making her grin. "It's show time, people. We have two marks, ready for the taking. Since Ghost did the hard work of scouting, I'll be the one that does the stealing." She turned toward the launch pad. "Let's see what we got."

Lioness flipped her visor down over her eyes and the HUD went live, displaying the two tagged Marines with red arrows over their heads, the rest of them with just an outline of the same color. Perfect. She pressed in another button and read their information. "Wow, we're lucky as hell. Same height, same weight, similar builds…" She turned toward Ghost. "You should've been an Enforcer."

Ghost shook her head.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Lioness turned back toward the platform. "Here goes nothing. You two get under the platform and wait for me. Ghost, if she runs, knock her out." The SWAT Kat headed for the support beams and started climbing her way up, toward the metal scaffolding. One of the marked targets headed toward her position and she waited for her to stop and take a break.

Soon enough, it happened. The Marine stopped to yawn and Lioness took aim with her Glovatrix at the general direction of the neck. She fired a knockout dart and it hit its mark square, right in the jugular vein. The guard started slumping almost immediately and Lioness hauled her way up to the walkway. She grabbed onto the unconscious she-kat two seconds before she hit the ground.

Lioness sighed with relief as she lifted the guard over her shoulders and leapt off the scaffolding. "Close call much?" She headed over to Ghost and Turmoil again. "Got mine," she said as she put the knocked-out Marine on the ground and turned her radio off. "Good thing they're wearing these balaclavas, or else this plan would have been botched. Get her stuff off; I'll get the other one."

She made her way back up, found the second one. Lioness almost groaned to herself as another guard stopped to talk with her. "Move, bitch," she muttered as they chatted away. After a full minute of this, they separated. As the guards walked past each other, Lioness took the opportunity. She aimed for the neck again, fired without a second's pause. She could see the guard's eyes widen for a moment before the drugs took effect. This time the SWAT Kat was faster on the take, moving as soon as the shock registered on the Marine's face.

She returned to the others, chuckled as the first unconscious guard lay there in nothing but her undies. "Okay, are we set?" She looked up at Ghost, who nodded.

"I'm not so sure of this plan."

Lioness looked toward Turmoil, rolling her eyes. "You got one that doesn't involve making a lot of noise, be my guest. Otherwise, you get no say. Once you get inside, you can do what you want." She set the other guard down and took her helmet off. "Let's get this done."

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

Commander Feral sulked behind a force shield, sitting against the far right corner of his holding cell with his hands cuffed behind his back and a shock collar around his neck. Of all the ways to get caught, it had to be this one. Then again, he probably deserved it. Feral smirked as he replayed what happened after he'd landed.

He'd been in these situations before. Sometimes criminals were stupid enough to point guns at him. All he had to do was make one smart remark and duck as they shot each other. But then there were times like this, when he enemy had been trained. Batons and stun sticks all around. He had to use what he had, and since his pistol had gone down with the jet, that was hand-to-hand.

He'd beaten a few of them good, didn't let himself be surrounded for long. He felt bad about hitting women, but his will to fight drove him on, bolstered by the fact that they were adept at fighting. And there were more of them than there was of him. That last fact was what did him in.

Now he was here, in the brig, with a restraining collar. He moved any sort of wrong way and the guards that had the trigger would give him a good reminder of who had the power. Feral tried not to focus on where he was, closed his eyes to tune out his surroundings.

"Good evening, Commander… Feral, was it?"

He groaned. "Please don't talk. I was just about to go to sleep."

A throaty chuckle from what sounded like a she-kat. "Well well, clever _and_ defiant. You're quite a tom. A shame we had to meet under these circumstances. I would have liked a more casual setting."

Feral smirked. Was she kidding? "I don't flirt with criminals. Besides, you seem to know so much about me, but I know nothing about you." How'd she know so much anyway? He shook the thought off. Doesn't matter. "My suggestion is to just kill me already, because I have nothing to tell you."

She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "That won't do. We just met, and you already want to end things? I'm not sure you want to do that. There are plenty of ways for us to get acquainted." Her boots clicked on the metal floor. "The question is, are you willing to cooperate?"

Feral opened his eyes, giving the she-kat before him a glare. Pretty as she was, he wouldn't let her win this. "I said I have nothing to tell you."

She smirked. "Who said you needed to talk? As you said before, I know everything about you. Your troops, your defenses, your city. The new aircraft, I wasn't expecting, but defeating them was a matter of the old adage, "two is better than one." As in, my fighters have two engines, and that equals more thrust, which equals more speed." She got as close to the field as she could without touching it. "And speed, Commander Feral, kills."

She held out her right hand and one of the guards put the switch for the collar in her palm. "I have someone who wants to see you. You will stand up and follow me, or I will make you. And I'm sure you don't want another reminder of your situation." Her thumb hovered over the button. "Do we have an agreement?"

Feral growled. He'd had enough shocks from that collar to last him a lifetime. He stood, taking his good time about it. "Do your worst. But at the end, I'll be out of here and you'll either be in jail or in pieces." He hoped. God, he hoped so. The barrier opened and two guards walked in, stun sticks at the ready. Feral stood still, his imposing figure enough of a reason for them to be cautious.

They led him out of the cell, down a hallway leading away from the brig. They walked past doors that all looked the same, all of them closed and locked. A right turn, then a left a few feet later. Nothing but steel and smooth walls as far as he could see. He began to lose count of how many turns in which direction they took, which, he figured, was the point of the ship. Only those who really knew the layout could navigate it.

It took them a full hour to reach the bridge. He saw she-kats in a uniform of a lighter shade of red working the controls, a leather and steel chair positioned near the center of the room, three large screens displaying the situation. Where was the control station for electronics? He had to shut that off somehow, kill those ECMs for good.

"Impressed?"

He glared at the she-kat in dark red. "Hardly."

She pouted. "How mean." She kicked him in the small of his back, forcing him to stumble forward until he was in front of the chair. "Stay there and face the main screen, or you'll have a hard time breathing. We don't want that to happen, do we?" She walked over and sat in the chair, one leg crossed over the other. "Open a channel."

A few seconds later, one of the she-kats turned toward the captain, giving her a thumbs-up.

She cleared her throat as she activated her ear receiver. "This is the super carrier _Radiance_, requesting a direct line with headquarters. Do you copy?"

She heard nothing but static for a few seconds. "Central Command, this is _Radiance_. I say again, do you copy, over?"

She got her response in three seconds. "_Radiance_, this is CENTCOM, we read you five by five. What luck, over?"

She smiled. "Plenty. Objective has changed, but we have succeeded in capturing it. Next phase is underway. The _Commissar_ has requested that I let him speak to a certain captive I just picked up; he's a high-value target. We are requesting a direct line with High Command, over."

"Copy that, we're patching you through. There might be some interference due to the shuttle launch underway, stand by for confirmation. You'll see him on the main screen if we're successful, over."

Feral stared at the screen. Who the hell was this guy? He'd like to get a good eyeful of him so he could spit in his general direction. There was no way he'd just let him take his city. He'd die trying before anything happened to it. Feral turned to look over his right shoulder at the she-kat. "You tell them I said hello and go to hell."

"I would rather you tell me that yourself."

Feral snapped his head back to the main screen. A shadowy figure sat before him, his features concealed by darkness. "So we meet at last. Wish I could see your face, so I could give you a hell of a kick. Then again, you're a coward who can't even fight me himself, so what else should I expect!" Feral cried out in agony as the shock collar activated, sending him to his knees. Fuck!

"I would hold your tongue if I were you," the captain said from behind him.

"No, let him be. I like this one."

Feral glared at the figure, trying to get his breathing back. She wasn't kidding when she said he'd have a hard time doing that. "What… What's your game? Takeover? Coercion? What are you after?" Maybe if he knew that, he'd find out who was behind this.

The silhouette chuckled. "Come now. I have almost everything I want. What would make you think I needed your city? The only things I need are this army, this country, and one other thing. But I'm sure you already know what that is, don't you?"

Feral growled. "You tell me. I never was any good at riddles."

"No, I _don't_ think I will tell you."

The Commander raised an eyebrow. "How the hell do you know me? We've never met before. I'd have locked you up if we had." He snarled at the figure. "Hell at this point, I'd have done more than that. I'd have put you _six feet under_!"

The shadow laughed. "But you can't, can you? You're captured, restrained, and I am about to be in the safety of space. Besides, even if I were there, you can't stop me. No mere Enforcer can." He cleared his throat. "Regardless… Once what I need is secure, I will display to you my motive. For the moment, you'll just have to wait and see what happens, won't you?" He looked toward the she-kat. "Don't kill him until he sees it."

"Understood." Her ears perked as a radio call came through. She placed her left index finger on the earpiece for a few seconds. "Good, I'm on my way." She switched channels again with a satisfied smirk. "It appears we've gotten what we came for after all. I have to greet our new guest in person." She looked toward Commander Feral. "I think you two will get along just fine." With her right thumb, she pressed in the trigger for the collar.

A plea for help burned through his mind as he went unconscious…

* * *

The KA-60 transport headed toward the carrier at cruising speed, two she-kats clad in black inside. Their faces were covered with balaclavas, eyes the only thing showing through the masks. Behind them, in the light blue prison garb they'd caught her in, was a queen in steel shackles, her light brown hair in a slight mess.

"So once they have me, what then?"

"Then, you're on your own. You can take out the leader or help us destroy the ship. Just remember, I'm authorized to do what it takes to stop you if you screw us over," Lioness said. "I'm sure you don't want your chances of going home being screwed like that." She turned toward Ghost. "Hey, you think they'll buy this?"

Ghost shrugged.

Lioness raised an eyebrow. "_What_? It's your plan and you don't know whether it'll work or not?" She groaned. "Come on, gimme a break."

Turmoil chuckled. "Not everything can be predicted, only prepared for. That is the essence of strategy."

Lioness looked behind her. Would she just shut her mouth for once? "Thanks for the tip. Now be quiet before I tape your mouth shut. I promise it won't be pretty when they tear it off." She faced forward again as the carrier loomed ever closer. "Heads up, we're going in. Just play it cool and we'll get through this one."

Turmoil smirked as she looked toward Ghost. "You know… T-Bone is a good kisser. Maybe I'll tell you about it, if we make it through this."

Ghost smiled. "I already know that much." She looked back at her. "He's good at more than just that, by the way."

Turmoil's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "He didn't…"

Ghost smirked. "He did."

The captured she-kat groaned. "Damn. I'll have to remind him of my charms again. Granted, it will take some time, but—"

"No."

Turmoil's eyes narrowed. "That's not the thing to say to me. I don't believe in that word. When this is over, I will have him, and I will take him back home with me. I don't think there's much you can do about that."

"Yes there is." Ghost pulled a USP from her thigh holster and pointed the business end at Turmoil. "This."

Silence prevailed for all of five seconds. Turmoil smirked. "You can't shoot me, not now."

Ghost nodded. "And I won't. But if I catch you sniffing around him after this, then I will have no worries when I _do_ put a bullet between your eyes. And for the record, we may be working together right now, but if you ever come back here and I find out, I won't lock you up. I will personally _end_ you."

Silence again, then a grudging nod from Turmoil. "So you are willing to go that far for him. I suppose we're alike in more ways than one. Very well, I won't return. Besides, there are enough problems in my country already without having to deal with you SWAT Kats."

They landed without a hitch and flight deck crews ran to open a door. Ghost and Lioness exited the Kasatka as troops dragged Turmoil out of the cabin. A she-kat clad in dark red, with decorations pinned to her chest and weapons strapped to her legs, strode toward them with authority. Well crap, this wasn't expected.

Lioness nudged Ghost as the she-kat approached, and they both stood at attention, backs straight and eyes forward. The queen gave them a good look before she grinned, clapping Lioness on the right shoulder. "This is why we have the best Marines in the world." She gestured toward Lioness. "You captured this one when no one else could."

Lioness stood stock still as she gave her response, her voice even and calm. "We found her near the launch platform. She was probably trying to sabotage the mission."

The officer looked toward their captive. "She does tend to do that sometimes." She glanced back toward the two disguised SWAT Kats. "Bring her to my quarters. After that, you two are on temporary leave until otherwise needed." She saluted, and the two of them saluted back. "As you were."

She turned on her heel and left, probably headed for the bridge. Lioness waited for the other soldiers to depart before she grinned behind her mask. "Well, let's do as the good captain says." They made it. She thought this would be the hard part. They 'escorted' Turmoil to the captain's quarters, relying on their visor HUDs for information on the ship's layout. Crap, these things had everything, didn't they?

The three of them remained silent as they headed through the corridors, weapons slung around their bodies. Lioness looked down at her gun, giving an appreciative nod. Not too bad of a rifle. Compact, but still fired long-gun rounds. She checked the info on the HUD. Pretty sweet. She'd keep it if she could.

Ghost tapped her on the shoulder. "What? I'm reading here." She looked toward her friend as she pointed toward their destination, just to their left. Lioness almost blushed. "Well, reading time is over." She looked behind her right shoulder. "In you get."

Turmoil strode forward, the door sliding open as she approached. The two SWAT Kats followed her inside, putting their rucksacks on the ground as the door closed. They opened them to reveal their original clothing, including Glovatrix and helmet. They'd keep the guns, the flash bangs; any other tactical gear they could take with them.

"Right, now comes the hard part." Lioness looked at Turmoil. "We need to shut off that anti-air network before anything else. Which room are we looking for?"

"Second level, below decks. The sliding doors are armored and locked with a specific pass card. You can't get in with the standard key; if you try, an alarm will go off. Three tries and security will be dispatched to your position."

Ghost plugged a fiber-optic cable into a jack on the underside of her helmet, connected it to her SWAT Kat helmet. Lioness did the same as she heard what they needed to do. A progress bar showed up on their visors and began to fill. They'd have the schematics for this thing in no time. "We'll head there as soon as we're done here. Shouldn't take that long."

Turmoil raised an eyebrow. "You're going to change _here_?"

Lioness scoffed. She wasn't serious, was she? "Hell no! No telling when the captain of this thing will get here. I don't want to deal with her just yet."

"Well, you won't have to. I'll do that." Turmoil looked toward the dresser at a framed picture. "She's a good fighter, but I know her well enough that I can handle her. Just make sure you destroy the ECMs, or else your fighters will not stand a chance."

Lioness nodded. The helmet interface beeped. Download done. She unplugged and looked toward Turmoil, then turned toward the object of her attention. "What's this about?" Lioness walked over to pick up the frame, turning it over in her hands. "You weren't kidding about being one of those Marines once upon a time. So she was in your squad?"

"Yes. We graduated from officer training together, ended up in the same Special Operations unit by coincidence. I've seen her fight a thousand times since then. We've even sparred on occasion." Turmoil smirked. "And I always won."

Lioness put the frame back, just the way she'd found it. "Well don't get too full of yourself if you wanna go back home in one piece. Much as I don't like you, I do respect you." She closed her pack and nodded at Ghost. "Alright, let's take this thing down for good."

They straightened themselves out and walked through the doors, checking to either side for any sign of the captain. Once they were sure she wasn't coming, they started heading for the nearest empty room. The map helped, sure enough; the problem was finding a room that didn't have a red light over it. They found out quickly that red lights meant locked room, one with someone inside.

Two more LEDs were above each card reader. An amber light, they discovered, pretty much meant it was still locked, but no one occupied it. Thank God for security databases. With that in mind, it was tough to find a yellow light, despite how many of these she-kats they took out. They finally found one after thirty minutes of searching, passing several 'friendly' soldiers on the way. Apparently, they were still ready to fight.

Well, not for long.

They entered the room they'd commandeered for the time being and locked the door behind them, motion sensors detecting the presence of occupants. Light turned red, the door locked itself, and the clocks in their heads started ticking. They didn't have much time to find the important stuff, blow it, and then destroy the ship wholesale.

They left the packs where they were, black clothing and helmets still inside, but took the thigh holsters, the guns, and the body armor with a harness for the flash bangs. Soon they donned their helmets, armed the Glovatrixes, and checked the left thigh pouch for the micro detonators. Lioness turned toward Ghost. "You ready?"

Ghost nodded.

"Then let's kick some ass."

The Marines were gone. The SWAT Kats were back.

* * *

T-Bone just stared at them.

How in the hell did Razor think of this stuff? Matter of fact, how was he doing all this without him knowing? Did he work in that lab of his all the time when he didn't work on cars? How much sleep did he lose over this? The big tom shook his head. Too many questions.

"I take it you approve?"

T-Bone nodded. "Hell fucking yes! What _are_ they?"

Razor chuckled. "They're my little side project. I figured we'd be using them sooner or later, so I started working on them after we got those upgrades for the TurboKat." His head tilted back just a bit as he grinned at the black g-suits, pieces of dark blue armor with red trim layered over it. "This stuff is reverse-engineered from the same Aquian tech in the jet. Everything they used to pump our baby girl up to eleven is in these exoskeletons."

The big tom rubbed his hands together. God, this was gonna be sweet! "Let's hear it; what do we got?"

"Well, we got head-to-toe hydraulics, high resistance to small-arms fire up to 7.62 millimeter, helmets with visors that can take multiple rounds, magnetic-lock boots for space walks, and a cybernetic heads-up display that feeds into the suit." He shook his head. "Took me a few months to get all this together."

T-Bone had a puzzled look on his face. "You lost me at cybernetic."

Razor smirked. "Look at it this way. All you have to do is look at something and _think_ about locking on, and the HUD will do it. You wanna jump higher, run faster, or hit someone like a truck? The hydraulic motors respond accordingly. Reaction time, target acquisition, defensive capability; it's all cranked up thanks to these."

T-Bone's eyes widened as he stared at the suits like a kid in a candy store. "You made us some powered armor. Dude, I love you."

Razor raised a finger. "Ah, but we're not done yet. The whole suit is airtight and has an oxygen supply good for a full hour. If we ever got into a fight out in space, this is what we'd wanna wear. It's also got vector jets at certain locations in the suit for zero-g maneuvering, in case we get into a tight spot out there. Not to mention there's an attachment on the back for some new thruster packs I developed; got that idea from our Delta Packs." The slim tom grinned. "And if you thought that sounded awesome—"

T-Bone peered over at Razor. "You're gonna make me have a goddamn heart attack soon."

Razor chuckled. "You might wanna sit down for this one then. The sensors in the suit link up with a Glovatrix on each hand."

The big tom laughed, giving his buddy a hefty pat on the back that made him stumble forward a bit. "You are _awesome_! Crazy as hell, but awesome!" He'd really outdone himself this time. The heat suit was no problem, but something like this …? Razor sure knew how to prepare for the worst. "You got a name for these?"

Razor shrugged. "Nothing catchy. If you can think of a good one, I'm all ears."

T-Bone grinned. "I already got one. Turbosuits." He turned toward the slim tom. "I mean, think about it. They look a lot like the TurboKat, and they make us go faster and jump higher, right? So it's a surefire name!" He shrugged, turned back toward the suits inside the glass cylinders. "Besides, I don't have anything better."

Razor chuckled. "We'll go with that." He rubbed his hands together. "Let's fire these bastards up!"

* * *

A black orbiter with red trim pulled up to an air lock at the Pumadyne Orbital Defense Station, the air brakes stopping the shuttle at just the right position. Magnetic locks clamped fast to the door, connecting the station's airlock to the exit of the spacecraft. The door opened and twelve Marines poured into the corridor, weapons and gear strapped to their suits.

A camera in front of the airtight door just before the airlock tilted down slightly, the eye of the lens staring at them. A few seconds later, a light on the camera turned green, and the door opened. The she-kats entered, three at a time, into the airlock. Pressure stabilized, gravity normalized, and they made their way inside the corridors of the station, weapons at the ready.

The last kat to enter wasn't a she-kat at all, but a tom with a black pressure suit and a broad-shouldered, powerful frame. The visor effectively hid his face from view, adding to the sinister aura that radiated from him. He strode into the station and swiveled his head, surveying the scene.

Kats in Enforcer uniforms and Kevlar body armor lay in pools of their own blood, the sterile environment of the station compromised by the presence of the dead. They'd have to be disposed of one way or another. Not right now though. He had business to handle. He made his way toward the fire control room, the armed Marines flanking him on either side. A pair of glass doors slid open as they approached, and the scene was yet another horrid event. Dead Enforcers were strewn about here as well, and the techies in white coats along with them. The Marines that came before them were already at the controls, re-configuring the systems to their purposes.

He looked toward the other Marines with a nod, and they headed over to help their comrades. The tom stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, hands behind his back. He had every right to be confident; the Enforcers were pushovers. It was easy enough to get here. The hard part of course, was that they had to try and keep it.

"They're coming soon," he muttered to himself. "They always come."

The tom smiled behind the visor. "Fine, let them. It's time we ended this game between us once and for all."

He strode over toward the chair in the center of the room, near a series of firing controls. Good, he would have direct action over what happened. The tom sat, got himself comfortable, and folded his arms in front of his chest. "It's time for our test to commence. Target the following coordinates. I want full control of the trigger."

They got to work, fingers flying over keys. He needed to see if this worked as advertised. If it did, it was time for the final stage of the plan. This final blow would end everything… And _begin_ everything. The whole world would watch this moment and tremble in fear, forever.

All he had to do was watch the city burn.

* * *

**Chapter 66: Endgame (Part 2)—**_**King's Side Castle**_

I'm sure you're noticing a theme here in the naming conventions for the titles. If you haven't realized it yet, I'm sure you will soon. Anyways, that's this chapter. Hopefully we will have a resolution to this storyline and find out just who is behind this whole thing. Not like I'm telling any time soon.

Phew. Took me a while to get five thousand words this time. I had trouble with that space scene there. But the idea for the Turbosuits was easy enough; I just combined aspects from Halo, the G.I. Joe live action movie _Rise of the Cobra_, and Iron Man. Hey, don't knock that G.I. Joe movie. I thought it was good.

Anyways! We roll onward, to Part 3! It's about to get real ugly, lemme tell you that…


	67. Endgame Part 3

This damn thing was a maze!

Even with the blueprints, they had a tough time getting around. The elevator to the lower levels was fair enough to locate, but from there it was a little too complex for her taste. Lioness peered around the corner, the rifle still hanging in front of her. Nothing. She turned to look at Ghost with a nod, waved around the corner. She'd be taking point now.

They took turns leading the way, one covering the rear for any possible surprises. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long for them to actually find the FCS before someone discovered them. If that happened before they blew anything up, it'd turn nasty. They stopped at an intersection, Lioness moving to the right side to check that corner.

Clear. So far so good. Only problem now was, which way to go.

Before she had half a second to decide, Ghost jerked her to the left. Her head almost banged against the wall when she stopped. Lioness gave the other she-kat a glare. "What the hell?"

Ghost put a finger over her lips, gave a motion to get flat against the wall.

Lioness nodded and did as she was told. Soon, she found out why. Her eyes widened as a patrol of four guards in dark red marched right past them, a tall, heavy tom between them with shackles on his wrists and a white collar around his neck. Her eyes widened as the unmistakable trench coat with the Enforcer emblem on the shoulders made it clear who this was.

They had Commander Feral.

Lioness's jaw tensed. Okay, change of plans. They'd more than likely kill him when they finished with whatever they wanted him for. She gave Ghost a pleading look and was relieved when the silver-haired queen gave a nod. Good, she understood. Here she was afraid they'd get into it. They broke from their cover after two minutes and began to follow the guards, keeping as quiet as they could. Don't look back, please don't look back…

The guard in front of them to the right sneezed.

Lioness and Ghost froze in place, pointing their Glovatrixes at the patrol.

The guard to the left looked over at the she-kat that just sneezed. "Bless you."

The first guard sniffed. "Mmm, I think I'm catching something. We've been on this ship for too long."

"Well it's pressed quarters, bound to happen sooner or later. You might need to go to Medical and get that checked out after this." The guard shook her head. "Matter of fact, think I'll go with you."

Lioness let out a slow breath of air as they moved farther ahead. Close one. The two SWAT Kats continued their pursuit, slow and steady, through the maze leading toward their destination. Wherever that was. They stopped at a corner and Ghost peered around to watch where they headed. After a few seconds, she turned back toward Lioness and pointed up.

Shit. They took the elevator. No following them until they could catch the next lift. Lioness nodded, checking the map. Wait, was that the—her eyes widened. The FCS. They were close enough to it that they'd be able to rig it right now. She chewed her bottom lip. Wait for the elevator, or go for the primary target?

Her eyes narrowed. Lift would take too long to get back down. They'd burn time. On the other hand, if they killed him it would put a major hole in the Enforcers' chain of command. Her mind switched camps again; the pilots in the air would be able to try making a rescue if they took out the anti-air network.

She shook her head. "Ghost, tell my brain to shut up."

Ghost turned toward Lioness and whacked the top of her helmet with a hammer fist, courtesy of her Glovatrix.

Lioness grimaced as the impact went straight to her spine. "Ow!" Crap, not like that! She blinked. Wait… that worked. Her head was clear. She grinned. "Thanks." Okay, Fire Control first. Whatever they wanted the Commander for wouldn't kill him right away. She hoped not, anyway. "We're headed to the right, seven hundred meters, and then around the first corner we come to. Take point."

Ghost nodded and headed out, Lioness covering her back. So far, they hadn't fired a single shot yet. But the FCS was probably manned, a room full of technicians that knew how to shoot straight. Oh well, couldn't be stealthy forever. Besides, it was too quiet around here anyway.

They stopped to either side of the armored double doors, Lioness at the card reader. No use trying to use a standard door key, they'd need a special one. Someone in that room probably had it. All they had to do was get it from them.

The doors slid open with a hiss, two she-kats exiting the room. Lioness took in a breath, held it. Great, two of them. Couldn't there just be one at a time? Couldn't see a key on them, either. Only one way to be sure. She aimed toward the one near her, squeezed off a knockout round. She heard a slight hiss from her left as Ghost shot her own target in the back of the neck.

The she-kats started to collapse in half a second, and Lioness scrambled to get herself a key. She searched the pockets, trying to find a shred of good luck. With a growl, she pulled her hand out of the last pocket she'd searched. Nothing. She looked toward Ghost as the silver-haired queen finished her search.

Ghost looked up at her, fishing a key card out of the left thigh pocket.

"Dammit, I wanted to find it." Lioness smiled and disabled the radio on the guard she'd taken out, moved to the left of the doors. Ghost moved to the right after cutting the radio of her guard and prepared to swipe the key. She looked toward Lioness, an eyebrow quirked curiously.

Lioness shook her head. "Not yet. Let's cut the safeties off; they're not gonna let us play nice."

They turned their weapons to semi-automatic fire, then Lioness held up three fingers… two… one.

Key swiped.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

The room exploded into chaos.

The armored doors slid open and two flash bangs flew through the opening. They went off in midair, and in the blink of an eye, ears were ringing and eyes were seeing stars. Two she-kats in blue and red stormed the FCS, their pilfered AKS-74Us spitting bullets. Seven technicians fell to the metal floor before they had time to react, their eyes lifeless.

The she-kats just started to pull out of their disoriented state, but it wasn't enough. Three seconds was all the SWAT Kats needed. They pushed their way through the room with tempo; single shots ruined the light armor of the soldiers before they could reach for their weapons. One she-kat reached for her radio and almost turned it on before she had the damn thing shot out of her hands. Then, she fell as well.

A few managed to pull out their weapons, but before they could get a good sight on the intruders, they shot them down with a single bullet for each kat. The raid ended in two minutes as the rest of the soldiers finally returned fire with their handguns.

Lioness growled as she deployed the shield on her Glovatrix and ducked behind it as bullets zipped over her head. Shit! Well whatever, one squad wasn't too bad of a start. She pulled another flash bang from her vest, jerked the safety ring out with her teeth, and threw. The distraction went off with a pop, and she tried to ignore the ringing in her ears as she charged forward shield-first. She felt rather than saw the impact of bodies against her defense, and with a roar, she heaved over her head, sending a she-kat onto her back.

She swung her shield again, rammed it into the head of a second stunned solider; spun to the left and backhanded a third, sending her and two others into a nearby control panel. She switched to her sidearm, her left hand almost untraceable, and fired on the group she'd knocked back. Lioness took care of them in three shots, turned and fired on the one she hadn't quite knocked out earlier.

Lioness sighed. Good, that was—

She heard a shot from behind her. Lioness turned, pointed her weapon… and saw the she-kat she'd sent for a ride earlier collapse to the ground, a pistol pointed in her general direction. Ghost walked from around the corner as she switched her sidearm to safe, smoke trailing from the muzzle.

Okay, _now_ it was over. She turned back toward the kats they'd taken out just to get here. She figured it wouldn't be pretty. Not like she felt anything for these kats. They started this fight, and now they'd pay for it. She knelt next to one of the soldiers and cut off her radio. "I'll take communications, you plant the explosives. We're not blowing these yet; I have an idea."

Ghost started to place the explosives as Lioness headed around the room disabling radios. They'd come to check sooner or later, but soon they'd have nothing to check. Lioness felt a tap on her right shoulder, looked behind her to see Ghost give her a nod. "Okay, let's go."

They headed out of the room, but before they left, Lioness placed two sensors parallel to each other, each one two feet from the entrance. She took a few steps back from the invisible line she'd drawn and pressed in a switch on her Glovatrix. A beep from her helmet's radio made her smirk.

A laser tripwire, connected to all the explosives. This room was off-limits unless someone wanted to get very, very close to a super-sized blast furnace. They could still be remote-detonated, just in case no one came after all. She certainly hoped no one would check too soon, though.

They left, the doors closing behind them, and Lioness checked her map again. "FCS is clear… now to find Electronic Warfare." Oh, she had a plan all right. She just hoped they wouldn't ventilate the Commander before she set it up…

* * *

Turmoil lifted her head as the door slid open. For a moment, her mind replaced the features of the queen before her with one several years younger. Bright brown eyes with a hint of mischief, black hair just a touch longer, dark red parade uniform close-fit to her figure, and a military cap placed on her head at a slight angle.

Then her vision cleared.

The cadet's cap was gone. The parade dress turned into a full-on officer's uniform with medals on the left side. Black leather gloves that ended at the middle of the forearm covered her hands, and the pants were tucked into polished knee-high boots. An MP-446 pistol was holstered at her right thigh, and a six inch long combat knife hung from her left hip. Eight years seemed to roll back and then fade away in the blink of an eye as the two stared at each other.

Then, the queen at the entrance moved.

She reached for her pistol, only to unbuckle the thigh holster and put it into a cabinet of her dresser, gun and all. She took off her gloves and put them just next to the picture frame, untucked and unbuttoned the top of her uniform, shrugging it off her shoulders. A short-sleeved black cotton undershirt was revealed as she tossed the maroon garment onto an easy chair near the door.

Turmoil watched, eyes wary, the tips of her ears pointing straight up. What was this all about?

The queen walked toward the closet, pulled out a chess board and a velvet bag that clinked when she hefted it. She headed toward a table to the right of the bed and set the board down onto it, then started setting the pieces.

Turmoil sighed. This didn't make any sense at all. She crawled off the bed—

"Do not move until I tell you to. I can bury this knife in your eye from here."

She froze. That was no idle threat.

The queen continued to set the board up as Turmoil watched. Wait, they weren't supposed to go like that. They were supposed to be set up in two ranks before anything else. She opened her mouth to speak before she realized what shape the board began to take. Her eyes widened as the set up finished.

"You can move now."

Turmoil crawled off the bed, approaching the table at a steady, even pace. This was… She shook her head. "I don't understand. This is—"

"—the last game we ever played. Yes." The queen looked up toward Turmoil with a knowing look in her eyes. "When I was told you were being sent on the mission to this country, I thought it would be the last time I ever saw you. So I challenged you, thinking I could beat you for once." She smirked. "You got called out to action before we could finish. So I made you promise…"

Turmoil sighed. "…that we would finish if we ever met again."

The queen nodded. "This whole thing, this campaign… I saw it as a big chess board. I imagined you were _the_ piece to capture, the queen. I thought you would come up with the plan that would counter mine." She tilted her head to one side. "Did you?"

Turmoil's face turned solemn as she shook her head. "No. It turns out there's someone smarter than I am. The one that came up with the strategy that managed to stop yours isn't me." She chuckled. "And don't even think it's the Commander of the Enforcers. He doesn't have a single far-reaching thought in that thick head of his."

The queen chuckled. "It's nice to know you still have your wit, _Anechka_."

Turmoil growled. "You know I don't like that silly name, _Verusha_!"

Vera pouted. "But it's cute! Besides, you didn't seem to mind me saying it to you before. I mean, I called you that all the time and you never once complained."

Anya turned her head away, arms folded in front of her chest. "And that, my dear friend, is because you called me that in _private_. The rest of the time, I wanted to bite your tail off, because you said it in front of everyone else! And what about my nickname for you?"

Vera smirked. "I didn't mind at all. Matter of fact, it was a kind of badge of pride for me, to hear you say that in front of the others. Even if it was out of spite."

"Well, not always." Anya looked at her friend from the corner of her right eye. "Tell me how it happened."

The queen raised an eyebrow, puzzled for a few moments. Then, she realized what she was being asked and her face turned serious. She planted her elbows on the table, fingers interlaced with each other. "He came to us from the water. Injured, badly burned. One of his arms was missing, shoulder and all. We fixed him up as best we could and he asked a lot of questions about where he was."

She grimaced. "They were questions we shouldn't have answered. He became much more interested in how things worked, how people acted. The tom made a recovery in a matter of little more than a month, and with a few modifications to replace the arm." She gritted her teeth. "And how does he repay us?"

Anya nodded. "He pulls a coup d'état."

Vera sighed. "By the time we found out what he was up to, it was too late. The war hawks were already on his side, and he overthrew the government almost all at once. The first thing he did was provide them with information about this country, but more importantly, this city in general. He also told them about you… and convinced them that you'd turned traitor."

Anya grimaced. "So that's why you're here. I thought it was strange." She peered toward her, eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you fight?"

The brunette shook her head. "You fight, you die. And they do it quietly, so people forget you. I went on this mission to see you one last time. Besides, don't tell me you didn't find it enjoyable, playing people to their weaknesses. This city has many to exploit." She leaned forward, eyes calculating. "You could help me."

Anya shook her head. "No, I can't. I've been beaten at my own game and locked up. It happened once, and it can happen again." She looked up at the ceiling. "It's happening right now and you don't know it."

Vera's eyes widened. "What!"

Anya smiled sadly. "It's nothing." She looked at the chess board again, her mind replaying every move she'd made eight years ago. "I promised you a game. We never discussed what I got when I won."

Vera frowned. "That's_ if_ you win, Anya. And _if_ you do win, you can do anything you want. Force me to leave if you want, and I will. I'll never look at this country again, thought it'll cost me much. I put my mission, my career, and my life on the line already by agreeing to kill you. I figure I can do it again with a simple game like this." She touched the tip of a finger to her queen, carved from obsidian. "What do you put on the line?"

Anya shrugged. "There's nothing really important to me besides you, and my country." Granted, they weren't _that_ close. Some things she wanted to avoid. But they were close enough. "So if you win, you can try to kill me."

The queen in front of her raised an eyebrow. "Try?"

Anya smirked. "Yes. Try. I never said I would _give_ you my life. If you win, I'll give you the opportunity to _take_ it from me." She damn sure wouldn't let anyone else do it. Besides, it was a game within a game. That would distract Vera for a while.

For a while, the black-haired queen simply stayed silent, hands underneath her chin. After a few moments, Vera nodded. "Okay. I accept. You don't have anything else to bet, so if that's it, that's it. Besides, I've always wanted to beat you in a spar." She shook her head. "It's a shame that this one will end with your death." She moved a black pawn one square forward, to the fourth file on the second rank. "Your move, _Anechka_."

* * *

The black under suits went first.

They contained the sensor network that connected the heads-up display to the rest of the armor, including the Glovatrix firing systems. They also kept things nice and toasty when the cold of space took hold. Hell, the cold of _anything_. The sensor array also read bio-signatures, which fed into the HUD as pulse monitors, the condition of limbs, and other critical bits of information.

Next was the first layer of armor, the body suit. A full-body ballistic armor suit that protected against threats that managed to punch through, it could stop a machete cold. Razor had tested that theory himself, several times. They could wear this stuff under their g-suits and have some pretty damn good defense. But they'd save that for later.

The final layer was the outer shell, the dark blue and red pressure suit with key pieces of armor. By far the toughest piece of the setup, it had armor for several vital areas that could withstand almost anything, save for tank rounds, missiles, high-powered lasers and rockets. If it was the size of a battery, it wouldn't get through. The bigger pistol rounds would cause some damage to the suit, but nothing penetrating.

T-Bone grinned as he looked at himself in the mirror. "Damn, that's sexy."

Razor chuckled. "I'm not even gonna comment on that. I wouldn't want to go out on a date in this stuff." He put on his helmet, which he designed after their normal ones, except it had full protection for the ears, a bigger profile for the entire head, and a full-face visor that doubled as the display screen. The visor itself could take several hits from small arms fire, but even the toughest stuff could only take so much. Anything that could cut through light armor as if it were clothing, or punch through a brick wall in one shot, would ram clean through the bullet resistant-visor. Hell, it'd push through the Turbosuit itself with a direct hit.

Heavy-caliber sniper fire was definitely to be avoided. Not like they'd have anyone but assault teams up there.

Razor turned a knob on the helmet's right side and it sealed to the rest of the suit with a hiss of air. Now they were pretty much set to go. "HUD's booting up, testing helmet cameras and lights." The display activated with a slight blue flash as monitoring systems and weapon readouts winked onto the screen one after another. The camera whirred as it zoomed in, the display magnifying his reflection in the mirror. He zoomed out again and turned on the standard triangle light on the helmet's forehead. Razor nodded as the visor automatically compensated for the glare coming from the mirror. "That works."

T-Bone grunted. "That shit's bright as hell. What kinda lights are these?"

Razor looked toward him, turning the light off. "They're LEDs, about twenty of 'em. Damn things can generate enough light to blind someone without some kind of eye protection. Good thing is we've got that. I doubt the kats up there do." He grinned. "They won't know what hit 'em when we turn these on."

T-Bone grinned. "Yeah, you got that right! I love this camera here." He turned toward the lockers and zoomed in on the kill board.

"Yeah, I know. Everything's running on internal batteries. This stuff's gonna last as long as these suits do, which is gonna be a long while if we're lucky." Razor disabled the camera, rolled his shoulders. "Let's get a move on; we don't wanna be late for the party."

The SWAT Kats scrambled toward the TurboKat, leapt in and buckled up. Razor activated a few new switches on his instrument panel, and the cockpit pressurized, the openings below the two of them closing off and sealing. "We are airtight, ready for launch."

T-Bone nodded and started the engines as he lowered the platform. The TurboKat turned until it did a full 180, facing the launch tunnel. They could see the StealthKat to their right, shining in the hangar lights as if begging someone to use it. T-Bone smiled. Not this time girl, you're not fit for vacuum. "Check all switches; we're going hot in ten seconds."

The turbofans on all three engines spun as high as they could go, and T-Bone punched the throttle as the staging light to the right of the tunnel turned green. The jet flung itself down the runway, yellow lights a blur as it careened toward the exit. After passing a motion sensor halfway down the stretch, the false ceiling slid open. T-Bone retracted the landing gears, pulled back on the stick just enough, and the TurboKat shot into the night air.

"All right, we're good. I'm gonna activate the boosters in a bit, soon as we get to MASA. That shouldn't take that long at this clip." He let the jet cruise and looked back at Razor. "You think our girls are okay?"

Razor grinned through his visor. "Come on man, you're worried about them now? They'll be fine. We were in one of those things not so long ago and we came out fine. As long as the stay cool, everything's gonna be …" His radar beeped at him. He checked his panels and grimaced at what he saw. "I'm picking up a huge heat upshot, T-Bone."

The big tom groaned. "Of all the times for an engine to start overheating, this had to be it, huh?"

Razor shook his head. "It's not us."

T-Bone raised an eyebrow. "It's not?" He sighed. "I thought I'd have to go back and kick this thing's ass. Well if it's not us, what's going—"

The clouds parted and a heated bolt of bright red shot from the sky. Razor gaped at it as it burned its way through the air, and in a split second, everything changed. One moment, the MegaKat Bay Bridge that connected Downtown and the suburbs spanned across the water. The next, the weapons-grade laser cut through it like a steel blade through cheap cloth. The bay boiled and churned. The blast wave caused the bridge to collapse, and a five foot high wave raced toward the rocky shores, washing over the roadways and plowing into cars.

T-Bone had to stop the TurboKat just to stare at it, expression a picture of utter shock.

"Oh my God…" Razor was the only one that could actually speak. "All those kats…"

T-Bone growled, and the growl soon turned into a roar as he disabled the hover mode and punched the throttle to full, afterburners forcing the both of them backward into their seats. That's it. He was gonna kill whoever the hell was behind this army. Even if he died, he'd throw the bastard out into space before he spent his last breath.

They reached MASA's launch platform in half the time and he nosed the TurboKat toward the heavens, turning the boosters on once he reached ten thousand feet as the heat shield covered the cockpit. He bit down so hard his jaw hurt, as if he were tearing someone's arm off with his teeth. Hell, he'd probably go so far as to do that.

They tore through the atmosphere and T-Bone cut the main engines, relying solely on the boosters and the mini-jets that controlled turning and tilt. The heat shield retreated, revealing the endless void of space. The orbital defense station loomed before them as they set themselves up to match its orbit. T-Bone's eyes narrowed. "That damn laser is imbedded into the platform. We can't just blow it off and finish it."

Razor nodded, brought up the schematics on his HUD. "Hello… it's got a self-destruct system. The thing's in the Fire Control Center, though. We're not gonna reach that without a fight." He cut the map off, used his camera to zoom in on it. "We got another shuttle out here, red with black trim. I can't read the language on it."

T-Bone shrugged. "We don't need to. We just need to turn it to space dust. I'm sure they won't mind; they're not going back down there in one piece anyway." He looked toward the other shuttle. "That's our way in. Door's probably open."

Razor raised an eyebrow. "You're awful calm for someone who just threw a rage fit a minute ago."

T-Bone's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I'm still pissed off. Just call me focused now." He made his way toward the black and white shuttle and parked it just next to it. He disabled the boosters and unbuckled his harness. "Where are those thruster packs?"

"Weapon bay." Razor unbuckled as well and pulled out two Glovatrixes from behind his seat, one for hacking and defense and the other for his weaponry.

T-Bone nodded. "Not a bad place to put 'em. Too little room here in the cockpit." The floor below their feet opened up after unsealing, and they dropped to the weapon racks, grabbing their thruster packs from the hold. The TurboKat sealed up again as the bomb bay opened, and the SWAT Kats flew toward the shuttle.

T-Bone grimaced. Time to end this.

* * *

The hulking tom's grin was full of malice as he watched the bridge fall from his comfortable position in the Fire Control Center. Glorious. It was a magnificent sight to behold and a clear message at the same time. The weapon worked exactly as advertised, and now the final phase could begin. At last, he would send this city to the pits of hell.

And then? Then he would take it for himself.

"_Commissar_, we have a bogey approaching from a south-southeast vector. Unknown origin."

The tom sat back in his chair. "This station has no external defenses…" He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. There's only one way to destroy this place, and it's in here. Let them come." He stood and rolled his shoulders. "But don't let them get to this room too early. Give them something to chew on for a while. I need time to properly prepare myself. The rest of you will plot a firing solution for the following coordinates."

A squad of Marines immediately headed out to prepare for the incoming boarding party. The tom smirked as he depressurized his helmet. "Right on schedule, gentlemen. I've been waiting a long time for this." He took off his helmet and put it on the control panel with a chuckle. "By the time this is over, your city will be nothing more than rubble. All I have to do is put you and your friends out of your misery, and the plan will come full circle."

He doubted that would be the easy part. They were persistent. One thing was for sure though. One way or another, this would end for good. And if he went down, he would take them with him.

* * *

**Chapter 67: Endgame (Part 3)—**_**Pawn Promotion**_

As I sit here and sip on my bottle of Venom this evening, I suppose I should do my obligatory thank you notes here, just in case.

No, that'll come later. Right now, I want to explain why I named this chapter what I named it. Think about it; Turmoil was the pawn in this one. She was the one they needed to get in. Considering the fact that she's in a position to do something potentially major, it's a promotion. Simple as that, nothing fancy. That said, I'm running out of chess terms here.

Then again, I only have two chapters of this arc left, so I don't have to be that creative. Thank God! Anyways, review button. Click it now, plz. Oh and by the way, I have a thread for this fic on . Check it out, read it, leave posts. I also have new posters on my Deviantart. Screen name is rovingmercenary. Please look and luffle, comments appreciated.

I refuse to reveal who this tom is, not yet. Sure he took off his helmet, but I am not about to show his face all that soon. And the next target, the big one, will be revealed as well. I don't think you'll want to miss this one! Stay tuned, the fight is about to heat up!

Well, back to work for the Slayer. MUSH!


	68. Endgame Part 4

Commander Feral's eyes were hollow, lifeless.

A pall of silence fell over the entire bridge as they watched the orbital defense station tear the MegaKat Bay Bridge in half, causing the entire structure to fall apart. The resulting shockwave sent out a wave that didn't entirely break on the shore, washing over the barrier that kept the water from washing over the street. Cars on the freeway stopped; crashed into each other, just to watch the horror.

The big tom dropped to his knees, face frozen in a state of despair. Something inside him gave way at the sight before him. Everything else, _anything_ else he could handle. But this was it for him. They might as well keep him in here forever, if only to keep him from seeing anything worse. Whoever was up there knew how to break a kat entirely, because this didn't just break him. It _shattered_ him, forced him to come to a grim reality that there was nothing he could do, even if he tried.

The stubborn tom that never gave up, no matter what… finally gave in. He couldn't' even try to lift an arm or shed a tear. Part of his mind even denied the situation, as if he wasn't seeing what was clearly in front of him. But the fact was that this weapon was in enemy hands, and they could use it at anytime, anywhere they chose.

He wanted to see Felina. God, how he missed her, especially right now. Sure, he didn't have an explanation for her. But he did want to talk to her. Hadn't done so in months. Feral managed a wry smirk. Hadn't all this started then, when she stormed out of headquarters after she found out what happened to Clawson and Furlong? He covered it up and threw it away as if it were nothing, blamed it entirely on them for Dark Kat getting away. And it came back to bite him in the ass by one of his best walking out on him.

Would she give up after seeing this?

His eyes narrowed. No, he didn't think she would. But it wasn't like there was anything he could do right now—

Alarms went off and lights in the room turned red. A she-kat in white began shouting orders. "Ensign, report! Why the hell am I hearing the damage alert?"

A young she-kat turned toward her, her features distressed. "It's _bad_! We've got a fire in the FCS! Targeting and radar are down, guns are shutting off! We're a flying brick, ma'am!"

"Multiple hits on deck, there go our air defenses! Dammit, they're _breaking through_!"

The queen in white military dress strode toward a weapon rack and snatched a rifle from the hold, along with a grenade launcher. She hooked the two together, snapped the launcher in place, and started loading up. "Send out the call. I want all Marines onboard to prep for combat duty. We've got stowaways on our ship, and I want them overboard, _now_!" She pointed toward Feral without looking as she continued loading up with extra magazines and grenades. "Guards, get him secure! I want him in the brig in less than ten minutes! Do whatever you have to!"

Now loaded with body armor, fully-equipped rifle, a pistol strapped to both legs and a belt of throwing knives at her lower back, she stormed out of the bridge, hell-bent on ventilating whoever ruined her day.

Feral grinned as the guards hauled him onto his feet and nearly dragged him toward the doors. Well, he might not be able to do anything, but the SWAT Kats would. Not for the first time, he was glad he had their help. The only difference was that this time, he wasn't so reluctant about admitting it.

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

_**

* * *

**_

Vera gritted her teeth as she felt the ship rumble, chess pieces shuddering. Alarms began to sound in the hallway. She knew that sound, and it wasn't good. She looked up from her pieces and gave Anya a glare. "To hell with the game."

She lunged across the table, combat knife drawn in a half-second.

Anya brought up her shackles, sparks flying as she diverted the knife with her right handcuff. The cabin suddenly felt cramped, restrictive. Vera pinned her back to the floor, stabbed at her face again. She blocked again and threw a right punch at the black-haired queen. The hit connected and she tried to heave her assailant off of her.

It worked; she threw off, sent her right onto her back. Anya kicked up and assumed a defensive stance. Only one way to win this. Vera rolled over her left shoulder and set herself for a second before she stepped in again, knife cutting at her face. She blocked again, blocked another as Vera cut the other way. She lifted her right hand to block again—wham! Anya flew back into the wall behind her from the right front kick delivered to her gut.

Vera lunged with a roar, bent on ending it there. Anya moved her head just enough, the knife passing inches from her face, opening a cut on the left side of her face. The knife buried itself into the wall as Anya pulled the ship's captain in close, hands behind her head and elbows in tight. She pulled down hard and gave her opponent a hard right knee, then a left.

The air left Vera in a hard exhale; a good hit. Anya kicked her away, almost sending her into the closet doors. She pounced onto her downed opponent, trying to post up as high as she could. Her eyes widened as Vera reached up and pulled her down by the hair with a hard jerk. A right elbow made her see stars and she felt her back press against the floor in the next instant. She blocked the next elbow before it smashed her face in. Her forearms stung as another rained down on her.

Then, she heard the crunch of a broken rib. Anya screeched in pain, distracted from guarding her face. It was all Vera needed.

She separated her forearms, took the chain connecting the handcuffs and wrapped it around Anya's neck. She tightened it with a violent jerk. "There!"

Anya was gasping for air, still pinned, tail thumping against the floor. Not like this! She stopped for a brief moment, letting the chain tighten. Vera smirked, tilted her chin up a little. "Giving up?"

A split second later, she gasped for air from a punch to her windpipe. The chain loosened and Anya slipped out of the choke hold. She hit Vera again, right in the solar plexus. Vera doubled over even more… and then Anya struck. She grabbed onto the right arm and brought it across her chest, trapped it between her legs, and bent it the wrong way.

Hard.

A fatal snap echoed along the walls and Vera screamed as her elbow popped from the arm bar. Anya got herself up again and headed for the knife. She jerked it free, strode over to Vera again and kicked her so hard she rolled over her broken arm, right onto her back.

"You should know me better than that, _Verusha_." She mounted her rival, posted up high, and poised the knife above her head. "I never give up."

"Then kill me."

Anya thought about doing it. The rules were broken; she had the right. Her ears twitched as the alarm changed to something much worse than a damage alert. She growled and stabbed down with a swift, final stroke.

The knife pierced the floor of the cabin, just to the left of Vera's face, opening a cut in her cheek.

"There, now we match."

Vera smirked. "You're too soft, _Anechka_."

Anya scoffed. "You really think so? The only reason I'm keeping you alive is because I won, and that means I get to ask anything I want from you." She got herself off of her friend and pulled her up by her left arm. "And if what I ask just happens to be helping me take our country back from those war hawks, you have to accept."

Vera tried to shrug, grimaced as her right arm hindered her from doing so. "So I am of more use to you alive. I can accept that."

Anya grinned. "You'd better. You owe me a fair game now, from scratch."

Vera chuckled as Anya helped her out of the room. "I missed you, my friend."

The door opened to a chaotic scene. Marines scrambled through the halls in full combat gear. Fire crews raced toward the general direction of the Fire Control System. Four she-kats stopped for a moment to look over at the open door and drew their weapons as they realized what was going on.

Vera raised her good arm. "Stand down. She's okay."

Their faces turned confused as they lowered their pistols. "What happened in there?"

"Argument." Vera tried not to shrug, as was her habit. "It's settled now. Besides, we have a new target." She looked around the ship for what she knew was the last time. "We're getting off of this thing, now. Are there any helicopters left?"

They started walking toward the lift. Vera reached into her right pocket and pulled out the trigger for Commander Feral's restraining collar. "It's such a shame. He was a handsome tom." She squeezed her right hand until she crushed the signal device, and tossed the remains to the ground.

* * *

Ghost and Lioness made their way through the hallways, toward the lift leading to the other decks. They approached the upcoming corner and stopped, Lioness in front this time. She checked the hallway, the red emergency lights flashing like crazy. Someone shot their plan to hell by going into that room, and it set 'em off big time. Marines were probably all over the place, looking for them.

Lioness shrugged. They couldn't be quiet forever. Besides, this was the fun part.

No one approached the elevator, so she turned toward Ghost and waved her forward as she stepped out—

Ghost pulled her back by her left arm.

"Hey!" Lioness glared at the silver-haired SWAT Kat. "What the hell's the big idea?"

Ding.

The brunette's eyes widened and she flattened herself against the wall. "Those senses of yours are freaky." She'd almost run straight into whoever came out of the lift. Ghost just saved her ass. The lift doors opened with a hiss and Lioness looked out from the corner again. Holy crap, the Commander. She ducked behind her cover again as the first two guards checked either side of the hall.

Lioness waited one second, two… and then looked again. They'd moved on. Probably not far. She waved Ghost forward, and this time she moved out, stopping at the hallway the guards just went down. She peered out again for a brief moment, looked back at her with a nod.

"Okay," Lioness said after a sigh. "On my signal, blow the charges in the jamming room." She skittered her way across the hall, stopped at the other corner and peered around. Guards still headed down the hallway. Good, they didn't see the two of them yet. She grinned. They would soon. She looked over toward Ghost and quickly counted on her fingers down from three. When she made a fist, Ghost pressed in a panel on her Glovatrix, and the resulting chain of explosions rocked the ship again. The guards stopped for just that instant, and it was more than enough.

Ghost and Lioness moved out from their cover at the same time, weapons already at the ready. They fired two knockout rounds into the backs of the two guards in front of them, hauled ass toward the Commander, their feet running along the walls. The other guards turned around and drew their weapons, but it was too late. They caught knockout darts in their foreheads as the SWAT Kats leapt down from the walls and landed with their backs to Commander Feral.

"About time you showed up. I was wondering if you'd try to get inside."

Lioness stood, looked behind her left shoulder. "Well now you got your answer. Turn around."

In a matter of seconds, Ghost picked the lock on the handcuffs and Feral rubbed his aching wrists. "You need to find the captain of this ship. She's got the switch for the collar here on my neck. If you try to take it off, you'll get a nasty—Gah!"

Lioness jerked him down by his left shoulder, bullets whizzing overhead, barely missing the tips of his ears. "_Shit_!"

Lioness nodded. "Well put." She peered out from the top of her shield, ducked her head as suppressive fire pinged off of her shield. "Damn it, Marines. I didn't want to deal with _them_ this early." She looked toward Ghost. "Flashbang 'em."

Ghost pulled out her second distraction and tossed it, ducked behind her shield as it went off. She dared to peer out from behind her shield again… and ducked. She looked toward Lioness and shook her head.

The brunette growled. "Polarized visors and ear plugs. Why am I not surprised?" One distraction wasted. Couldn't use any more, not on these she-kats. They'd outflank the three of them at this rate! "We can't just wait here until they run out of ammo!" She pulled the pistol from her right thigh, used her teeth to turn the safety off. "Hell with it. Let's go!" She kept her head below her shield as she fired back, the red outlines of the Marines visible through her visor.

One lucky shot from Ghost popped a Marine in the head while she reloaded. Another from Lioness forced a second to the ground. Four she-kats in front with riot shields starting backing up as the SWAT Kats and Commander Feral advanced. He didn't exactly have a gun, not unless they could take one from these kats. And that would be hard to do right now.

Another one fell to a far more accurate shot from Lioness. Six left. They finally retreated to their corners, and the SWAT Kats disabled their shields. Lioness flipped her pistol over, hand on the muzzle, and gave it to Feral.

"Thanks." He took it and pointed it downrange, toward the t-junction at the end of the hallway. "Got an escape plan?"

Lioness and Ghost hefted their AKs, turned the safeties off, and pulled the charging handles at the same time. "Shoot our way out." Lioness pulled a shock grenade from a pouch in her body armor, pushed the button on top and heard the electric generator wind up. "Stop this."

She and Ghost threw their distractions toward the far wall of the intersecting hallway. They bounced off, and landed right amidst the two groups of three. A moment later, electricity arced from behind the cover of the Marines. "Get in there!"

Lioness and Commander Feral went left. Ghost went to the right. In three seconds of accurate, close-range gunfire, the stunned attackers were down for the count. Lioness looked toward Feral. "See anything you like?"

He dropped the pistol and grabbed one of the AKS-74Us. "This'll do nicely." He slung it over his right shoulder and let it hang. "We need to find the she-kat with the key for this collar." He tugged at it, trying not to set it off. "It's starting to get irritating."

Ding.

Lioness groaned as she flattened herself against the wall again. "They just don't quit, do they?"

Feral shook his head. "They don't scare me. We beat them before." He peered out from the corner. "What the…" A bullet nicked the wall, forcing him to take cover again. "There's just one! A she-kat dressed in white."

Lioness looked over at Ghost. "What do you make of this?"

Ghost closed her eyes, her expression turning soft and relaxed. Her ears twitched, and she opened her eyes, giving Lioness a worried look.

"Shit." Lioness gritted her teeth. "This one's different. I wouldn't be surprised if she were the leader of these Marines. Probably got a few flanking us, too."

The brown-haired queen simply stood there, eyeing the end of the hallway. Then she pressed in her ear piece and said two words. "Code Six."

A few seconds later, the alarms changed into something much more urgent.

She smirked. "Do you hear that? That's the sound of your end. In five minutes, we'll all be dead. At the very least, I'll have the honor of taking all three of you with me to hell." She snapped her fingers and eight Marines broke cover, four on each end of the hallway, training their guns on the intruders. "You did fairly well to get this far, I'll give you that. So I'm going to give you a proper execution."

Ghost and Lioness deployed their shields again. "Well," Lioness said with a smirk, "Time to shoot our way out."

She looked behind her right shoulder as the lift doors closed, and then looked ahead again. "Kill them."

* * *

"Damn. This thing's tough to cut open."

Sparks flew as Razor tried to buzz-saw his way into the shuttle. Cutting hadn't worked; the torch just left a burn mark where he tried to get in. This method wasn't doing much work either. Good thing they had their magnetic boots handy. Otherwise, this would be a worse situation than they needed it to be. "Just gimme a bit and I'll bust us in."

T-Bone shook his head. "I think that's enough of being subtle, bud. Besides, you made enough of a cut for _my_ plan to work."

Razor raised an eyebrow. "And what would your plan—Oh crap."

He barely moved out of the way as T-Bone reeled back with his right hand and plowed into where Razor had been cutting. Sure enough, the added force from the hydraulics gave him enough momentum to ram clean through the slight structural weakness that Razor created. T-Bone didn't stop there. He pulled his right hand out and slammed his left fist through the shuttle's hull, just next to the first hole he'd made.

Then, he moved to the narrow end of the hole he'd just made… and pulled upward with both hands.

Razor's eyes widened as T-Bone made them a way inside through sheer brute force. Damn. These suits really did work as he designed them to. T-Bone didn't even look tired as he dusted his hands off. And the Glovatrixes on either hand didn't have a scratch on them. "Well, that's one way to get in."

T-Bone chuckled as he made his way inside. "Hey, couldn't have done it without you."

The SWAT Kats made their way through the shuttle, through the still-open door. They pulled their way along the rails on either side of the docking tunnel until they reached the airlock. Razor stopped T-Bone with a hand on his right shoulder and pointed just above the door. "We got a camera here. They probably identify which kat is witch with it."

T-Bone pointed his right Glovatrix at the camera. "Well they'll know soon enough." He blew it to pieces with a micro-missile. "Razor, hack the door."

"I'm on it." He found a panel to the right side of the door and opened it, revealing the wiring for the door's pressure system. "There's gotta be something to hook into around—there it is!" He clenched his left fist, a spike extending from the center barrel of the Glovatrix, and slid it into the opening he found. "It's jacked in… and it's crunching."

Random numbers flickered across the LED display until six numbers appeared in sequence, from left to right. The door hissed and slid upward, revealing the airlock. "We're in. That was a little too easy."

T-Bone grunted. "Then it's not good news." He stepped into the airlock alongside Razor and the airlock closed behind them. A hiss sounded, jets of air came from the top and bottom of the pressure chamber. They went from floating a few inches off the ground to settling down as the station's gravity engines took effect. T-Bone checked his Glovatrixes. "Razor, you're on point."

"Copy that." He stepped in front, scanned behind the door with his HUD. Red outlines appeared within seconds. "They're expecting us."

T-Bone smirked. "I told you it wasn't good news. Hit your lights as soon as the door opens."

The pressurization process stopped and the door opened to reveal she-kats clad in black tactical gear, lined up and ready to fire. But they weren't prepared for the two heavily-armored SWAT Kats, both of them shining their LED helmet lights at them on full-tilt. Several curses flew at them as T-Bone opened fire with both Glovatrixes, tar balls coating the muzzles of their weapons, blinding their eyes, making them stick to the floor. In the first five seconds, they neutralized the first four Marines handily.

That didn't stop more red outlines from showing up on the HUD as the other she-kats came pouring out from the far hallway. "Nice welcome," T-Bone snarked as his armor took the full impact of small arms fire. He strode forward, bullets pinging off of him. "Not today, ladies." He casually switched magazines to explosive rounds as Razor covered him with suppressive fire from a mini-cement launcher on his right Glovatrix, rendering their weapons useless.

One of them pulled the pin on a grenade and hefted it toward the SWAT Kats. T-Bone ran forward, snatched it out of the air after the first bounce, and threw it right back. The Marines scattered, but not everyone could make it out of the explosion. Three of them took it full-on, flying back against the wall behind them.

They didn't move again.

T-Bone didn't stop his momentum as he headed toward three of the remaining defenders, giving one of them a solid kick to the face with his right boot. The other two didn't fare much better as he grabbed them both and threw them against the wall. Their helmets took most of the impact, but it still knocked them out cold.

The other two saw the fate of their comrades and stood with their hands in the air.

T-Bone nodded. "Smart. You tell me where the Fire Control Center is, and we'll spare you an ass-kicking."

Gunfire pinged off of the back of his Turbosuit. He turned to look over his right shoulder with a grin. "Guess that's our answer." Six more Marines shot at them, two of them throwing smoke grenades. "Razor?"

He looked toward the expanding smoke cloud as he handcuffed the two she-kats that surrendered. "I'm already on it." He switched to thermal vision. "They're using riot shields as cover. We're gonna have to get real interesting."

T-Bone nodded. "Already got the trick." He switched to his thermals and fired mini-megatons from both of his Glovatrixes, right into the shields. The explosions knocked them over and he charged through the smokescreen, gunfire bouncing off of his suit. He plowed right into them with his right shoulder, knocking two of them five feet away. A front kick to his right knocked two more toward their side of the hallway. He spun and delivered a back fist to one of the Marines behind him, making her spin like crazy before she fell to the ground hard.

The six she-kats that T-Bone knocked down earlier got right back up, trying to surround him as he dealt with the last one in his vision. The only problem with that was they missed Razor as he snuck up on them and fired knockout darts into the back of their unprotected necks. T-Bone took the last one out with a hip throw that took the wind out of her when she hit the ground. He gave her one final stomp to the side of her head, hard enough to separate her from her senses.

"Now that that's out of the way…" Razor checked the map on his HUD. "Schematics for the station say that we're close. Probably one last group to deal with before we get there."

"Why wait until you get there?"

The SWAT Kats turned to face the male voice from behind them. T-Bone's eyes widened as he saw the all-too-familiar figure before him. His mouth moved, but words failed to come out. It wasn't possible. The tom before him shouldn't be standing here. Six Marines, three on either side of him, trained their rifles on the two intruders.

"You… You're supposed to be dead."

The tom shrugged, his voluminous black cloak with red trim moving as if of its own power. "How could you tell? No one ever found my body. Everyone in the Enforcers did exactly what I thought they would. They assumed I was dead, and stopped looking for me." He pulled back the left side of his hood with his gloved hand, scar tissue marring his already twisted face. "I will admit that almost happened. I must congratulate you for pushing me that far."

T-Bone growled. "I'm not even going to ask why you did this." He already knew.

The tom nodded. "Of course not. You saw what happened to the bridge." He chuckled. "That was a test. And it was a _successful_ one. This weapon is more than adequate to level this entire city and make it uninhabitable. But first, there is one thing I need to settle." He pulled back his right sleeve, revealing an arm of metal and hydraulic motors, the hand covered by a black leather glove. "You took this from me." He lowered the sleeve as he tilted his head to the right, neck cracking. "Now I'm going to take something from you."

T-Bone grimaced and Razor took a fighting stance. "Then come and get it, Dark Kat."

* * *

"They haven't come out yet."

Anya looked down at the carrier as they lifted off from the deck. Was that worry she heard in Vera's voice? She smirked. "Don't count them out just yet. They'll make it. For now, we need to get as far away from the _Radiance_ as possible. It has a pretty wide blast radius, and if we're not clear of it in a few minutes, our escape will be for nothing."

Vera looked behind her left shoulder, another soldier at the controls. "So what do we do now? How will we get home?"

Anya shrugged. "I don't know. We just need to go back and fix things." Not like she knew how exactly, but she would find a way. Her country would become great again. One thing was for sure, she wasn't coming back here again unless she had to. She hoped that wasn't any time soon.

Anya looked up toward the sky, to the orbital station she knew was there. That place was the one thing that could hold this city hostage. If it were gone, the war hawks would lose their advantage. She knew T-Bone was up there fighting. Not for the first time, she sighed with longing for him. "Such a fine tom."

Vera raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Someone from this city caught your eye?" She grinned. "You have to tell me."

Anya chuckled, looking back at Vera. "In your dreams, maybe. Besides, he belongs to someone else." Someone as intelligent as she was, and just as fierce. Ghost was a good rival for her, and a fair match for him. She'd promised to stay away from him, but that didn't mean she wouldn't consider extenuating circumstances as a factor.

Vera faced forward already. "Giving up?"

The she-kat known as Turmoil closed her eyes. "You know me."

If she broke his heart in any way… she would come back for her. And then she'd go back home with him.

"I never give up."

* * *

**Chapter 68: Endgame (Part 4)—**_**Queen Captured**_

Raise your hands if you saw that one coming.

Okay, now raise your hands if you didn't.

Regardless, now you know. And now we're going to see the SWAT Kats kick his ass. And I won't make it easy, not by a long shot. I'm going to make this a knock-down, drag-out battle worthy of a proper ending. So knuckle up, because it's going down, big time.

Not much to say this time, just satisfied, really. I'm actually _finishing a story_. I feel like I accomplish something with every chapter. But reviews would be nice; it lets me know that people are still reading and such. So do your author a favor and click the review button. Leave something for me, would you? I'd appreciate it.

Now then, GET READY! The finish is coming up soon!


	69. Endgame Finale

T-Bone's back rammed against a wall hard enough to put a sizable dent in it.

He looked up at the scarred tom with one arm that happened to be extremely powerful. He'd never even seen that kind of metal before; he just knew that it was tough as all hell. The same hydraulic motors they had in their armor, Dark Kat seemed to have in his right arm. T-Bone stood, rolled his shoulders, and turned on his helmet flood light.

Dark Kat lifted his cybernetic arm to shield his eyes, his movements a blur.

T-Bone didn't take the opportunity for granted. He leapt forward, putting all of his weight into a left front kick. Dark Kat swept his right arm across his chest, just about smacking the SWAT Kat back to where he came from. T-Bone rolled over his right shoulder and fired six mini-match heads as he got himself to one knee.

His eyes widened as Dark Kat rolled out of the way, just about all of them missing him. Except for one, and it didn't do much. How'd he get so damn _fast_? He gritted his teeth and fired again, trying to burn the cloak right off of him. A warning beeped at him, low ammo. Wonderful.

Four missiles hit the hulking tom square on, lighting his cloak ablaze.

T-Bone smirked. "Gotcha!"

"You only think so." He let the cloak burn with a twisted grin. "Did you think I didn't come here prepared for you?" He tore the cloak off, revealing a body suit with small, angled black panels all along its surface, the only unarmored section being the sleeveless false arm. That was armor enough anyway. "I am sure you can tell this is bullet-resistant, and fire-retardant. Burning me won't help you."

The Glovatrix magazines clattered to the floor as T-Bone triggered a hidden release. He took a fighting stance, eyes narrowed and armored tail swinging lazily. "Then I'll just have to dump you on your bald head, tear that metal arm off, and beat you within an inch of your life with it."

Dark Kat chuckled. "You don't quite understand, do you? I am not the Dark Kat you've fought in previous times. But why explain?" He strode forward at a casual pace. "I'd rather show you."

T-Bone took the initiative and threw a left punch right at the center of Dark Kat's face. He slipped the punch, slipped the next one as a right shot toward him after that. He ducked under the left hook and belted the SWAT Kat in his gut with his right arm.

The armor didn't take everything.

A damage alarm sounded in T-Bone's HUD. Another one as Dark Kat grabbed him and crunched his right knee into the same spot. T-Bone felt the suit give way just a little. It was enough to make him see red, and he blocked the next knee before grabbing onto that leg and driving his right shoulder forward into Dark Kat's stomach as he activated his thruster pack. Soon, Dark Kat was the one making a dent into a wall, with some extra help from the SWAT Kat.

The jets cut off and T-Bone rammed his right fist into the ribs of his foe once, twice, three times, trying to at least bruise something. His visor creaked as Dark Kat's left hand squeezed hard on his helmet, and he felt his feet leave the floor. Oh, crap.

He flew down the hallway, sparks flying as he landed hard on his back. T-Bone kicked up and assumed a fighting stance again. He checked his HUD. Glovatrixes empty, no more magazines, damage to the torso, chest armor at 60%. Okay, not the best news.

Dark Kat strode toward him, gloves creaking as his fists tightened. "I must say, even I find my new abilities impressive." He cracked his neck again. "But _you_! Your armor is _splendid_. I thought I could crush you in one stroke, but apparently I was wrong." He smirked. "I _will_ have the blueprints after I kill you."

"I don't wanna hear it!" T-Bone charged forward again, bent on causing at least half as much damage as this bastard had done to his city…

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

_**

* * *

**_

It wasn't so easy this time.

Razor grimaced as he checked his ammo reserves from behind a corner. Dammit, out of Glovatrix ammo. The Marines shooting at him didn't seem to run out of _anything_, and the three in front with shields were much more efficient at defending themselves. He peeked around the corner and tagged a she-kat wearing what looked like a pack, probably filled with extra magazines. She had to go, soon.

He ducked back behind the corner as a bullet careened off of his helmet. "This is starting to piss me off," he said under his breath as he formulated a plan. They advanced on him even as he thought as quickly as he could. He still had plenty of ways to do this. Just needed to have the right tool. Whatever else happened, their reloading method had to go first.

He readied a micro charge from a dispenser on his left-hand Glovatrix and rolled out from the corner, bullets bouncing off of his suit. They were closer than he'd thought they were. Any further and he'd have been overtaken. He turned his helmet light on, blinding them; jumped right over the six of them and tossed the charge onto the pack of the she-kat with the ammo. Razor landed behind them and set off the charge. The resulting explosion from the gunpowder in all those bullets almost did the job for him, taking out the ammo kat and two riot shields. He turned, helmet light still bright, and grabbed a pistol from the Marine just in front of him.

That made things _much_ easier.

Razor grimaced as he opened fire, aiming for the backs of their knees, the unprotected areas of their legs, any gaps in the armor he could find. He only had to shoot once for a Marine to go down, and by the time the others turned to face him, he blinded them with that light again.

It took longer than he would've liked, but he did it. All six were neutralized; three dead, three incapacitated. He handcuffed the ones left alive and looked back down the hallway. These ladies did a fine job of isolating him from his partner. He was probably getting his ass kicked right now by Dark Kat. Razor sprinted toward the sound of metal skidding along the floor, stopped at the corner.

He peered out from his cover, grimaced at what he saw. His HUD told the tale for him. Dark Kat just put the screws to T-Bone, and he wasn't done yet. The chest plate took most of the impact, but integrity was failing. The stomach area wasn't doing all that well. Few more hits there and even the second layer of armor couldn't stop the damage. Razor sighed with relief. Pressure systems, life support, and oxygen levels were still okay. Thank God. If one of those failed, he might as well not be leaving at all.

And he didn't want to lose this bet, never mind Dark Kat sending his buddy to an early grave.

But he would if T-Bone didn't have some kind of distraction.

"Hang in there," Razor whispered as he headed toward the Fire Control Center. He had the perfect way to get Dark Kat looking somewhere else. He just hoped T-Bone could be his usual tough self while he set it up.

It didn't take him long to find it, nor did it take long to hacked the armored glass doors. But once he got in, he knew it wouldn't take anywhere near the time he thought it would to get things ready. "Oh come on, gimme a break." He headed over to the many consoles that controlled the orientation of the weapons platform. He found something worthwhile after a little more than a minute. "Okay, thanks for the break." He jacked in with his left Glovatrix and after a few seconds, he had everything he needed.

And one thing he didn't.

"These …These coordinates are…"

He stood silent for all of five seconds. "He really was gonna do it."

The next target, the one that would end everything, was the MegaKat Nuclear Facility. Razor didn't need to think hard about what would happen if this thing hit those reactors. He shook his head and looked over his right shoulder. "For once… I agree with you, T-Bone." He turned toward the control panels, locating the one for the self-destruct systems in a few seconds. "Sometimes, justice isn't enough."

With that, he started rigging the place to detonate. Usually the timer would take a good ten minutes, enough time for everyone onboard to drop what he or she was doing and abandon ship. But he didn't feel like waiting that long. By the time he was finished, the place would be set to go to pieces inall of two minutes.

He hoped T-Bone could finish it before then, or they'd be a couple of deep-fried kittens.

* * *

"You have to be kidding me. Vera, this is some kind of joke."

The brunette shook her head as the helicopter headed for relative safety. "I wish it were. That tom has gone through structural reinforcement and strength enhancement treatments. I don't know how he convinced them to do it, but he did." She stared forward, her eyes forlorn. "He's stronger, faster, has a new arm, and those bones of his are much harder to break."

Anya growled. "Damn him! He's been using us like a bunch of…"

"…chess pieces. He thinks of us as pawns." Vera grimaced. "It's going to be difficult to tear him away from that orbital weapons station. The only thing those kats have going for them is that when all is said and done, he is still mortal. He can still bleed, he can still feel pain."

Anya nodded. "He can still die."

"They will have to kill him outright, no mercy. Otherwise this city will be decimated, no matter what anyone has to say about it."

But could they? The enhancements Dark Kat received were reserved for small Black Ops teams. It'd only been declassified to her after she'd become a commanding officer. Anyone treated with those would be an army by themselves. She didn't know what the SWAT Kats had going for them besides the fact that he still had a pulse and could still breathe, but if they had nothing else…

"Shit." Her hands tightened into fists until her claws dug into the palms of her hands. The pain only fueled her anger and frustration. "We need a fucking miracle."

Vera nodded. "We also need to land soon. We're running out of fuel."

A thought came to Anya. "Vera, what about the hostages?"

"Don't worry about it. I've told them to stand down and surrender themselves to the Enforcers. They're my soldiers, they still follow my orders." The brunette sighed. "We've lost, regardless of what happens now. I'm just lucky they're letting us go home." She chuckled, a hand running through her hair. "So you didn't think of this plan after all. I was a bit angry at you when that explosion went off."

Anya shrugged. "It's a reasonable reaction. I wish I'd have thought of all this myself." She grinned. "You do have to admit though, leaving that present for you was clever, wasn't it?"

Vera rolled her eyes. "You really can be a pain in the ass sometimes, _Anechka_."

* * *

Enforcer F-35s landed on the deck of the _Radiance_ and pilots scrambled out, rifles slung across their bodies and pistols strapped to their legs. They didn't have much time to organize as the rest of the defending soldiers stormed them, guns blazing. The pilots took cover behind whatever was available, bullets pinging off of the struts of landing gears.

A sergeant barked orders. "Form up! Get those smoke grenades ready, I want those she-kats neutralized yesterday!"

Four pilots loaded the breeches of their under-slung grenade launchers with the smokes, and then tilted their rifles at an angle. "Loaded and ready, sir!"

The sergeant nodded. "Thermals on, now!" He activated his own thermal imaging before pointing toward the cluster of soldiers. "_Fire_!"

The smoke grenades arced over the jets and landed right in the middle of the crowd, spreading quickly as the projectiles went off. Suppressive fire stopped for just long enough for the Sergeant to shout out the next order. "Push through the smoke! _Go_!" The Enforcers charged the smoke cloud, some stopping to take a knee and line up their shots.

The fortunes turned so fast, the defending she-kats were overwhelmed. Many were shot before they could escape the smoke screen, others while trying to get to cover. The Enforcers pushed deeper into the internal bay as warning alarms buzzed in their ears, shot their way through one wave of enemies after another. One of the pilots pointed toward a pair of armored doors. "Sir, we got a way in!"

"Then get moving, dammit! We'll be overrun if we stay here!"

Six Enforcers stormed toward the lift doors, one of them calling the elevator to their floor. The rest headed to the left, kicked down a door that led to a stairwell, and headed down. "We gotta find the Commander and get him off this rig! Lift team, head down and tell us where that elevator stops; we'll meet you there, over!"

"Copy that, Sarge. We're in, heading as low as we can go."

The pilots clamored down the stairwell until they reached the bottom floor. The sergeant gave the signal to halt as he activated his helmet radio. "Lift team, do you copy?" His voice was a few notches quieter.

He heard the sound of weapons on the other end. "We got us a firefight down here, sir! We're taking small arms and grenades! This she-kat has us pinned down all on her lonesome! We need assistance, ASAP!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Say again, soldier? I heard you say just one."

"Affirmative! Whoever this is, she's badass!" An explosion. "Dammit kats, keep your heads down! Sarge, we could use some backup!"

"Copy that, we're on our way." He motioned to one of the pilots behind him. "Check the door."

The Enforcer slid a fiber optic camera underneath the door and swept it back and forth. "Sir… it's the SWAT Kats. They're with the Commander, and taking heavy fire from she-kats in black tactical gear."

The sergeant grimaced. "Black instead of the red from earlier. That ain't good." He looked behind him. "Knuckle up, boys. We're in for some deep shit." He turned toward the tom at the door again. "Hack the door on my mark. I want half of you to assist those pinned kats; the rest are with me, copy?"

"Solid."

"Damn straight. Stack up."

The Enforcers moved to the right of the doorway as the one at the entrance pulled out a device with a cable leading from it. "It's ready to go, sir."

The sergeant pulled out a smoke grenade with his right hand, hooked his thumb into the safety ring. "Do it."

They jacked in, and after five seconds, the door slid open. The sergeant pulled the pin, threw the grenade, and smoke spewed into the hallway. Curses erupted from the she-kats as the smokescreen obscured their line of sight. "_Go_!"

He sprinted through the opening first, eight other kats behind him. It only took a second to line up their sights and shoot the she-kats down before they stormed forward again, heads low to avoid the sudden bursts of gunfire from further down the hall. Eight pilots broke to the left, heading for the other firefight.

Commander Feral grinned toward them. "Good work, kats! You made it!"

"No time to talk, sir! We gotta get you outta here!" The sergeant barked at his troops as the four remaining queens in black retreated behind their corner. "Suppress those she-kats! I don't want us shot in the back!"

Four Enforcers responded by switching their rifles to full-auto and shooting just at the corner. "All units move out! Get to the flight deck!" He pulled out another smoke grenade and threw it down the hall, then headed back toward the door.

"We don't have enough time! This place is gonna be _scrap_ in three minutes!"

The sergeant looked toward the SWAT Kats. "You got any better ideas?"

"We were gonna shoot our way out, until you shot your way _in_!" The brunette grinned. "Guess we had the same ideas here!"

The sergeant's radio buzzed. "Sir, enemy target neutralized! She had us going for a while there! We're in the lift and headed to the flight deck!"

"Solid copy, good work! Haul ass, this place is a flying time bomb!"

The lift got there first. Fourteen kats made their exit, the muzzles of their rifles pointed forward. It looked like everyone was fleeing before the whole place went to hell. No one even noticed them. They looked to their left as the rest of the team scrambled out of the stairwell entrance. "No time, _go to the jets_!"

They got moving along with everyone else. The SWAT Kats escorted Commander Feral to a transport helicopter while everyone else got back into their jets. Lioness tried her best to start the engines as the timer in her head wore down to thirty seconds. "Shit. Come on!"

The sergeant and the other pilots climbed into their jets. His radio buzzed again. "Sir, the bridge!"

He looked up in time to see the control room explode, a massive fireball shattering the windows. "Time's up, get those wheels off the ground! _Move it_!"

A chain of explosions, level by level, started the job of decimating the _Radiance_. The F-35s hovered off the deck as the self-destruct sequence began. "Wheels up, we are leaving! Commander …?"

"We're in the air, disperse!"

The explosions finally reached the engine room… and the blast there did the trick. A massive explosion consumed the rest of the carrier as the jets and the stolen transport helicopter moved off. Cockpits and cabins shuddered as the blast wave plowed over them.

The sergeant gritted his teeth as the shockwave pounded his jet. "Shit!" After a few seconds, all was quiet. "All aircraft report!"

"Flight Three, checking in."

"Flight Seven, checking in."

"Flight Six, checking in."

The sergeant sighed. "Hell of a way to end a party, gentlemen."

"It's not over."

He raised an eyebrow. "Come again, sir?"

Commander Feral's voice echoed in his ear. "This whole thing doesn't end down here. It ends up there. They weren't going for the city; they were going for Pumadyne's orbital defense laser. It just took out MegaKat Bay Bridge. Who the hell knows where it'll fire next?"

All the Enforcers were silent for a few seconds. "…Damn."

"My thoughts exactly. The only jet capable of flying that high is the TurboKat. And that means they're up there right now, saving our tails. Again."

* * *

Dark Kat's hand gripped T-Bone's helmet, trying again to crush it in one squeeze. "You put up quite a fight. Then again, you always do. It's what I admire about you SWAT Kats; you're resilient." He shook his head. "It's a shame that I couldn't convince you of the justice of my cause."

T-Bone growled. "You call this shit justice?"

Dark Kat chuckled. "You're not seeing the big picture. The system is broken, rotting from the inside. You two were victims of it yourselves; you should understand." His eyes narrowed. "The only way to change it is to destroy it and replace it with another one. And the only way to do that is to destroy the symbol of that system."

The big tom struggled to free himself. "And you think this justifies destroying an entire city?"

He nodded. "Yes, I do. In fact, the city itself _is_ the symbol of everything that's wrong!" He slammed T-Bone against the ground, head-first. The armor didn't give. "Impressive. That should have knocked you senseless." He picked him up again. "How I wish I could see your face behind that visor."

"No you don't." T-Bone grinned. "I'd spit in yours."

Dark Kat chuckled as he tossed him in the air a bit, catching him in a bear hug. "Clever. But this is where it ends. After I crush you like a bottle of milk, I'll do the same to your partner. All I need to do then is destroy the Nuclear Facility, and your city will be no more than a memory." He started squeezing, slowly increasing his pressure. "Any last words, SWAT Kat?"

Alarms went off before either kat could say anything else. Red emergency lights flashed as the self-destruct timer activated. Dark Kat looked toward the Fire Control Center. "_No_!"

"Oh, _yeah_!" T-Bone rammed his head forward right into the side of Dark Kat's face. Dark Kat's arms loosened enough for T-Bone to free his arms, put his hands behind that shiny cue ball of his, and pull him down as he fell to one knee. Dark Kat's forehead met the top of T-Bone's helmet and he stumbled backward, a trickle of blood leaking from his scalp.

The SWAT Kat didn't stop there as he ducked forward, the hydraulic motors in his right arm spinning up. He rammed a right cross into Dark Kat's gut with authority, and this time the message went home. Dark Kat spit up blood as T-Bone's fist dug deep, and an uppercut sent him soaring back five feet.

He didn't hit the ground.

T-Bone rocketed forward with his thruster pack, snatching Dark Kat out of mid-air and slammed him against another wall, putting more than just a dent in it. Steam erupted from the burst pipes behind them. T-Bone crammed his left fist into Dark Kat's side, the hydraulics aiding his short hook. His ears twitched at the satisfying sound of ribs breaking. "Damn, you're tough." He landed a right hook to the left side, more broken ribs. "Whatever they did to you helped a lot." He grabbed onto Dark Kat's head with his left hand. "Too bad it wasn't enough."

Dark Kat grinned. "Then kill me. I'd like nothing more than for you to do exactly what I'd do."

T-Bone shook his head. "You think you can get me with that?" His hand tightened. "You're not going back down there."

"_Stop_!"

T-Bone turned toward Razor. "What the hell? You know we should do this!"

He nodded. "I know." Razor walked toward Dark Kat and planted his foot onto his damaged ribs. "Just gotta take care of ..." He grabbed onto the cybernetic arm and jerked it free with one good tug. Dark Kat growled in pain. "…this!" He looked toward T-Bone. "Shut him up."

T-Bone smirked and let go of Dark Kat's face… only for his right fist to plow into it like a freight train from hell. He didn't have to do it twice. The big tom turned toward Razor with a raised eyebrow. "Why'd you grab that arm?"

Razor grinned. "Can't let an opportunity to research this get away, can I?" He turned toward the direction of the air lock. "Come on, this place is about to be space junk in less than two minutes."

He ran after Razor as the self-destruct sequence kept on ticking away. "You got a shortcut?"

Razor shook his head. "Hell no! We gotta make one, and these walls are too tough to bust through!" They scrambled toward the air lock… and it didn't open for them. "Crap, emergency locking systems! We can't get through here!"

"Then we're going for the lifeboats! There's gotta be some around here!"

Razor shook his head. "No time for that!" He looked toward T-Bone. "Go for it?"

T-Bone grinned. "Go for it!"

The big tom took a few steps back, planted his feet, and revved all the motors at once. "Time to see what this damn thing can really do." He charged forward, left shoulder first. Seconds before he plowed into the doors, he lit his thruster pack.

The Turbosuit punched through the doors off of the airlock. T-Bone just kept on flying, right down the docking tunnel. "_Holy shit_!"

Razor laughed. "You took the words right out of my mouth!" The slim tom flew ahead of T-Bone, entered the shuttle, and shot right up out of the hole they'd made earlier. "I'm warming up the engines from here. We don't have time for all that."

Inside the TurboKat, the screens came to life, computers whining as drives spun up. The seats slid back and the floor beneath them opened as the weapon bay doors hinged apart. T-Bone entered first, eyes wide. "Is there anything these suits _can't_ do?"

Razor chuckled. "Well, they do have limits. Dark Kat did a good job of testing them. You almost got your ass handed to you." He went in close behind T-Bone, separated the thruster pack from the suit, and climbed into the navigator's seat. "All systems are green. I'm putting the timer up on your monitor now."

T-Bone strapped in as the floor beneath them closed up and pressurized. "Damn, we're cutting it close." The digital readout read ten seconds. He punched the throttle and the liquid-fuel boosters came to life, sending the TurboKat further into space. He looked behind him as the timer counted its last seconds. "Hey, check it out."

Razor looked back as the orbital station began its detonation sequence. Blue explosions danced around the platform before the big one went off, a mini-supernova unfolding before their eyes. "Whoa. Someone's gotta be loving those fireworks down there."

"Yeah…"

T-Bone checked the pressure levels before turning the knob on the bottom right side of his helmet and taking it off, revealing his mask. "He's gone."

Razor nodded. "He's caused us a lotta hell. I'm sure this'll be a load off of Feral's mind."

T-Bone grinned. "Didn't do this for him. I did it for us." He turned the TurboKat around with the mini-jets, boosters still going hard. "After all that time trying to lock him up, all we had to do was just put him down. If we'd have done it sooner…"

Razor shook his head. "We didn't have just cause then. We'd _really_ have become just like him if we did." He shrugged, leaned back in his seat. "This time, he slipped up just enough for us to have a damn good reason. The one thing he didn't expect in his plans was for us to actually do what we did."

T-Bone scoffed. "They never do expect a chink in their plans, do they?"

Razor chuckled. "Not as long as we're the chink."

Silence took hold for a few seconds as the blue atmosphere loomed ever closer. T-Bone scratched the back of his head. "Everything… is gonna change now."

Razor nodded. "…Yeah."

T-Bone sighed. "What are we gonna do?"

Razor was silent for several moments before he answered. "The only thing we _can_ do."

The TurboKat's heat shield slid over the cockpit as they re-entered MegaKat City airspace.

"Wait."

* * *

"So this is it."

T-Bone nodded. "You know the deal. You go home, you take care of what you need to… and then you don't come knocking on our door, ever again."

Anya, Vera, and the red-headed lieutenant stood before them in black trench coats, a C-130 behind them, engines already spinning. Anya nodded. "The terms have already been laid out. The soldiers that are still alive will be going home with us; it'll be a start for our plans to take back the country." She smiled at T-Bone. "Are you sure you don't want to come visit?"

He rolled his eyes. She just wouldn't quit. "Just quit while you're ahead. But if it's any consolation, you're one of the smartest she-kats I know."

She chuckled. "That's small consolation. But I'll take it."

Vera shook her head at the inane banter before she turned toward Ghost. "So… you're the one that put me in checkmate."

Ghost nodded.

Vera looked toward the ground for a few seconds, and then looked up again, her right hand extended.

Ghost reached out and shook it.

"It was a good game. If you ever come to our country, let me know so we can play a more _docile_ game of chess. I'm sure you would be an interesting opponent to have some tea with." Vera turned toward the plane and started walking off. "Let's go."

Anya walked over to Ghost and gave her a hug. "I will miss you, you know."

Ghost hugged back… and whispered into her right ear. "I won't. You remember what I told you."

She chuckled. "Fine. But if you ever break his heart and I hear about it, I will come over whether you like it or not, and kill you in your sleep. Then, I will take him back home with me." She stepped away, giving Ghost a wink before she jogged after Vera with her lieutenant in tow.

Razor glanced toward Ghost. "What was that all about?"

Ghost smirked as she watched the cargo plane take off. "We reached an understanding." She turned back toward her Cyclotron. "Let's get home. It's getting cold out here."

The StealthKat and TurboKat glinted in the sunlight as they headed toward their vehicles. T-Bone smirked at Razor. "You owe me, y'know."

Razor sighed. "I was hoping you'd have forgotten about that."

* * *

**Chapter 69: Endgame (Finale)—**_**Checkmate**_

Oh my god.

OH MY GOD!

I did it! It's done! Endgame has been completed!

Well, not yet… but it's close. I still have to tie up loose ends here and there that I left earlier in the story, which I will do in an epilogue, but that'll be easy.

Well not really. But I'll muddle through somehow, count on it. Regardless, I will be writing a thank-you note to all my reviewers on , so keep a lookout on that site for it. And please, for the love of everything sacred, leave a review! Come on, I deserve one after this! At least, I think I do. I mean, you'd think readership dropped with how few I've been getting. It's detrimental to morale to see so few people commenting on a story you work so hard on!

Hopefully later today or sometime tomorrow, we will see the end of this.

Or will we?


	70. The Winds of Change

_Three weeks later_

Mayor Manx walked into his office, his face haggard and worn. After coming out of the hidey-hole he'd used during the siege, reporters assaulted him with questions. All he wanted now was a little rest, and a little work on his golf game. He closed the door behind him and headed toward his leather chair, when he saw a small folded note on his desk. He picked it up and, after reading it twice, scratched his forehead.

The note read to head toward the observation deck at the top of City Hall.

He shrugged and walked out of the mayoral office, turned right, headed for the stairwell. Past the massive gears that drove the clock and toward the door that opened to the outside. He hesitated for a moment at the exit to the balcony. "Just calm down… it couldn't be anyone who wanted to throw you off of the ledge. That'd be nonsense."

Still, he lingered a bit. "What if it really is someone who wants to do that? I have plenty of enemies, after all…"

"Oh, shut up and open the door," a voice said from beyond the barrier.

Mayor Manx's eyes widened. He threw open the door, the setting sun blinding his eyes for a moment. When his vision cleared, he had to stare for a few moments, check to see if his eyes were tricking him. "You… you're a ghost, aren't you?"

The blonde in a pink suit chuckled, back still turned to him. "If I were, what would you do?"

"You _are_ a ghost!" He shrunk back a few steps. "I… I'm sorry. I've mistreated you so much."

She nodded. "You have."

He cowered against the wall behind him. "You're going to haunt this place forever, aren't you? You're going to be out here on the deck, looking at the city every day, right?" He almost whimpered. "I knew I should've done something about my ghost issues!"

She shrugged. "Or maybe there's nothing that can be done about them." The blonde turned and adjusted her glasses with her left index finger. "Maybe you're just so guilty you can't stop seeing me in your mind. And the guilt will be there for as long as you live."

Manx closed his eyes, blocking his face with his arms. "Don't kill me, please!"

He felt something pull him to his feet and screeched, his eyes snapping open.

"Why would I want to do that?" Callie smiled and pinched his right cheek.

He blinked as he felt his skin being tugged. "You… you're _alive_?"

She nodded. "Glad you noticed." She walked past him, her tail tickling his nose. "Do me a favor and don't tell anyone for the next seven days. I have a headache, and I need some recovery time."

Manx turned toward Callie as she walked out of the clock room. "But how …why?"

She waved goodbye to him as she headed for the door that led back to City Hall. "Seven days! Then I'll tell you everything!"

The door closed behind her.

Mayor Manx stared at it for a few minutes before his mind finally realized what just happened. A wide grin broke out on his face. "She's alive!"

* * *

**Kanto the Slayer** presents

A _SWAT Kats_ Fanfiction

_**SWAT Kats: Endgame**_

* * *

_Three weeks ago_

"Shit."

"I know," Jake said as Burke and Murray dumped a fresh pile of junk onto their damn doorstep. Again. "We gotta come back to this every day, until we pay off everything we owe." He shook his head. "It's a fake debt anyway. We know it, they probably know it, but they don't care."

"We damn sure don't!" Burke laughed as the last of the junk spilled from the truck.

The mechanics glared toward the two scruffy kats in the truck.

"Yeah," Murray said with a grin that had a few gaps in it. "You won't be leaving this place any time soon, so the longer you're here, the more time off _we_ get! So get used to it, because as long as Commander Feral says it, you do it!" They laughed as they drove off, a cloud of exhaust washing over Chance and Jake.

Chance's jaw tensed to the point of biting. "That's it. Shoot me now!"

Jake patted him on his right shoulder. "Relax, they don't know shit." He grinned. "They can talk all they want, but they'll never do half the stuff we can." He sighed, then turned toward the pile of scrap. "But for now, we gotta do what we gotta do. So let's do it."

"I disagree."

They turned toward the voice that belonged to the she-kat in a cream-colored jacket with matching slacks, black flats, and a light blue silk top. Her red hair shone brilliantly, but her ears, face, hands, and just about everything else besides the tail was a milky white. "Are you Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson?"

Chance gave her his lazy, charming smile. "Why yes we are. Need some help with your ride?"

She chuckled. "Actually, I'm here to help you." She handed them her business cards. "Angela Snowshoe, attorney at law." She tilted her chin up just slightly. "I've been hired to get you out of this hellhole and back to your lives."

Chance and Jake looked at each other, and then back at her. Chance scratched the top of his head. "Sorry, who hired you again?"

She smiled, head tilted to the right. "That's classified. All you need to know is that I'm here to have your case formally tried before a court."

Jake nodded. "We appreciate it, but you gotta understand; we _quit_ the Enforcers."

She nodded. "True. But in the interest of justice, don't you want all this to end?" She gestured around the scrap yard. "For guys like you, who worked your asses off, this …this is no way to live." She peered toward Chance. "You should have your own lives, your own places to stay; not living from paycheck to paycheck, only for it to be taken by the Enforcers. I know you left, but what's unjust is still unjust."

They stood silent for a few more seconds.

Angela sighed. "Look, you don't have to trust me. You don't even have to _like_ me. But please, let me try to save you from this." She stepped forward and whispered into Chance's ear. "You save everyone on an almost daily basis, let me do the same for you."

Chance's eyes widened and he almost leapt back. "Shit, you… you know who we are?"

She grinned. "If you wanna find out, let me defend you. Don't worry, whether you agree or not, I'll keep this secret for as long as I live. But I'll throw in who told me if you let me help."

They looked at each other, then back at her. Chance sighed. "Come in and sit down. I want to hear everything, from the top."

After five minutes of explanations and clarifications, Chance nodded. "Callie. I should've guessed, right from the start."

Angela shook her head. "Don't be angry at her. _I_ nagged at her until she told me." She gave Chance a pleading look. "I had to know everything if I wanted to make a good case! I promise no one will know, before during or after the trial."

Jake ran a hand along the top of his head. "Look, we can't let anyone know who we are for a reason. The more people that know, the more targets any enemies of ours have if they find out. They'll go after anyone that's linked to us, including, as of now, you."

She nodded. "I get that. I'm fully prepared for it, _if_ it comes to that." She clasped her hands in front of her face. "Just _please_ don't do this to yourselves. You could be doing so much more than just working your lives away for a debt you don't even owe!" Angela looked toward Chance again. "Besides, Commander Feral was the one who put you here in the first place. This is your chance to bring him to the justice he is so quick to defend."

Chance lowered his head for a moment. She had a point there. He looked up at Jake. "I'm gonna buy this lady a mega-sub sandwich. Stay here."

He stood and headed for the phone.

She turned to Jake, shaking her head. "What's that mean?"

Jake grinned. "It means you're on the case."

* * *

_Two weeks ago_

Two private investigators snapped photos of the jet, still kept exactly as it was from all those years ago. Angela thanked her lucky stars they hadn't trashed it yet. Of course, why would they? It reminded them every day of why they were doing this, or at least it reminded Chance. She sighed as she looked back at the damaged jet. She wanted this bad memory to die and rest in peace already.

She looked toward the makeshift obstacle course they'd set up with a smile. Once Enforcers, always Enforcers. And from the research she'd done, they were two of their best while still enlisted. They were tactical, quick thinkers. They didn't wait for backup, but used what they were given to get the job done. Though they followed procedure, they didn't let it constrain them. And while others stayed out of danger, pulling back when things got too hot, they dove headfirst into it.

Chance told her that while the current system, the current leadership still existed, they'd never return to the Enforcers. It had to change, or they would stay out of the loop. She didn't know how much more the good guys could take without them, or kats that thought they way they did. At her last count, the Enforcers were down to the dregs from the constant wear and tear, the beatings and losses they'd taken. It'd take at the very least, a massive recruiting campaign to maintain visible police presence in the poorer areas of MegaKat City.

She hoped the Commander would launch such an idea, and soon.

For the moment, this was all she could do to help.

"You okay?"

She looked behind her right shoulder. "Yeah, just thinking about things."

Chance gave a short grunt. "Do I wanna know?"

She chuckled and turned back toward the remains of the jet. "Probably not." Something nagged at her mind just then, a question that bothered her. "Callie told me about how you hid her identity."

Chance groaned. "What, did she tell you our measurements, too?"

She smirked. "If she had, I would have a harder time talking to you right now without tripping over my own words." She cleared her throat. "I don't condone hacking into military grade encryptions, stealing someone's identity, and destroying it for what seems to be an indefinite period. I told her all this the moment she explained it." She looked over at him. "You got a plan for bringing Calico Briggs back from the dead?"

Chance nodded. "Before we destroyed the files, we made copies of them. I'm talking about bank statements, birth certificates, credit cards, drivers' license, the whole thing. You can make a safe bet that some money changed hands to keep the fact that we did all this secret."

She nodded. "I bet I could. So you're just going to re-integrate it into the system and pretend everything is fixed?"

Chance shrugged. "It's all we can do. That, and erase the copies we have from our systems so it can't be traced back to us." He sighed. "Look, I know it's illegal, and I know you don't exactly see it as the right thing to do. But we didn't have much of a choice. We planned it from the time we gave Callie a communicator. We knew she was important; that Manx was pretty much a lame duck. Anyone else that knew that would be after her."

Angela nodded. "So you created a contingency plan to prevent it from happening twice."

Chance nodded. "You got it. The easy part was getting it _out_, to be honest." He chuckled. "The hard part will be getting it back _in_ without raising any eyebrows."

She sighed. "So you don't really have a real plan besides hoping for the best and preparing for the worst."

Chance smirked. "Don't you know? That's how the SWAT Kats operate. We don't have any real rules. Besides, Jake's the best at what he does. He's never let me down before, and I trust him with everything he's doing."

Alicia shrugged. He was right about that. Jake Clawson was an absolute genius. A hacker, a programmer, a mechanical engineer. He had the Midas touch as far as computers and machines went, and his inventions rarely missed their mark. Even when they did, he always had a backup plan. "Then I'll trust him too."

She turned to head back inside. "You're gonna have to show me around someday."

Chance scoffed. "There's not much to see."

She looked at him with a grin. "I mean _really_ show me around."

* * *

_Seven days ago_

"…And you were there when it happened?"

The middle-aged tom nodded. "Just about saw the whole thing from Headquarters. I'm not the only one, either." He shook his head. "It's just that so few will stand up to the Commander about it. They let it slide, act as if it didn't happen."

Angela leaned forward. "How sure are you about this?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Look here miss. I'm getting on in years, but I'm not senile yet." He tapped the right side of his head. "It's still up here, and it's gonna be up here until it gets resolved." He chuckled. "I trust that's about to happen, right?"

"That's right." She looked around his apartment, at the faded paint on the walls, the worn, yet still comfortable carpet, the old kitchen that was still of some use, the old TV that still worked. He was one to keep what he owned as healthy as possible. She looked at him again. That included him as well. For someone in his forties, he was built like a truck. She wondered how long it took to get rid of the fat that she could guess he had before looking like this.

"Admiring my humble abode?"

Angela smiled. "Looks like my grandpa's place. It's cozy."

He shrugged. "Not the best place, but it'll do. I was offered a better one, but this apartment's like my own skin. I can't step out of it so easily, y'know."

She nodded. "I can see that." Angela leaned forward again. "Captain Lynx, if I asked you to testify against Commander Feral in a trial regarding this incident, would you do it?"

Benny nodded. "In a heartbeat. It's a shame how those boys were treated. They were just doing their jobs, and Feral had to butt in just when they had a bead on Dark Kat. None of what happened to Ms. Briggs, or anyone else, would've happened if he'd just let them shoot him down that day."

The she-kat grinned. "I'll quote you on that." This was going exactly as she planned it.

* * *

_Now_

Commander Feral sent the two toms adjacent to him a glare that could kill a fly on the spot. They put her up to this; he was sure of it. Somehow, they'd gotten together the money for this sham of a trial, and now they were going to try to get out of paying him back for their damages.

Furlong and Clawson simply continued to stare forward. Bastards didn't even have the courage to look him in the eye. He looked back toward the judge again as he sat down, straightened out his robes. Commander Feral sat as the judge began the trial, leaned over to his right to whisper into his lawyer's ear. "I want those two working at that scrap yard indefinitely for trying to pull this crap on me."

The lawyer nodded. "I'll arrange it as soon as I blow a hole in their defenses. Nothing's going to happen to you."

The judge, a tom that looked to be age fifty, cleared his throat. "I hear that this matter has already been resolved privately with the Enforcers. At any normal time, this is how I'd like it to stay." He looked around the courtroom. "But due to the controversial nature of the incident, I feel it is my duty to put this to rest, once and for all. Whatever the outcome is will be determined by fact, and not by conjecture. And I'll make sure it's kept that way, or someone is getting a verdict from _me_, and not the jury." He looked toward Angela. "You may make your opening statements…"

* * *

_Trial part two_

"By the time this is over, you two will never see another red cent ever again."

Commander Feral strode out of the courthouse, his lawyer trailing him.

Chance tightened his hands into fists. "I _hate_ him."

Jake squeezed his right shoulder. "I know. Don't get too heated. That's all they'll need. Just stay cool and stick with the facts, and this'll be over in no time."

The big tom sighed and headed toward the exit. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Being SWAT Kats was a lot easier than doing this. At least he could get angry and have a proper outlet. He didn't have that here. There was no TurboKat to hide behind, no mask to wear, no one else to be besides him. And right now, he was just as frustrated as ever.

"Hey, wait up!"

He turned to look over his left shoulder. "Hey."

Angela smiled as she stopped next to them in a grey pinstriped pantsuit and black heels. "I think we did well today. You uh, want to get a bite to eat? I know this great pizza place we could go to." She strode forward before they could respond.

Jake chuckled. "Hell of a she-kat."

Chance nodded and headed out after her. "Yeah. I'm kinda glad we have her on our side instead of against us. I mean, the way she asked those questions was like getting hit with a sledge hammer. She can be really nice, or really pissy." Chance peered forward, checking to see if she heard that. "Don't tell her I said that."

Jake grinned. "You gonna rescind that bet if I agree?"

Chance groaned. "You sure know how to ruin my day, man." He sighed. "Fine, you don't get to buy dinner anymore. Just don't tell her."

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the pizza place and took a seat, menus in hand. "See anything you like," Angela asked from behind her tablet.

Chance's eyes widened at just how many pizzas there were. "I don't think I can decide! This place has stuff I've never even _heard_ of before!" His mouth watered. Really, she spoiled them. "What do you usually get?"

"You should be asking _me_ that."

Chance looked behind him, surprised at who walked in. "Felina!" He stood and gave her a hug. "Didn't know you were nearby!"

She smiled. "Well I had to come see you guys after seeing you on TV. Besides, I know this place better than anyone does. Used to hang out here before my promotion in the Enforcers." She looked over at Angela. "This the one defending you guys?"

"That I am." Angela stood and extended her hand for a shake. "Angela Snowshoe. And _you_ are Felina Feral. Can't go around without hearing about you these days."

Felina smirked and gave her hand a light smack instead of a shake. "I don't shake hands. Not that formal." She shrugged out of her leather jacket and sat right next to the lawyer. "Can we get another menu over here, I'm starving." She peered at Jake. "So… how're things going?"

Jake shrugged. "As well as could be expected. We can only tell our side of the story and hope the prosecution doesn't find any holes in it. I mean so far, we're ironclad. Anything could happen in the next few days, though."

Felina propped her elbows on the table, fingers steepled together. "And the thing with Callie?"

Jake grinned. "I took care of it earlier this week, no red flags raised. She's back, hopefully for good this time. I don't wanna have to make another backup plan like this one." Jake leaned back in his seat. "It's up to her whether she wants to explain why she did what she did."

Chance frowned. "I dunno why she wanted to do it in the first place. I liked her better as she was." Everyone turned toward him, Felina sending him a glare. Chance raised his hands as if blocking the looks they gave him. "Not like I don't like her now! Just that she was all badass and stuff when she was someone else, that's all!"

Felina chuckled. "Well it's her decision. Besides, unless I miss my guess, she's running for Mayor." The brunette nodded. "It's about time that happened. Speaking of going back to business… I'm thinking about going back to the Enforcers, regardless of what happens with the trial."

This time, she was the one caught with stares. "What?"

Jake leaned forward. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea. I mean, KatGuard pays better than they do, and they're a better-equipped force. That's not to say the Enforcers aren't needed, just that… well…"

Felina sighed. "I know what you're gonna say, and I appreciate it. But the Enforcers are short-handed. From all the losses they've taken, they need someone with experience besides Benny. I'm the most qualified for the job. Besides, I think it's time I made peace with what my uncle did to you guys. Now that he's this close to paying for it, I…" She shook her head. "I can't be angry anymore. I just wanted to see the right thing done, that's all."

Alicia smiled. So everyone wanted justice in the end, not just her and not just the guys. "Tell you what; I'll let you decide what we get to eat. And make it one of those _huge_ ones for four."

Chance gaped at the lawyer. "You can't be serious. They actually make one like that?"

Felina grinned. "They have to carry it here with two hands."

The big tom rubbed his hands together. "I gotta see this for myself. Bring it on!"

* * *

_Trial part six_

"The evidence placed before you is undeniable proof that this incident was no accident. This was because of ego. It was because of a Commander that wanted the glory all for himself, and then tried to make it all go away. The two toms that were just doing their job got hit with a fine they couldn't possibly repay!"

Angela paced before the jury, giving them a pleading look. "Does that sound like justice to you? Does that sound like the kind of thing the Enforcers should stand for?" She pointed toward Commander Feral. "He shouldn't get away with this. The only reason he did was because no one fought back, no one stood up." She redirected her arm to point at the jury. "But you can. You can make all this stop and give Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson their lives back. Not entirely, but in part. They'll have to recover from every injury inflicted on them." She lowered her hand. "But at least this will provide closure and peace of mind. They'll be able to put this to rest, once and for all."

She stepped back with a shrug. "It's up to you." Angela turned toward the judge with a nod. "The prosecution rests."

As the courtroom cleared, Commander Feral stood before Chance and Jake again, his imposing figure looming before them. "I suppose this is the part where I apologize."

Chance nodded. "It is. And I could care less."

Feral grimaced. "Don't worry about it, because I won't. Orders are orders. Your blatant disobedience was a bad example to everyone else. And because of it, _you_ let Dark Kat get away." He walked forward until he towered above Chance. "This could have been avoided if you'd just done what I told you to in the first place."

Chance almost growled, his fur on edge. What he wouldn't give to kick his ass right now. "See you tomorrow, Commander. I sure hope you're ready to lose."

"I won't."

Angela decided to butt in. "Actually, yes you will."

The two toms turned toward her.

She had a dulcet smile on her face. "You did hear your lawyer's closing argument, didn't you Commander? Even you know, from being in court so many times, that it had no conviction. I guess the testimony from your own Captain took the wind out of his sails. And when he tried to cross-examine him…" She shrugged. "Well, it all went downhill from there."

Feral growled. "Don't test me."

She shrugged. "Or what? You'll hit _me_ with a fine too?" She walked past him, tail swishing confidently. "I wouldn't do that. You're already in a bad place right now."

Chance shrugged and followed her. "Like I said… see you tomorrow, Commander."

* * *

"All rise!"

The judge stepped into the courtroom and sat as the jury stood. He looked over at them. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

One of them nodded. "Yes we have your honor."

The judge nodded. "How do you find?"

The juror cleared her throat. "For the charges of reckless flight and unlawful punishment, we find the defendant, Ulysses Feral, guilty as charged."

The judge nodded. "Very well." He looked toward Chance and Jake. "You are henceforth absolved of all debts owed to the Enforcers. Furthermore, you are no longer obliged to work at the scrap yard in East MegaKat City." He turned toward Commander Feral. "As for you… I could very well have you thrown out of your position for Conduct Unbecoming an Officer. But that's not my call. However, I don't have to do anything, really."

He glowered at him. "You have the _very_ lengthy task of rebuilding the Enforcers, and improving their efficiency. I suggest you make quick work of it, because if you don't, then I will personally petition to have you kicked out of that office at the top floor of Enforcer Tower." He lifted his gavel and banged it. "We're adjourned. Parties may leave the courtroom."

* * *

"Oh my God."

Felina grinned. "Yeah, it's something, isn't it?"

Angela looked around at the expansive underground hangar. She could almost see the SWAT Kats rushing around, getting ready for some mission or other. If this was her reward for winning a case for Chance and Jake, she had to go to bat for these guys more often. She walked over to the lockers, frowned at the padlocks on them. "Damn. I wanted to see the suits."

Felina shrugged. "They're not in there. Besides, you've seen 'em enough on the news."

The redhead looked over her right shoulder. "Yeah, but that's not the same!" She turned toward the lockers again. "I am very, very jealous of Ann Gora right now. She gets to film these guys almost constantly."

They headed toward the TurboKat and Alicia ran a hand along the underside of the jet. Okay, maybe touching the suits was the second most exciting thing she could do. _This_ topped that by a mile. Hard to believe all this was going away as soon as today. They didn't waste any time in removing everything that linked them to their other identities. After all, they didn't have to be here anymore.

She had a hard time removing her hand from the thing, but she reluctantly did so. "Callie's lucky as hell. I mean, it's a shame she almost died then, but she's lucky all the same. I couldn't even imagine doing something like this."

"Yeah, well you won't have to."

She turned to face the voice behind her. "So this is it, huh?"

Chance nodded. "Yeah, we got everything set up."

Jake walked behind him, a manila envelope in his hands. "I sure hope Pumadyne knows they can't just make this stuff for anyone, or any old Enforcers. Yeah, they need new equipment and all that, but this stuff?" Jake shook his head. "This stuff is specialized. We're talking SWAT team level. The vehicles, the Glovatrix, the micro-charges… all sorts of stuff they could use." He grinned. "Plus, they have higher-grade materials than we use. It's gonna be exciting to see what they do with all this."

Chance nodded. "Yeah, that or horrible. If this stuff gets into the wrong hands, it'll be our fault." He turned to Jake. "Which is why I still think you should reconsider this."

Jake shook his head. "It's classified as a top-secret black box project. At least, that's how I marked it. I'm sure people are going to wonder where the Enforcers got this kinda tech, but they don't have to know. Soon as they see it, they'll understand."

Chance sighed. "If you say so." He smirked. "I guess we're about to find out what happens if more people fought like a SWAT Kat." He looked toward the TurboKat. "What about our girl?"

Jake looked up at the jet, his silence stretching on for a few seconds. "We're not giving this baby to anyone. No one should have this kind of power."

Chance didn't say anything for a few moments, and then nodded. "You're right. They shouldn't." He turned toward Felina and Angela. "We're gonna cement this place up before we finally leave. Make sure no one gets in. Also, we're giving everyone a clear sign that the SWAT Kats are hanging up their helmets."

Angela raised an eyebrow. "And just how are you doing that?"

* * *

Calico Briggs lounged on the couch of her new upscale apartment, a hand over her eyes.

So it was over.

She didn't have to hide anymore, didn't have to be someone else. Sure, she wouldn't forget what she'd learned, and the whole experience was the most amazing she'd ever had, but… it made her so tired. It was why she'd decided to stop being a ghost. If it was that draining being dead, she was glad to have her life back.

She smiled. Besides, the look on Mayor Manx's face was priceless. She wished she had a camera so she could freeze that expression—

Her phone rang, breaking into her thoughts. She groaned and slithered off of the couch, rubbing her eyes as she headed for the phone on the kitchen counter. This better be good. "Hello?"

"Turn on the TV."

She blinked. "…Felina?"

"No time, just do it. Stay on the phone."

Callie headed back toward the couch, her tail curled like a question mark. "I guess you'll explain everything to me as it happens, right?" She turned on the television, just in time for breaking news. She stared as cameras focused on the TurboKat as it hovered five thousand feet over the clock tower. "Okay, what am I looking at?"

"Just wait…"

She rolled her eyes. "Come on already, the suspense is…" A camera zoomed in. "…killing me."

One word was decaled onto the left side of the jet in intricate white cursive. Callie didn't say anything for a few seconds as her mind tried to process what she looked at. She read the word out loud to herself, just to make sure she wasn't mistaken. "Goodbye."

The other end of the line was silent. She didn't notice.

Felina grinned as she heard Callie read the message. She put her on hold as soon as she heard it and switched over to a certain cell phone. "Do it."

The TurboKat's engines went full tilt, carrying the jet higher than the helicopters could reach. She nosed up as the engines switched from hover to flight mode, and the jet shot into the blue. Speed of Heat. Always useful when one wanted to make a fast exit. She could just see the boosters ignite before it completely faded from the view of the cameras.

"Solid, it's on its way. Good launch. Head over to my place, we'll celebrate." She hung up, the phone automatically switching to the other line. "Hey, you there?"

"…It's gone, isn't it?"

Felina nodded. "It's gone."

A sigh on the other end. "I was hoping they'd keep it around. Who knows when we'll need it again?"

Felina grinned. "What, you think the TurboKat was what won all those fights? The kats inside the jet did all the work. As long as they're still around, this city still has friends." She leaned closer to the screen. "It's not over yet. Keep watching."

The camera imaging switched to a view from one of MASA's satellites. They actually let the news station use those? She shrugged. Whatever. It caught a good view as the TurboKat climbed ever higher into the sky, past the ozone layer, headed toward low earth orbit… and then the camera view switched again. Felina blinked. "Wow."

Out in space, anyone watching had a good view of the TurboKat and the message that Razor left on one side. "I didn't expect it to go on this long. This must be one of their advanced ones."

"I know, right? But are they just gonna leave it there or…"

The voice on the other end went silent as the TurboKat's boosters stopped firing. For a few seconds, nothing happened. "I guess they _are_ gonna leave it there."

The jet floated there, lifeless and docile, until a sudden flash of light came from the cockpit. They couldn't hear the explosion over the television, but they certainly could see it from here. And the destruction of the cockpit led to another explosion further down the ship, and then to a chain of them until the fuel lines for the engines went off.

Once that happened… the TurboKat really did say goodbye.

"There… _now_ it's gone." Felina turned off the TV and leaned back on her couch. "Hey, even I have to admit it's sad to see it go. But that kind of tech doesn't belong to anyone. I feel better knowing that at least the gadgets will be in the hands of the Enforcers soon."

A pause on the other end. "You know, I think I'll get serious about becoming the Mayor. That just changed a lot of things for everyone." Callie sighed. "I know I said I wouldn't want the job…"

Felina chuckled. "But that's why you would make a good Mayor, Callie."

"I never did understand what that meant."

Felina nodded. "You will." She hoped so, because she didn't have a clue either.

Felina heard a knock on her door and stood, stretching her limbs and tail before heading toward the entrance. "Got people coming in, I gotta go. We'll talk later, okay?" She hung up and opened the door, revealing Chance and Jake with a few bags full of something that smelled incredible. Felina grinned. "You guys brought food!"

Chance beamed right back at her. "Well it is a party, right? What's a party without food?" He kicked off his Doc Martens and walked in with them. "So yeah, is Callie coming?"

Felina shrugged. "She's getting some rest right now. You can go over there after this if you want."

Chance shook his head, shrugging out of his jacket as he made his way further into the apartment. "Nah, I wouldn't want to disturb her sleep. Come to think of it, she's got a lotta stuff to do in the next few months. I don't want to get in her way _at all_." He tossed the leather jacket over the couch, headed for the kitchen to put the bag somewhere.

Jake walked in behind him, his own shoes left in the closet next to Chance's. "I'm not sure she sees it like that. If you asked her, she'd tell you she wants you to stay with her."

Chance looked over his right shoulder. "You sure about that, bud?" He headed over to the leather loveseat and sat, sinking into the comfortable chair with a sigh. "Anyways, I'd rather have my own place to stay at. Staying with her would feel like mooching, you know?"

Felina hopped over the back of the couch and plopped down. "Well either way, all that cash is gonna go a long way. Pumadyne certainly paid you guys handsomely for the blueprints for all those gadgets and vehicles. Hopefully, no one else will get their hands on those besides the Enforcers." She looked toward Jake. "How much was it again?"

Jake chuckled. "More than enough. I can't even believe they paid double for what I asked!" He looked out from the kitchen. "Hey, you want me to break out the milk?"

"It's in the fridge." Felina looked over at Chance. "So what are you gonna do now?"

Chance bowed his head for a few seconds, as if in thought. "I dunno, I've always wanted to work on cars. Y'know, build a custom one from scratch, restore an old classic, stuff like that." He looked up at Felina. "You did that yourself, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, got all the parts on my own paycheck."

Chance smiled. "I could do something like that, open my own garage and actually keep the cash people pay me for doing this. 'Course, I'm gonna need my own place first, and with the way things are, that's not necessarily gonna be easy."

Felina smirked. "So you're gonna mooch after all."

Chance sighed. "Yeah, just not off of Callie."

"Well whatever you do, don't decide right now." Jake walked back toward them with three bottles of milk. "You probably won't be able to do much of that in a few minutes!"

Chance laughed and grabbed a bottle as Jake passed him. "I know that's right!" He unsealed the bottle and lifted it above his head. "Here's to the new MegaKat City!"

* * *

**Epilogue: **_**The Winds of Change**_

Guys… it's done.

I mean damn, I never thought I'd say that, but I'm saying it. **It. Is. Done.** After years of setbacks, toil, and massive writer's block, I have my first complete, full-package story, wrapped up in a nice little bow. And you guys have really added onto the list of people who like it. And because you guys liked it so much, we have arrived at this, the culmination of events.

Now some aren't going to like the way this ended. I'm willing to accept that. But bear with me on this, because it's for a purpose.

On a _very_ personal note, I don't like Commander Feral, despite the victories I gave him in this story. He's arrogant, he's inflexible, and he's bullheaded. Not the thing a police force needs in a leading man. I wanted to punish him for the full extent of the law, which realistically, would have been _much_ harsher. But thanks to ulyferal, I let him slide. It saved me about four thousand words worth of text.

I just hope that was a good decision on my part.

Regardless, leave reviews, EVERYONE! Throw confetti if you want, blow some noisemakers, have a good cold glass of milk! Hell, you're even allowed to purr a bit.

Me? I'm going to take a catnap.

_This is your Slayer, and I have triumphed._


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